Pastor Jimmy Matute, a graduate and professor of SEPE, shares a devotional reflecting on the true Christmas.
If you ask ChatGPT what Christmas is, it might answer, “Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, marked by joy, reflection, and family togetherness.” And while there’s some truth to this answer, Christmas is much more than a time for sharing food, gifts, and family gatherings. Christmas is a time to focus on Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world (John 1:14; Luke 2:10–11).
Jesus was born under humble circumstances. He was laid in a manger, and during His ministry He lived simply; some gospels even tell us that He had nowhere to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). However, His life was sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21). His obedience to the Mosaic Law, contained in the Tanakh (תַּנַךְ), was perfect, and at all times He did what was pleasing to His Father (John 8:29), even though He knew that such obedience would lead to His death (Philippians 2:8). The Father bore witness to Him, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), and even His enemies could find no fault to accuse Him of (Luke 23:4). He did all this to become the perfect offering that would appease God’s righteous wrath for mankind’s sin (Isaiah 53:5; Romans 3:25).
The Child who was born in a manger is the same Child that Revelation introduces as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16). He no longer comes as He did the first time, when He humbly entered Jerusalem mounted on a donkey to inaugurate his kingdom (Matthew 21:5). He will return on a white horse, as a symbol of His power and glory, to establish His eternal and literal kingdom over all creation (Revelation 19:11–16; Daniel 7:13–14).
This Christmas, the most important thing is not the food you prepare or the gifts you can give, but reflecting on Jesus and His kingdom. If you are still in the kingdom of darkness, you urgently need to repent of your sins and trust in the saving work of the One who was born in Bethlehem, died on the cross of Calvary, and will return in power and glory, because without that you cannot celebrate the true Christmas (Colossians 1:13–14). When you become part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, such celebration will not only be an annual event, but rather you will celebrate His advent every day with great joy forever and ever (Revelation 22:3–5).
