In Christian circles, you are liable to hear at Christmas, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Certainly, such a statement is true. We have discussed the promise and plan of Christ’s coming because He is the reason for the season. Yet, we would do well to dig a little deeper and to ask, “What is the reason for Christ’s coming?” If Jesus is the reason for the season, it is wise to address the reason for why ‘the reason for the season’ has come.
To be honest, no one answer will suffice. “Why did Jesus come?” is a multi-faceted question. Nevertheless, as we continue our study in Matthew 1, we find one of the purposes for Jesus’ incarnation. Matthew 1:21 informs us, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Cut and clear, Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth for the Father’s glory and for His people’s good. Because all have sinned and have rebelled against God, we face the judgment and wrath of God. We will be rightly punished for worshiping false gods and denying the true God. A false god is anything that we put before the one true God, whether it is possessions we have or other people we hold relationships with. There is no amount of good works or deeds that can bring about salvation and deliverance from this verdict. There is nothing humanity can do in and of themselves to escape this reality. We are stuck in our sins.
The only way for salvation to occur is by receiving God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness only comes through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus came to die for our sins. He became our substitute on the cross, absorbing the wrath of God, that we may receive forgiveness from God. God can “be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). Because of Christ’s coming, living, dying, rising, and ascending, we can be in relationship with God. We can approach the throne of God only by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 4:14-16). We are not saved by works but by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. We can be forgiven by God through the person and work of Christ by responding with repentance for our sins and placing our trust and faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, yes, Jesus is “the reason for the season”. But we should likewise share during this season the reason why the “reason for the season” came.
Reflection Time:
-What have you made Christmas about? How does meditating on why Jesus came change your focus during the holidays?
-Spend some time this Christmas reflecting on why Jesus came and respond in prayer to the Lord.
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