The Case for Christmas

Facing the questions

Open with: The Christmas story feels more like a fairy tail that I would read or some sort of Greek Myth, I have heard this statement by youth and adults. I have clergy friends who are scientific in their thinking that cannot believe in the fantastical nature of the Christmas Story and the Virgin Birth.

I have heard “the story was made up after Jesus’s death and resurrection so that his birth could be just as surrounded in supernatural circumstances.

2. I must admit, I in my life had to wrestle and came to the conclusion that I was okay with the mystery. I was okay with not understanding what took place. Over the years though I am so thankful I have a much better and reason centered approach that I think in today’s world I need to share with you. I must admit, that I have spent a great deal of time in books and the arguments I will make have been greatly influenced by these resources.

But we have as a church to do better. We cannot in the world we live in today just rely on “I’m okay with it” Our young people are immersed in a society with technological and scientific breakthroughs that challenge how they see the world and are often refocusing their lens in how to interpret it. More and more Christianity is under attack from those who have made it their mission to kill the faith of the emerging generations. They plant seeds of doubt and those weeds take root and choke the ability to believe out of our young people and even those more seasoned in their lives. We have to do better for the sake of our young people. So we must address the questions, answer the doubts, and provide a logical and reason based defense on why and how we can cling to the most important beliefs of our faith. Article two of the Nicene Creed (A creed is from the Latin Credo meaning “to believe)

The Nicene Creed for short is from 381 C.E. it stands as the approved statement of belief for orthodox Christianity. It came about to defend against heresy being taught in the church, the main enemy being Arianism (Arius taught that Jesus was created or homoiousios) but our focus is on the means of how Jesus came into this world. Article 2 states “For us, human, and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and became fully human.” -GK

Philippians 2:5–10 NRSV

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Paul writes to the church in Philippi about 62 C.E. approximately 30 yrs after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was crucified in 33 C.E. and born approximately in 6 or 4 B.C.E. Already, just 30 years after the event of the resurrection it has been canonized. Paul is laying out doctrine. This is a foundation for Article 2 of the Creed.

Alexander the Great who lived in 356-331 B.C.E.

We get this historical accuracy because of the work of Luke. Luke believed to be a companion of Paul (literary evidence in the book of Acts).

Scholars such as Bart Ehrman say that if scribes altered the Bible, it would not diminish the theology and doctrine, and that it can be reconstructed with 99.5% accuracy. The author of Luke is viewed in scholastic circles as a talented historian.

3. If the birth of Jesus is detailed in Matthew (writing to a Jewish audience) and Luke ( A gentile historian). You will not find it in Mark or John, well not as nearly pronounced though there are references to “Mary the Mother of Jesus” Jesus is not identified by the patriarchal tradition. Let’s begin with how we understand the source material of the Bible.

a. The Bible is a collection of individual writings pertaining to the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

Scholars both secular and Christian agree that Jesus was real, he existed and had a great following, and that his followers believed he rose from the dead.

Scholars agree that from this movement came a shift in the culture of the world that effected even the Roman Emperor Constantine who ruled from 306-337 C.E. to convert to Christianity.

What sources do we have that are upheld to be authoritative?

The Gospels were written between 15 and 40 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. how do we know this? Luke and John give us over 100 factual accounts and characters that have been proven to exist by secular archeologists in the times and places stated by the authors.

Now what’s more reasonable: Luke made up the virgin account with Matthew (who by the way was a disciple of Jesus and an eyewitness to the events of Jesus’s life in ministry. No separate author like Matthew or Paul or Peter refutes the Virgin Birth. In fact it is settled doctrine by this time. Luke, lived during the apostle’s time. He knew them and likely knew Mary the Mother of Jesus personally. It is reasonable to assume Luke knew the events from interviewing key eyewitnesses and Mary herself. Why? Because Luke takes pain staking effort to get the details right.

Matthew’s interpretation of Isaiah 7:14 and the use of the Hebrew word Almah

Isaiah 7:14 NRSV

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

VIRGIN (בְּתוּלָה, bethulah; עַלְמָה, almah; παρθένος, parthenos). Generally, a woman of marriageable age, with or without focus on virginity; could be translated “girl.” In early Christian literature the term referred to one who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. In the Hebrew Bible, “virgin” customarily meant a female who had begun to menstruate and was therefore marriageable (Wenham, “Betûlāh”). Virginity is prized; unmarried girls living in their father’s house are expected to remain virgins until they are married to a man of their father’s choosing

(almah) of the Masoretic Text (50 and 11 occurrences, respectively) has confirmed the importance of attending to the literary context in which the terms appear. Both the Hebrew and Greek terms can refer to either sexual status, age, or both, and are therefore alternatively translated as “virgin” or “young woman.”

Over and over again during the life of Jesus and afterward the story of the events of that first Christmas could have been refuted. Could have been altered. Mary herself could have provided a counter testimony.

Did those shepherds come to see her that night from the fields? Did they worship the child in the manger? The presence of this event is the testimony to its validity. It would have been too easy to shoot this story down if it was a work of fiction. Time after time, source after source do not. Even the early church does not shed any ink in argument for the virgin birth.

One Question: Do you believe Christ is who he says he is?

Tim keller: “Jesus treats every book of the Old Testament with the greatest respect…he quotes from every text, authoritatively.” Jesus as the second person of the Godhead is present at the giving of the Law and the writings of the historians. If Jesus is God would he not have intervened? Would he have not known of any scrubbing of the text?

If Jesus is who he says he is then this is not above the capability of God. However the inverse to that holds as well. If Jesus is not who he says he is then who cares! Throw it all away.

Dealing with the fall-out: Do we believe in a God that performs miracles?

We believe in God who is all powerful, all knowing, and ever present. Does this God have the ability to create a gamete and impregnate a young virgin woman named Mary?

“If you start with the presupposition that miracles cannot happen, then any miracle, bug or small, is ridiculous and a major barrier to belief.”—J. Wallace

If Genesis 1.1 is true then that makes all other miracles possible.

Gospel:

Our hope rests on Jesus being who he says he is. Jesus says he is. “in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”

Jesus has given us all we need to believe. the Bible is true and can be trusted so that we have HOPE. Our hope is in the promise of Jesus Christ. Belief is not just about faith it is about reason. God gave us reason so that we may come to Him and not follow every lofty tale or myth. 2 Peter 1:16

2 Peter 1:16 NRSV

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.

The Virgin was with child and gave birth to Emmanuel “God with us” Christ has come to earth. He left heaven behind and humbled himself to be born to an obscure couple from an obscure town to show that God makes the greatest miracles in the smallest of places. Hope in Jesus this Advent. Believe with confidence in the trustworthiness of the Bible. Get lost in the stories, the true stories of our faith. We have eye witness accounts, historical markers, scholarly affirmations. Share the Christmas Story with boldness because you have something to believe in.