SL Podcast - Ep. 16 | Christmas Part 1 - What led up to Christmas?

Intro

Hello, hello! You’re listening to the studentlife podcast, where our goal is to help you know and follow Jesus, step by step. On this podcast, we take a dive into a recent topic from StudentLife Youth Ministry and look at how we can live it out. Studying what the Bible says helps us know Jesus, and finding ways to live it out helps us follow Him.

My name is Joe Farage and I’m one of the youth leaders at StudentLife. Let’s dig in!

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Deep Dive

It probably comes as no surprise, but I want to talk about Christmas on this episode, but specifically on what led up to Christmas. There’s a lot of “general” traditions that we could talk about, like the Christmas tree, why it’s on Dec 25 instead of during the summer, and several other interesting traditions that we take as the default, and we also each have our own family or regional traditions. We asked some students what their favorite parts of Christmas were and here’s what they had to say:

I love traditions. I think having traditions that are done to remember and offer continuity between the past and the future is great, but I want to look at the original reason for Christmas and why it was a big deal to the Jews of the 1st century AD.

So let’s look at some of the history and try to put ourselves in their sandals for a couple minutes. Jesus’ birth was around the year 1AD. There’s discussions about what specific year it was, but that’s besides the point. Jesus’ birth and all the surrounding heavenly fanfare, with angels proclaiming his birth and drawing people from all walks of life to see him as a child, came after roughly 400 years...........of nothing. There were no new words of God penned in the Scriptures or spoken through prophets for 400 years. To put that in perspective, 400 years ago from today would be like going back to the Boston Tea Party, then going another 100 years farther in the past. That’s how long the Jewish people had been waiting for something to happen.

This 400 year period, called the intertestamental period, is often easily missed because in our Bibles, it’s one page, you finish reading Malachi, flip the page, and you’re in the New Testament.

So to really understand the gravity of Jesus’ birth, we need to look at the whole arc of the Old Testament. Not digging too much into any one specific story, but looking at the whole Old Testament as one story arc to see what we’re told about the lead up to Jesus’ birth.

Throughout the Old Testament, we see story after story of people who might be humanity’s savior. The need for someone to save us became clear right in Genesis, when Adam and Eve break the one guardrail in place for them, then their son becomes the first murderer by killing another one of their sons. It only escalates from there as people brag about how many and why they killed and evil continues to takes root in the heart of humanity. But there are glimpses of a savior throughout the Old Testament.

Noah, in Genesis 6:9 we’re told he was righteous and blameless, meaning he was in good standing with people and with God. It appears that he is going to be the one to restore humanity, by letting the evil be washed away, and starting anew. In Genesis 9, we see that didn’t happen. Noah and his son made choices that led to evil within humans once again.

Then there’s Abraham, who receives an amazing promise from God in Genesis 15, then promptly tries to accomplish it in his own right (Genesis 16) and ends up leading to generations of bloodshed and infighting that still continues today.

Jacob was a deceiver and had to flee for his life, only to be deceived by others,

Joseph made a way to keep his family alive, but it turned into hundreds of years of slavery and he died while the Israelites were still in captivity

Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon, Samson and all the Judges, and so on. The Israelites’ continuously saw people start off so well, but ultimately not live up to the standard of Savior. So when we get to the end of Malachi, it’s almost like an intermission before the real main character shows up. But the Jewish people didn’t know that. They were waiting and waiting for the one that Isaiah prophesied about several hundred years earlier.

Isaiah 9:6 ESV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Jewish people were waiting for someone to free them from Roman rule. There were different ways people thought the Savior would come. They thought this Wonderful Counselor would come as a politician to legal-ese the Romans out of commission, or that the Mighty God would come as a warrior that would destroy the Roman army and free the Israelites from their rule. So coming as a helpless baby in a poor family was not even on their radar.

So all of this is swirling in the Jewish cultural and mindset when we get to the New Testament.

This is what makes the account of Simeon in Luke 2 so interesting. Luke 2:26 tells us it was “revealed to [Simeon] by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.”

So Simeon is an old man and he’s expecting to see the Savior before he dies. We don’t know what Simeon was expecting, whether a mighty soldier, a learned politician, or something else, but regardless of what he thought, we’re told that as soon as he holds Jesus, he knows. Simeon knows that the tiny baby was God’s gift of salvation. That Jesus is going to be revelation for all people, not just the Jewish people. In Luke 2:29-32 we see Simeon’s proclamation about Jesus.

Luke 2:29–32 CSB

Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. For my eyes have seen your salvation. You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel.

Takeaway

Christmas is a time of hope and expectation, it’s a time of waiting and surprises. We all have thoughts and views about what Christmas should or shouldn’t look like. How many presents we should get or give, how much they should be worth, what food should be at the dinner table, (Ham is the correct answer), and who we want to be at our celebrations. And if you’re in or around church at all, you likely hear “Remember the reason for the season!”

And while remembering that Christmas is intended to be a celebration and remembrance of Jesus’ first coming to the earth as a baby boy, it’s also important to try and understand the implications of what that meant for the people at that time. I wonder how many people who heard about the birth of Jesus started to have hope for a savior, but then caught themselves asking “what’s so different about this one?” How often do I pray with expectancy for God to heal or provide or restore or protect, but I don’t let myself hope too much, because what if this prayer is like all the others I’ve prayed?

Christmas is a time for pondering, a time to remember the birth of Jesus and what that means for us in the 21st century, but it’s also a time to reflect on what it would be like for an entire people group to wait for 400 years! for God to do something again, and He sends a baby.

Christmas can be a difficult holiday for many, and often we tend to gloss over the difficulties in life with presents and food. But I encourage you this week as you prepare for and participate in whatever festivities you have for Christmas, remember the depth of history and faithfulness that is represented in Jesus’ birth. Throughout the old testament, we see repeated failings of humans who tried to bring freedom, but we also see God’s keeping hand to protect and keep and guide those people as they move forward.

As you’re waiting this Christmas, know that you’re not waiting alone. And you’re not waiting in vain. God is faithful, God is good, God loves you, and Christmas is a reminder that God sent Jesus, for you. Wait well, wait with expectancy that the same Jesus who loved us so much that He was born a baby to grow into a human sacrifice for our wrong-doings, loves you today and wants to be Emmanuel for you and I. He wants to be God with us.

Announcements/Closing

This week we DO have StudentLife! It’s our Christmas party, so it’s going to be a ton of fun games and activities, worship, and extended small group time as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. If you’re in high school, I hope to see you there!

Next week on December 27 and the following week on January 3, there is NO StudentLife! Then we pick back up January 10 to tackle 2024 together.

As you go about this last week before Christmas, I hope you have a Joyful Christmas and enjoy your time with your loved ones.

Remember Jesus loves you and we do too!

Outro

On behalf of Pastor Jordan and all the StudentLife Youth Leaders, thanks for listening and we hope to see you at a StudentLife event!

StudentLife is a ministry of Life Church Buffalo. The High School group meets Wednesday nights at 7pm, and the Middle School group meets Sunday mornings at 11:15am. You can find StudentLife on Instagram and TikTok.

The original music for this episode was by Blakeis, you can find him on Spotify.

All those links and more are in the show notes.

Post-Show Bonus

Bible Verse from Trace or Hope

Show Notes

NOTES ABOUT PODCAST

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StudentLife is a ministry of Life Church Buffalo. The High School group meets Wednesday nights at 7pm, and the Middle School group meets Sunday mornings at 11:15am.

Check out StudentLife on Instagram (@lcbstudentlife) and TikTok (@lcb_studentlife).

You can find Life Church Buffalo online at www.lifechurchbuffalo.com.

The original music for this episode was by Blakeis, you can find him on Spotify.

Check out all these links, as well as referenced Bible verses, websites, books, and more at https://bit.ly/m/studentlifepodcast

Have a question you want answers to? Or do you want more information about StudentLife? Text 716-464-2276

Text <a href="”sms:[phone]"">[phone]</a>