'Christmas is a Celebration of God’s Promise'

evil one in the form of a snake deceived them. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened to sin and experienced it in all its internal and relational brokenness. Their response was to hide themselves from God. God issued the consequences: Men would toil, women experience pain in childbearing, and women and men at odds with each other. It culminated with God cursing the deceptive evil one. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Gen 3:15) God promised that one day, evil would be destroyed by one of Eve’s offspring. 

Later in Genesis 28, God gives the promise that through Abraham’s offspring all people around the world would be blessed. Despite Abraham being alone in a strange country with no kith or kin to begin the nation, God promised that He would build Abraham’s family into a great nation to bless all nations. “…through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Gen 28:18) The plot thickens. Eve’s offspring and Abraham’s offspring were to be one and the same who would set the world to rights. “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.” (Gal 3:16) 

The Israelites would have to wait a very long time. They became a nation during slavery in Egypt. They were freed and led to the Promised Land to begin to be that blessing. They experienced stability under David’s rule. David’s son, Solomon, expanded Israel, while people from other nations came to learn the wisdom God had given Solomon. It seemed that God was fulfilling the promise to Abraham through Solomon. However, Solomon turned to other gods, and the blessing on Israel and, therefore all nations, abruptly ended. The nation was torn in two and ravaged by the stronger Assyrian and Babylonian empires. After that, the Greek and Roman empires sacked Jerusalem in quick succession. Would there ever be a time in which evil would be destroyed, God’s people blessed, and that blessing extending to the nations? It seemed rather unlikely. 

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” (Gal 4:4) God was preparing the way despite the destruction of Israel time and time again. The nations were now joined together through roads and ports, which would allow the good news of the Gospel of Jesus to be proclaimed to all people. The whole world was being prepared to experience God’s blessing. 

“The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:30-33) The promise of Jesus stretched way back. It began in the Garden of Eden, continued through Abraham, and Israel. Despite - or perhaps because – the Israelites had been scattered among the nations, God’s promise was being fulfilled. 

“When the time had fully come, God sent his Son” (Gal 4:4) to crush the evil one and untangle sin from humanity. God was planning the reverse of the curse, and to fully restore humanity for thousands of years. The long awaited promise that all nations would be blessed along with Israel had begun. “ [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Israel and the prophets] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Heb 11:39-40) 

Christmas is a celebration that God’s promise to bless all nations has come through Jesus. 

Merry Christmas,

Jonathan