Sermon Tone Analysis

Entertaining Angels

has been our theme this season, following along with Christ’s Birthday Observance from the Christian Women’s Connection annual reminder to make Jesus the Subject of our Christmas celebrations.

Mary Lopez began the season for us on the first Sunday of Advent with a reminder that we should make ready for the Son of God.

Then we shared about making praise, making peace, and making room for Jesus.

All of these have to do with the messengers of God, his Angels, or in fact His Son, breaking in to our lives with the message of God’s love, his hope, and his salvation.

On this Christmas Day 2022, we have another encounter with the angels of God.

And it reminds me again how we get so wrapped up with the stories of Christmas that we can end up overlooking the Truth of Christmas, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Luke’s Record of Jesus’ Birth:

Christian Myths We Share at Christmas Time

Because of our Christmas Carols, hymns, children’s plays and even Charley Brown, we have quite a few Christmas myths surrounding Christmas.

I’m not even going to start on Santa, elves, talking snowmen of red-nosed reindeer.

We are pretty sure those aren’t biblical, but because we have told the stories to ourselves and our families for so long, we start to believe the lies we tell ourselves.

But of course, that never happens in real life—or does it?

Let’s look at a few of our favorite Christian myths and then we will share the truth about Jesus that is so much better.

Myth: Jesus was Born on December 25

The Bible doesn’t say that.

In fact, it doesn’t say anything about when Jesus was born.

We certainly don’t know the day, and it was pretty unlikely that it was even in December.

But in the Roman world Jesus was born into, and the pagan celebrations and legends of that world that dominated the Church for over 500 years, Winter holidays like Saturnalia or the Winter Solstice took the eyes of the public off of the reason for the Church’s existence.

So, in an effort to refocus Christians from common debaucheries and misbehaviors, it made sense to have a Christian holiday that would take over the hearts and minds of early believers.

It’s the age-old question, “Is December 25th Jesus’ birthday?”

The answer is that we really don’t know when His actual birthday was.

The Bible doesn’t tell us an exact date.

So, it begs the question, “How did Christmas land on December 25th”?

Some historians believe that it was a Christian reaction to a Roman pagan holiday, while others believe the date is a response to the traditional date of Jesus’ crucifixion in March.

Honestly, we don’t really know when Jesus was born, however, two things are certain – Jesus was born of a virgin, and the Bible doesn’t give us an exact date.

Myth: Mary Rode Into Bethlehem on a Donkey

An extremely pregnant Mary riding into town on a donkey is definitely a common myth most Christians believe is in the Bible.

Now, she very well could have made the 65-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a donkey.

Nevertheless, the account of this story, in Luke 2:1 – 6, does not specifically teach this.

Nevertheless, we all should consider how tough Mary was to make this trip while being pregnant, because most of us men can’t get out of bed if we have the common cold

Myth:Jesus Was Born In a Barn or Stable

Just about every nativity set places the baby Jesus in a barn, surrounded by animals.

Once again, this is an assumption because the Bible does not specify this.

The Scriptures actually say, “And she gave birth… and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:7).”

It’s easy to assume that Jesus was born in a barn or stable, because of the manger mention.

A manger is a feeding trough for animals.

However, these feeding troughs were also commonly used inside homes, because families would sleep upstairs while small animals were kept downstairs on cold nights.

Myth: A Star Hovered Over the Manger

You’d be hard-pressed to find a nativity scene that doesn’t include a bright shining star hovering above it.

It’s definitely a nice sentiment and symbol.

The problem is there’s no reference to this in Gospels.

The magi were given a star that first lead them to Jerusalem Matthew 2:1 – 2

Myth: Three Kings came to see Jesus in the Manger

One of the most popular Christmas carols, “We Three Kings,” shows the commonality of this particular myth.

The Gospel of Matthew describes these men as magi or wise men.

People commonly think there were three in number, because the Bible details the fact that they brought three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh.

But, this doesn’t mean there were three magi; there could just as easily have been four, eight, or 10.

Also, one could ascertain that these guys were the very first Essential Oils dealers.

This suggests that Jesus had been in Bethlehem for some time at this point, so neither the wise men nor the star, were hovering over the manger the night Jesus was born.

Myth: There Was A Little Drummer Boy

A little drummer boy playing his drum – pum pum pum pum.

That’s what all first-time parents want, right?

Mary and Joseph haven’t had any sleep.

The birthing arrangements and location haven’t been ideal, but yes, please come play your drum for my newborn baby boy.

Just make sure you play it as loud as humanly possible.

It doesn’t make much sense, and there is no account of this ever happening.

Myth: Jesus Was Born In 0 A.D.

“B.

C.” stands for “before Christ”, and “A.

D.” stands for a Latin phrase anno domini; which means “in the year of the Lord.”

However, according to Matthew 2:1, Jesus was born during the days of Herod the king.

Most historians place Herod’s death at 4 B. C. With Herod ordering all boys 2-years old and younger in the area to be killed before his on own death.

It seems as though a more proper estimate of Jesus birth would have sometime between 4 B. C. and 6 B. C.

Christmas Truths We Need to Know

The Birth of Jesus is Promised by the Prophets

The Birth of Jesus Was Directed by the Father

The Birth of Jesus Was Announced by Angels

The Shepherds Became the First Evangelists

The Birth of Jesus Brought God Near

The Birth of Jesus Brought Us Salvation