Why Is Remembering the Birth of Christ so Important?

Why is remembering the birth of Christ so important? How does it shape Christian hope?

Earlier this month, I wrote about the themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. But why is the birth of Christ so important to Christianity? How does Christmas shape Christian hope?

As I noted in my earlier post, Christian hope is different from “regular” hope. When I say, “I hope my team wins this game,” I’m implying that the outcome is uncertain. But when a Christian talks about our “hope” of Christ’s return, we mean something quite different! The outcome is certain; He has promised that He will return. In the Christian sense, hope is what we’re waiting to see. And whether we see it while we’re still alive here on earth or see it as those who have “fallen asleep” in Him, we’re confident that we will see it!

So how does Christmas shape that hope?

The Birth of Christ Brings Hope Because It Demonstrates God’s Faithfulness

For hundreds (if not thousands) of years, God had promised His people that He would send a Messiah. (Remember, “Messiah” is a Hebrew word which means “anointed one”; “Christ” is the Greek word used to translate “Messiah”). That Messiah would be:

• A King in the line of David
• Another Deliverer like Moses
• A High Priest in the order of Melchizedek
• God’s Son

No wonder people looked forward with hope to the day when God would fulfill that promise! And that’s exactly what He did with the birth of Jesus. Jesus was descended from the line of David, according to human reckoning (through Joseph). He was also the Son of God, through the Holy Spirit’s act of causing Mary to conceive. Jesus came to save His people – not from Roman domination, but from the dominion of sin. And, as the writer to the Hebrews demonstrates, He is the High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. All of that wrapped up in the baby born in Bethlehem!

The Birth of Christ Demonstrates God’s Faithfulness through Fulfillment of Prophecy

Matthew’s gospel, in particular, takes pains to demonstrate the ways in which Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. John’s gospel approaches the matter from the other direction; He focuses on the fact that the eternal Son of God “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Son of God became one of us to redeem us, and to blaze the path for us to be reconciled to God.

It is through Jesus Christ that God has given us the hope of eternity in His kingdom. In Greek mythology, the gods and goddesses often visited mankind, but the story of Jesus’ incarnation is very different. The Greek gods and goddesses acted on their desires and caprices. They came for their benefit and enjoyment. Jesus, however, came for our benefit. Also, the gods and goddesses came and left; their visitations were momentary. Jesus came to live among us. Most importantly, the gods and goddesses never had any intention of paving the way for the mortals to come live with them. Jesus did not just come to live with us for a while, and teach us how to have a better life here; he came to show us the way to eternity in God’s kingdom.

The Birth of Christ Brings Hope Through God’s Salvation

“But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Jesus’ teaching was powerful and unprecedented, but He didn’t come just to teach us. He came to reveal God to us in a way that the prophets could not. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2).

In a real sense, Jesus is God’s love letter to humanity. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Birth of Christ Is Central to the Christmas Story Because Jesus Brings Joy

The birth of Christ is central to the celebration of Christmas because His birth gives Christmas its full meaning. The birth of Christ is the watershed moment in human history. “’Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord…And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger’… And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army of angels praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.’” (Luke 2:10-14)

The birth of Christ makes the story complete. If all God wanted to do was provide an avenue for us to be reconciled to Him, He could have continued the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. He could have kept speaking through the prophets if instruction and correction would do the trick. But we needed two things that only Jesus could bring: salvation and an example. As Gabriel told Joseph, as the angel told the shepherds, Jesus came to save us from our sins. He did that by offering His life for ours. No other sacrifice was sufficient. Hebrews chapter 10 demonstrates that the same sacrifices year after year make us perfect before God. Jesus offered His perfect life to take the place of our broken lives, so that God could make us perfect.

The Birth of Christ Is Central to the Story Because He Set the Example for Us

 As important as Jesus’ sacrifice for us was, that’s not the whole story. He lived the perfect life – not only so He could offer the perfect sacrifice, but also to show us the kind of life for which God created us. The incarnation assures us that we can live the way God calls us to live. Jesus set the example for us, and through His death and resurrection we are empowered to follow His example.

Any of us would struggle with a list of instructions to follow with no illustration, no visible example, and no hands-on learning. The first time I tried to change the strings on my guitar, I struggled. Once I found a YouTube video to show me how and explain it, I did much better! Reading how to do it is one thing; seeing someone do it, while explaining it, is exponentially more helpful.

Without the birth of Christ, we’d be left with a list of commands and the realization that we are unable to obey them. But Jesus – Son of Man and Son of God, fully human as well as fully divine – showed us that in God’s power we can live God’s way. Jesus came to teach us, to show us how to live, and through the Holy Spirit He has empowered us to live like He lived. And it all started with the Nativity! That’s why the birth of Christ is so central to Christian hope!