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Christmas is widely considered the foremost Christian holiday- the beautiful celebration of the birthday of Jesus Christ. But how does Jesus really look at it? Would He join in the festivity, receiving the observance in His honor? Or is His actual assessment quite different? Christmas is a great time, and it should be observed but for the right reasons, and of course the greatest individual- Jesus. And just as Jesus does, we need to worship God the Father and give Him all the credit. Let’s look at some scriptures that tell us about Jesus’ comments, His thoughts and positions, and His time as a human while also100% God.
READ JOHN 10:24-30
24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[a]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Jesus claimed that He and His Father are one (John 10:30), and that He is equal with the Father (John 5:17-18). Not only did He claim to be God, but He also claimed to have the power of God. He said He has the authority to judge the nations If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” See the hired hands, the wolves and the leader of the pack himself, the devil – they’re everywhere seeking the destruction of God’s people. And that brings us to…the sheep. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. During his lifetime, Jesus himself didn’t call himself God and didn’t consider himself God, and … none of his disciples had any inkling at all that he was God. You do find Jesus calling himself God in the Gospel of John, or the last Gospel.
God and Jesus are also separate beings in that Jesus is the Son and God is the Father. As persons of the Trinity, they are separate, yet with the Holy Spirit, they are united and interdependent. Although God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one, they do play different roles in our prayer life. Like I said, we pray to God. But since we are imperfect speaking to a holy God, we need an intercessor to cover for us you could say. Jesus is that someone that vouches for us.
In Christianity, when you pray to “God” you are typically addressing God the Father, while praying to “Jesus” means you are directing your prayer specifically to Jesus Christ, considered the Son of God; essentially, you are still praying to the same divine being, but through the mediation of Jesus, often expressed by saying “in Jesus’ name” at the end of a prayer, signifying that you are approaching God through Jesus’ sacrifice and authority. We want to make very clear that we are not worshiping Jesus Christ as God, but rather as God’s Son whom God highly exalted. So how then does God feel if we obey His command to worship Christ? We also read there that it is “to the glory of God the Father.”
However, back to the question about whether Jesus would observe Christmas- His human birthday? It’s unlikely that Jesus would have celebrated Christmas as it’s celebrated today, but he would have participated in other holidays that were part of his Jewish culture: Christmas as a holiday did not exist until centuries after Jesus was born. Moreover, people did not celebrate birthdays in the first century, so Jesus certainly did not celebrate Christmas. The New Testament, however, does describe Him participating in one winter holiday. In the Gospel of John, Yeshua (Jesus) visited the Temple during “the Feast of Dedication” (Jn 10:22), which is another term for Hanukkah. Without Hanukkah, there would be no Christmas. If God had not intervened during the historical events of that first Hanukkah by helping His people overcome the powerful Persians, the Jewish people and Judaism would not have survived to set the context for Jesus’ birth. A Jewish virgin would not have given birth to a child who would be raised as Jewish. The Messiah would not have died and rose again to atone for our sins. While Hanukkah practices have changed significantly since the time of Yeshua, His celebrating this holiday highlights His connection to Jewish traditions. Yeshua lived a Jewish life, which naturally included observing the holidays. Moreover, it is during this festival that Yeshua identifies Himself as the Messiah and as God. It is important to acknowledge Jesus’ connection with the Jewish people. Novelist Howard Jacobson writes, “Jesus was a Jew. Everyone knows that, don’t they?”[1] The answer, as Jacobson points out, is not a simple yes or no. Jesus’ parents were certainly Jewish as they “had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord” (Luke 2:39). His extended family was also observant (Luke 1:6). However, there are many—both Christians and Jews—who actively or passively reject Jesus’ Jewishness. Many, perhaps without knowing what they are doing, use “Christ” as if it were Jesus’ last name instead of a title meaning “Jesus the Messiah
Jesus would love the nativity plays and cherished Christmas music occurring in churches across the world. He must delight in the children learning the Christmas story of the birth of Christ and their excitement and anticipation as Christmas morning draws near. The Scripture is silent on the issue of celebrating Christmas and gives no reason for Christians to not celebrate it. It does however mention a number of annual celebrations that the Jewish people were supposed to remember. And that, in general, was what they were – times of remembrance of what God had done for them. Christmas is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God. The name ‘Christmas’ comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for us and then came back to life. The Bible doesn’t tell us to celebrate Christmas, nor does it forbid it. Nothing in the Bible says we can only observe holidays God prescribes. I’m going to introduce a two-thousand-year-old saying that is as true now as it was the first time it was written. Does it betray a lack of creativity? Perhaps, but I can’t think of a better way to say what it says. Does it get overused? Maybe some people think so, but it only gets repeated during this time of the year. And is it true? It absolutely is, which is why it has stood the test of time and will stand the test of time until the end of the age. You probably have guessed the cliché I’m talking about: Jesus is the reason for the season. I can’t think of a better way to summarize what is most important about the season we are entering. It’s short, it’s memorable, and it’s true—just what we need to stay focused. There are so many religious customs we take for granted. Just because they are ancient or popular doesn’t make them right. But it takes courage to stick to the ones that are biblically sound.
The Bible says: “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 “I [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18 “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20 “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people. God has provided the only way… Each person must make a choice… We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive Him by personal invitation
Here is how you can receive Christ: Admit your need. (I am a sinner.) Be willing to turn from your sins (repent) and ask for God’s forgiveness. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive Jesus as Lord and Savior)
READ JOHN 5:31-46
31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true. 33 “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light. 36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study[c] the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 “I do not accept glory from human beings, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44 How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God[d]? 45 “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. 46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.
(John 5:31-32) Jesus tells of testimony beyond His own regarding himself. Here Jesus says that He does not testify about Himself so, He clearly would not celebrate or observe His birth or Christmas.
A) If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true: Like anyone else, it was not enough for Jesus to simply claim things about Himself. There had to be outside and independent witness to His true identity and nature.
B) This principle is established by Deuteronomy 19:15, which says by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. Jesus explained to the religious leaders that He was God, but His testimony alone was not enough.
C) There is another who bears witness of Me: In the following passage, Jesus brought forth three trustworthy witnesses who will testify that He is equal to the Father. Jesus found it important to give them reason to believe beyond what He said about Himself.
(John 5:33-35) The testimony of John the Baptist.
A) You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth: Jesus noted that the religious leaders knew of and heard John the Baptist for themselves. They needed to think of and believe what John said about Jesus.
B) He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light: The religious leaders accepted the work of John the Baptist for a time. They needed to continue to believe John regarding Jesus the Messiah.
C) The expression of lamp our Lord took from the ordinary custom of the Jews, who termed their eminent doctors the lamps of Israel.
D) “He said that John was the lamp which burns and shines. That was the perfect tribute to him. (1) A lamp bears a borrowed light. It does not light itself; it is lit. (2) John had warmth, for his was not the cold message of the intellect but the burning message of the kindled heart. (3) John had light. The function of light is to guide, and John pointed men on the way to repentance and to God. (4) In the nature of things a lamp burns itself out; in giving light it consumes itself. John was to decrease while Jesus increased. The true witness burns himself out for God.” (Barclay)
E) To rejoice: To jump for joy, as we would express it. They were exceedingly rejoiced to hear that the Messiah was come, because they expected him to deliver them out of the hands of the Romans; but when a spiritual deliverance, of infinitely greater moment was preached to them, they rejected both it and the light which made it manifest.
(John 5:36) The testimony of the works of Jesus.
A) A greater witness than John’s . . . the very works that I do: Jesus claimed another witness regarding His identity and deity: the very works that He did. This present controversy started with a remarkable healing of a man paralyzed for 38 years. This was one of many works that testified to the deity of Jesus.
B) The very works that I do; bear witness of Me: The majority of the miraculous works of Jesus were simple acts of compassion and mercy, done for simple and needy people. In this, these works . . . bear witness to the heart of God. The Jews looked for a miraculous Messiah, but they did not look for One who would express His miraculous power in simple acts of compassion and mercy. They looked for the Messiah to use miraculous power to bring military and political deliverance to Israel.
C) Because Jesus’ miraculous works didn’t fit in with what they thought the Messiah would do, they didn’t receive this witness of Jesus’ works.
(John 5:37-38) The testimony of the Father.
A) The Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me: In virtually every work and word of Jesus, God the Father testified to Jesus status as the Son of God. But specifically, the Father testified of the Son in Old Testament prophecy and at the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:22).
B) But you do not have His word abiding in you: They will not receive the testimony of the Father, because they do not have His word abiding in them. They can’t hear God the Father audibly, or see Him, but they have His word. They are guilty because they do not abide in the word that God gave them.
(John 5:39) The testimony of the Scriptures.
A) You search the Scriptures: In theory the religious leaders in Jesus’ day loved and valued the Scriptures (here used in the sense of the Old Testament). They studied and memorized and thought upon them continually, correctly thinking eternal life was found in God’s revelation.
- They read them with a wooden and superstitious reverence for the letter, and never penetrated into the great truths to which they pointed.
- They read it not to search for God but to find arguments to support their own positions. They did not really love God; they loved their own ideas about him.
B) Search the Scriptures: The verb itself (eraunao) implies keen scrutiny, tracking down the message of the Scriptures. The tragedy was that these people, for all their painstaking exploration of the sacred writings, had never found the clue which would lead them to their goal.
C) These are they which testify of Me: If their study of the Scriptures was accurate and sincere, they would see that they spoke of the Messiah, God the Son. Their recognition of and belief upon Jesus was a measure of their true understanding of the Scriptures.
(John 5:40-44) The reason for their unbelief.
A) But you are not willing to come to Me: The religious leaders were not willing, even though they had all the testimony one could have wanted. They were concerned with man’s honor, not the honor that comes from God (do not seek the honor that comes from the only God).
B) Jesus made it clear that having life is found in fulfilling the command “come to Me.” Christ is a person, a living person, full of power to save. He has not placed his salvation in sacraments, or books, or priests, but he has kept it in himself; and if you want to have it you must come to him.
C) Their refusal to come to Jesus was despite their searching of the Scriptures (John 5:39).
D) I do not receive honor from men: I do not stand in need of you or your testimony. I act neither through self interest nor vanity. Your salvation can add nothing to me, nor can your destruction injure me: I speak only through my love for your souls, that you may be saved.
E) That you do not have the love of God in you: The reasons for their rejection were fundamentally reasons of the heart, not of the mind. These religious leaders could hide behind supposedly intellectual excuses, but their real lack was love and desire for the honor that comes from God.
F) If another comes in his own name, him you will receive: Jesus prophesied the coming day when the descendants of these religious leaders would embrace a false Christ, an Antichrist, who comes in his own name. The rejection of Jesus left them open to terrible deception.
G) The words are perhaps spoken primarily of the false or Idol/Messiah, the Antichrist, who shall appear in the latter days (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12); whose appearance shall be according to the working of Satan (their father, John 8:44), 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God., 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
H) Though this will ultimately be fulfilled in the very end times, there were lesser fulfillments through history. “An outstanding fulfillment of this prediction came about in ad 132, when one Simeon ban Kosebah claimed to be the Messiah of David’s line, and led a revolt against Rome…Simeon’s messianic pretensions involved himself, his supporters and the people of Judea in the most fearful ruin.
I) How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? The fatal error of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day (and ever since) is pride. They longed for prestige and honor from one another and were willing to sacrifice the honor that comes from God alone for the sake of man’s honor.
J) The grand obstacle to the salvation of the scribes and Pharisees was their pride, vanity, and self-love. They lived on each other’s praise. If they had acknowledged Christ as the only teacher, they must have given up the good opinion of the multitude; and they chose instead to lose their souls than to forfeit their reputation among men!
K) Seeking credit as religious men from one another, they necessarily got used to themselves to current ideas, and blotted out Divine glory from their mind.
L) They had accused Jesus of acting independently of God; He now accuses them of displaying that independence. The motive of their actions is not love for God but the approval of their peers.
(John 5:45-47) The testimony of Moses.
A) If you believed Moses, you would believe Me: These religious leaders rejected Jesus because they rejected God’s word through Moses. Moses accuses them, because Moses wrote about Jesus, and they would not receive the testimony of Moses.
B) For he wrote about Me: Jesus said of the Scriptures that they testify of Me (John 5:39). The words and writings of Moses fulfill this, prophetically speaking of the Messiah in many places.
C) The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. (Deuteronomy 18:15)
D) Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9)
E) Jesus was typified in the rock that gave Israel water in the wilderness (Numbers 20:8-12 and 1 Corinthians 10:4).
F) The ministry of Jesus was shown in almost every aspect of the seven different kinds of offering that God commanded Israel to bring (Leviticus 1-7).
G) Jesus and His ministry were shown in the Tabernacle and its service. One place where the New Testament makes this connection is with the word propitiation in Romans 3:25, which speaks of the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant.
H) The law of the bondservant speaks of Jesus (Exodus 21:5-6 and Psalm 40:6-8).
I) No wonder Jesus could say Behold, I come; in the scroll of the Book, it is written of Me (Psalm 40:7). He could teach a Bible study where beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).
J) Thus, cthe writings of Moses were prophetic. In them nothing was completed. They pointed on to other things, which came to pass when Jesus came. So in this word we find at once the authority and limitation of Moses.
K) This is an important testimony by the Lord to the subject of the whole Pentateuch; it concerns Him. It is also a testimony to the fact – and of Moses having written those books, which were then, and are still, known by his name.
L) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? Jesus did not call these religious leaders to a new or a different faith. He called them to believe what Moses, what the Scriptures, what His works, what John the Baptist each testified about Jesus: that He is the Messiah, the Son of God and God the Son. If they refused to believe this overwhelming testimony, it was unlikely they would believe Jesus’ own words.
Moses’ testimony of the coming Savior, Messiah, is the prediction that says all should believe and celebrate Him. Would Moses observe Christmas as we do? NOT LIKELY!!! Today’s celebration by many includes some pagan participation (Santa and others). Moses would also have nothing to do with those, just like Jesus! Jesus tells us to believe in Moses’ words and His words, not any variations. What is the key that John’s Gospel gives us? John 4:54
“This was the second sign Jesus performed after coming from Judea to Galilee.” Jesus saved the man’s son in this scripture. This was one of Jesus’ many signs of who He was and is and what He came to do. He did not “celebrate” any of these miracles and He would not observe today’s holiday that is designed for His birth. He calls us to remember His miracles only for the power of His Father.
READ MARK 7:7-9
They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules. 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[b] your own traditions!
God specifically warned that His people were not to adopt pagan religious practices in honor of Him and that He would not accept such worship. And Jesus did not do away with God’s law in this regard. Jesus warned people about thinking they were honoring God while keeping human commandments and traditions in place of what God has commanded, declaring: “In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men…All too well you reject the commandments of God, that you may keep your tradition” Does that mean we should not celebrate Christmas? I don’t believe so! I think Jesus is saying to observe Christ’s birth by not including pagan customs and by honoring God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit with commandments and instructions from the Bible. This seems clear in what Jesus warned: “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord; shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Christ was always careful to obey the Father’s commandments. He said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Then He said to go and make disciples of all nations.
We do not see in the New Testament that the apostles celebrated Christ’s birth. That certainly was not one of Jesus’ teachings, nor did His apostles teach it. Later Paul warned the Christians in Colossae against following traditions and commandments of men (Colossians 2:20-22). There was a biblical festival Jesus and His followers did observe. It was and is the Passover- but not Christmas or any form of Jesus’ birth. Luke 22:15-16 “15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” Jesus told His disciples to observe the Passover “in remembrance of me.”(Luke 22:19). Jesus took an old symbol and filled it with new meaning. The meaning of Jesus’ words and actions is rooted in His command to remember. As today’s disciples, we observe the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Christ.
The Scripture is silent on the issue of celebrating Christmas and gives no reason for Christians to not celebrate it. It does however mention a number of annual celebrations that the Jewish people were supposed to remember. It’s striking that the most prominent celebration associated with Christianity is totally absent. Nobody—not Jesus, not Peter, not John, not Paul—gives any hint that he had ever celebrated Jesus’ birth in December (or any month). Dec. 25 is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus’s birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The earliest Christians did not celebrate his birth.