Remember Anna? She’s one of our often overlooked sisters from Scripture. As with Elizabeth, we donโt usually hear much about Anna, except sometimes, once a year, at Christmas.
When Jesus was about a month old, Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple to fulfill the requirement of the Levitical law of purification. And thatโs where they encountered Anna.
Now, just a little lagniappe here, the purification ceremony where we meet Anna was completely separate from Jesusโ circumcision ceremony.
Circumcision took place when the baby was eight days old, probably in the parentsโ home or possibly in the local synagogue (the synagogue was sort of a โbranch campusโ of the temple in towns that were outside of Jerusalem). Mary would not have been able to enter the synagogue in Bethlehem or the temple in Jerusalem for Jesusโ circumcision since she would still have been ceremonially unclean from His birth.
The purification ceremony that made her ritually clean again took place when Jesus was 33 days old at the temple in Jerusalem. A sacrifice was offered for Maryโs cleansing and Jesus was dedicated to the Lord. (see Leviticus 12)
I spell this all out because, if youโre like me, and you hear the Luke 2 account of Jesusโ birth every year, you tend to let it wash over you without really thinking about it. I never really gave much thought to the fact that these were two different events in two different places until I was studying about Anna.
And Luke 2 presents all of these events in kind of a machine gun fashion so it can practically feel like everything in that chapter is happening on the same day, and we can conflate things we shouldnโt. For example, many people think that Simeon and Anna were married just because their stories appear back to back in Luke 2. As weโre about to see, that wasnโt the case.
Letโs take a look at Annaโs story:
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:36-38
Anna had a lot of strikes against her in life:
She was a woman. In Anna’s day, women were โlow man on the totem poleโ so to speak. They were regarded as less than men in practically every way- intelligence, abilities, worth, and so on. They couldnโt testify in court because their testimony wasnโt considered credible. And, maybe youโve even heard of the daily prayer that Jewish men still say today, thanking God for not creating them a gentileโฆa slaveโฆor a woman.
She was a widow, and possibly childless. A woman of that time without a husband or grown children to take care of her would have been in very real danger of poverty.
She was old. Average life expectancy in Annaโs day was 55. She was 84. When youโre 84 in ancient times with no modern medicine, youโre feeling it.
So, Anna was a woman, she was a widow, and she was old. She had some disadvantages. But Anna didnโt let those things stop her from serving the Lord full throttle. In fact, she took some of those supposed disadvantages and put them to work for her.
Anna didnโt let disadvantages stop her from serving the Lord full throttle. In fact, she took some of those supposed disadvantages and put them to work for her.
If Anna had had a husband to care for or children to raise, she wouldnโt have had the time or the energy to serve the Lord full time. And she wouldnโt have had the opportunity either, because no one in that culture would have thought it appropriate for a woman with a husband and children to abandon them to stay in the temple.
Also, in a culture that respected its elderly, itโs likely that more people – especially younger women – would have listened to her than if she had not been so advanced in years.
So Anna turned these disadvantages into opportunities. And what did she do with those opportunities? She used them to serve God and to tell people about Jesus.
Thatโs what the Christian life is all about – serving God and telling others about Jesus – whatever your station in life.
Maybe youโre single like Anna, and God has blessed you with the time and freedom to serve Him full time – or at least fuller time than youโd otherwise be able to.
Maybe you do have a husband and children- and God has given you the opportunity to serve Him by serving them: pouring the gospel into your children, being a godly helpmate to your husband, and being a faithful, serving member of your church.
Maybe youโre older, and instead of using your golden years for travel or hobbies or shopping, God is leading you to teach younger women or throw yourself into ministry in some way.
Annaโs example to us is to bloom where God plants us and grab hold of every opportunity to serve Him and tell others about Jesus.
Annaโs example to us is to bloom where God plants us and grab hold of every opportunity to serve Him and tell others about Jesus.
Sometimes I think that if Elizabethโs story had happened back in the Old Testament, weโd spend much more time on it than we do and be much more amazed by it than we are. Instead, we kind of tend to regard her as a footnote in the Christmas story, overshadowed by the story of Jesusโ incarnation.
And Iโm sure Elizabeth is totally fine with that. Like her own son said, โHe must increase, but I must decrease.โ
But Elizabeth’s story is a rich gift to Christ’s birth narrative, adding wonder and awe to the divine beauty of the tale. It is also God’s gift to us as Christian women, giving us a sister in Christ to look up to and learn from.
Elizabeth’s story is a rich gift to Christ’s birth narrative, adding wonder and awe to the divine beauty of the tale.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Luke 1:5-7
Elizabeth was righteous before God. She walked blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. Like you and me, she wasn’t perfect. She still fell into sin. But because she loved the Lord, she repented, and strove to live her life to please Him.
But Elizabeth also knew sorrow. She and Zechariah had no child. She had been barren for all of her childbearing years, and now she was elderly – some scholars estimate at least 60 years old – and long past menopause.
If you or someone you know has ever experienced the heartbreak of infertility, you know just how painful that is. And in biblical times, culture added insult to injury in a lot of ways. It was assumed any infertility was a problem with the woman, when today we know that men can also be infertile.
Because children are a blessing from the Lord and the fruit of the womb is a reward, and because God sometimes closed the wombs of certain women in Scripture as a result of sin – it was often assumed that if you werenโt having children you were cursed by God, or your barrenness was some sort of punishment for sin.
And in addition to all of that, in that day and time, women were โlow man on the totem poleโ so to speak. They were regarded as less than men in practically every way- intelligence, abilities, worth, and so on. They couldnโt testify in court because their testimony wasnโt considered credible. And, maybe youโve even heard of the daily prayer that Jewish men still say today, thanking God for not creating them a Gentileโฆa slaveโฆor a woman.
So, practically the only way women of that time could achieve a modicum of respect and status in society was by marrying well and by having sons. And, though she did marry well, Elizabeth didnโt have any children.
Try to imagine being a woman of Elizabethโs time, having all of that on your shoulders, and having virtually no power to do anything about it.
Do you think you might be a little bitter toward God?
โLord, my husbandโs a priest! We canโt go around having people think youโve cursed us.โ
โWeโve been serving You all these years, and all weโve asked for is a baby. You owe us.โ
โYouโre not going to give me the one thing I want most in life? Forget it – there are plenty of other gods to worship. Iโll go serve one of them.โ
But not Elizabeth. Elizabeth just kept getting up day after day, trusting the Lord, serving the Lord, obeying the Lord.
Elizabeth just kept getting up day after day, trusting the Lord, serving the Lord, obeying the Lord.
And letโs not forget, we know the rest of the story. We know God is going to miraculously open Elizabeth’s womb and she’ll be the mother of John the Baptist. We know sheโs going to be one of the first people to learn the good news of the Messiah. We know sheโs going to be celebrated and famous across the world once her story gets into Scripture.
Elizabeth didnโt know that. For all those years faithfully following and trusting the Lord, she didnโt know any of that. For all she knew, she was going to die childless and in obscurity, quickly to be forgotten even by those who knew her. And yet she still chose to walk faithfully with the Lord.
Elizabeth was faithful to God because of who God is, not for what she could get out of Him. She served God to get more of God, not to get the goodies.
But look what happens next…
Now while [Zechariah] was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense…And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense…the angel said to him, โDo not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
Luke 1:8-9,11,13
Zechariah has the great honor of entering the temple and burning incense. Suddenly – a miracle! Gabriel, who stands in the very presence of God Himself, has brought the amazing news that Elizabeth – barren and past her time – is going to give birth to the forerunner of the Messiah.
And Zechariah doesnโt believe it.
But Elizabeth does…
Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.
Luke 1:25
Elizabeth believed God.
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, โBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.โ
Luke 1:39-45
The newly pregnant Mary comes for a visit. The Holy Spirit reveals to and through Elizabeth that the baby Mary is carrying is the Messiah. And, once again, in great humility, Elizabeth believes Him: “Who am I, that my Lord should come to me?” Elizabeth wondered.
Indeed – who are any of us, that our Lord should come to us?
Elizabeth did not seek out Jesus. He came to find her. So, we who were dead in our sins and trespasses did not seek Him. He came to us, to seek and to save that which was lost.
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, โNo; he shall be called John.โ
Luke 1:57-60
It’s a boy! What a joy-filled day it must have been. This wasn’t just any birth. It was God’s promise fulfilled. It was God’s mercy to Elizabeth, His blameless – yet not sinless – and undeserving child. It was God’s blessing to Elizabeth, His faithful servant. The same kind of mercy and blessings He shows us, His faithful, yet undeserving sons and daughters. The same way He fulfills His promises to us.
The time quickly came to circumcise and officially name the baby. Tradition dictated that he be named after Dad: Zechariah. But Elizabeth believed all that God had revealed about this baby to the point that she put her foot down, broke with tradition and insisted, along with her husband, that the baby be named John. It wasn’t about what she wanted. It wasn’t about what others thought was best. It was all about God, and what He wanted.
All of these unbelievable things happening to Elizabeth, yet Elizabeth believes God. Obeys God. Trusts God. She trusted and obeyed God all of those years when He said no, and she believed and obeyed Him after He said yes.
Elizabeth trusted and obeyed God all of those years when He said no, and she believed and obeyed Him after He said yes.
May we, as godly women, be daughters of Elizabeth: Believing God through the unbelievable. Trusting Him in times of uncertainty. Obeying Him in the face of opposition.
Christmas always comes with some drama. Ripped from the pages of Facebook, here’s the epic saga of my tree decorating of 2013…
Plugged in every strand of lights to make sure they were working before putting them on tree. Plugged in every individual strand of lights to make sure they were working after putting each on tree. Decorated tree. Plugged in tree. Everything fine for about 15 minutes.
Entire tree goes out.
Went searching for problem strand. Determined it was one of two strands at bottom of tree.
Figured out which one it was.
Carefully disentangled said strand from branches and ornaments. Discovered kids had hung ornaments on light strand. Discovered that 10 year old, despite a lifetime of instruction, is still hanging multiple ornaments on a single branch like so many bunches of ripe cherries. Discovered it is much easier to take lights off a tree when there are no ornaments on it. Discovered a 44 year old spinal column ain’t what it used to be.
Plugged new strand of lights into end of previous working strand. No worky.
Prayed.
Contemplated tree with no lights on bottom branches. Imagined offspring in years of therapy due to improperly lit tree.
Prayed again. Considered that this was probably the stupidest prayer God had ever heard.
Replugged a different way. Worky. Restrung working strand of lights. Yay. Tree is now completely lit.
Stepped back and discovered side of tree -heretofore unnoticed- looked like a giant had taken a bite out of it (disproportionately short branches). Decided to rotate tree so “bald spot” would be in back.
20 degrees- bald spot still visible.
45 degrees- bald spot still visible. Tree protests being moved by dropping two large jingle bells on my head.
90 degrees- bald spot in back, but now all front ornaments are in back and back ornaments are in front. Also, all breakable ornaments are now dangling precariously over bare tile floor in back instead of over padded tree skirt in front. Some appear ready to commit ornament suicide any moment.
Redecorate approximately 40% of tree. Discover angel topper now at right face instead of facing front. Climb on hearth to rotate angel. Tree drops more jingle bells.
Due to rotation, tree is now too close to couch. Perform origami on spinal column again and attempt to slide tree closer to fireplace. Foot of tree stand gets hung up on edge of a tile. Tree sways but stays in tact.
Operation “Outsmart Christmas Tree” complete. Merry Christmas to me :0)
2016 Update:
Tree shopping and decorating
My husband says the angel looks like it’s about to launch into orbit!
Oh no, not again!
Fixed!
2018 Update:
Still not the picture perfect tree, but we love it!
2020 Update
This year all the lights stayed on, but the tree ended up being a little shorter than we liked, so I wrapped up a milk crate like a present and the tree stand is sitting on top of it. Also, the angel topper that we’ve had since we got married gave up the ghost a couple of years ago, so we had to replace her with a new one whom we’ve affectionately dubbed “disco angel” due to her LED lighting. (Yes, I know real angels don’t look like that. Don’t @ me. :0)
2021 Update
We always grab a snack or dessert after tree shopping. This year it was Mexican ice cream!
The tree looks pretty much the same this year as it did last year, so I thought I’d show you some of my favorite decorations instead:
The first ornament that was “ours”. We bought it the Christmas before we got married.
There are 6 red, green, and purple balls in this “Names of Christ” set: Redeemer, Lord, Savior, Emmanuel, Jesus, and Christ.
All the Lesley stockings. I love the birdhouses my husband built. As we keep adding members to the family, we’re going to need a longer mantel!
2022 Update
This could, conceivably, be the last Christmas any of the kids will go with us to pick out the Christmas tree. The last two in the nest are 19 and 20 respectively, with full time jobs and their own activities to attend to.
Christmas ornaments from travels to various conferences this year.
2023 Update
The Lesley Way is for everybody to pick out and advocate for the tree he or she thinks is best. Then, Dad (who’s the one who actually has to trim it), makes the final decision. Mom has veto power, but, since Mom would be happy with almost any tree in the place, and since we all have similar taste in trees, it’s rarely exercised. This year, we picked Laura’s tree.
Probably one of my favorite Christmas tree pictures ever.
Bonus pic of my husband and me goofing off at our local Christmas parade. Every Southern girl needs a big, floppy Ouiser hat to keep the sun at bay!
2024 Update
This year was the very first time we have ever gone Christmas tree shopping without at least two of our children. It’s one of those things that most couples experience when they first get married, and here we are, after almost 32 years of marriage doing it for the first time! We have always loved picking out a tree together as a family, but this was a different kind of fun – a “date day”!
My dad passed away this past January, so after the funeral we spent some time helping my mom sort, donate, and downsize some things. She very kindly allowed my girls and me to go through all of her Christmas decorations and take the ones we wanted. I’m so glad we will all have these precious heirlooms and the memories that go with them. I have been waiting almost a year to hang them on my tree. Wanna see?
If you’re around my age, you might remember decorating glass balls like this. Elmer’s glue and glitter, baby! We all had one with our name on it. These are my mom’s and dad’s, which will henceforth hang on my tree. My husband’s and mine – new this year, and purchased on a trip to a retreat I spoke at – aren’t quite as elegant, but we like them.โค๏ธ๐โค๏ธ๐
Before there was “Elf on the Shelf,” there was elf on the tree. Circa the 1960’s, I’m pretty sure.
The three glass balls, the gold filigree Star of David, and the aqua/silver tinsel Koosh Ball-looking thingie, my parents bought in sets in Germany when my dad was stationed there before I was born, so they are all about 56-57 years old. My sister and I used to have great fun throwing those tinsel thingies at the tree, and I kept the tradition when I decorated this year! We got the straw stars when the Army moved us to New Mexico when I was a child, so those are probably 45-50 years old. We threw those too, but they didn’t stick as well as the tinsel ones. :0)
It looks like the middle section isn’t lit as well as the upper and lower sections, but that’s just because the branches are a lot thicker right there.
2025 Update
Our second year searching for our Christmas tree as empty nesters! We think this year’s tree is the best shape and size we’ve ever gotten!
I did have issues with the lights again this year. They were all working when I put them on the tree, and then a strand and a half went mysteriously dark. But here’s the wisdom of age for you – this year, I didn’t take the lights off the tree. I shoved the infernal quitter strands all the way back to the trunk where they’d be invisible and went out and bought a new 250 light string to replace them.
I was pretty happy until I reached for an ornament tote – which I had already gone through this year, mind you – and found four brand new boxes of lights that I’d bought at an after Christmas clearance sale sometime within the last few years.๐คจ
Oh well.
I thought you might enjoy this little video I made. It was for a Christmastime women’s meeting at my church (so I’ve clipped out the first few seconds for privacy reasons). We all brought something to demonstrate how we “keep Christ in Christmas” in our homes.
Christmas – there’s no other holiday in which music plays such a major role. And what a blessing that so much of the music of Christmas centers around the incarnation of our Savior! At no other time of the year are you likely to turn on a secular radio station or walk into a store and hear songs about Jesus. It’s one of the things that makes Christmas music so special.
Here’s a collection of all my favorites – and many you’ve suggested! I’ll continue adding more songs as the years go by, so let me know your nomination for the best Christmas songs of all time in the comments!
(Note: I do not necessarily endorse all of the songwriters or performers listed below, the churches/organizations they represent, any other songs they may have written or performed, or their theology. If you decide to follow any of these people or groups, check out their theology first to make sure it’s biblical.)
1. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
This one is my all time favorite because of the awesome gospel theology wrapped in ribbons of beautiful wording. Just a few of my favorite phrases:
God and sinners reconciled Veiled in flesh the godhead see, hail th’ incarnate deity Mild, He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth
2. It’s About the Cross
This is my favorite “non-carol” Christmas song. The beginning of the story is wonderful and great, but it’s the ending that can save you and that’s why we celebrate. The incarnation of Christ has always been about the cross and the resurrection.
3. Handel’s Messiah
Yes, I know it’s way more than one song, but, having performed it several times, I can honestly say I love the whole thing. Much of it is Scripture (verbatim) set to some of the best music ever written for a choir. Phenomenal.
4. Glorious Impossible
One of the more recent Christmas songs out there, it’s chock full of allusions to Scripture and the gospel.
5. Angels We Have Heard on High
It adequately handles the Christmas narrative, but I have to admit, I love this song for the chorus. It has a beautiful, intricately-woven, nearly ethereal sounding harmonic structure, and a simple, yet profound message: “Glory to God in the highest.”
6. Jesus, What a Wonderful Child
6. Jesus, What a Wonderful Child– Sometimes a great song is packed with good theology, and sometimes a great song expresses one simple idea. Jesus, What a WonderfulChild is one of the latter. If you’ve read the title, you’ve got the main idea. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun!
7. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
I love how this song captures the idea that when Jesus came the first time, “we didn’t know who You were.” And nobody does it like Mahalia Jackson.
8. Christmas Offering
This song draws the parallel between the offerings of the wise men and our offering of worship, the gift our King most desires.
9. Christ is Born
I know, I know, it’s twangy and most people don’t like Southern Gospel music. That’s OK, I do. And you’ve gotta love a Christmas song that starts out with the Fall of Man.
10. Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy
This is another one that made the list because of the music. The lyrics are a simple retelling of the journey of the magi, but the music just takes you right out to the desert and plops you down on a camel’s back.
11. Joy to the World
As Christians, many things in this life bring us sadness and discouragement: grief over our sin, prodigal children, death of loved ones, persecution, suffering. There is no better antidote to our sorrows than to focus on the joy we have in Christ. This is a beautiful, classical-style rendition of Joy to the World.
12. Light of the Stable
I love this song’s upbeat focus on Jesus as Light, King, and Savior. I can almost imagine myself in Bethlehem, bowing down before my infant King.
13. Silent Night
What Christmas music collective would be complete without Silent Night? Does your congregation sing this hymn at your Christmas Eve service or other special worship times? Grace Community Church does, and they sound just lovely.
14. Come on Ring those Bells
Were you even a Christian in the 80’s if you didn’t have Evie’s Christmas album? This song probably sounds cheesy to younger ears today, but approaching the birth of Christ as “the greatest celebration of them all” definitely has a nice ring to it. (Yes, I went there. :0)
15. Go Tell
There’s an undeniable evangelism motif in the story of Christ’s birth. Gabriel told Mary about Jesus. The angels told the shepherds the good news. And the shepherds…well they told everyone what they’d witnessed. That’s the theme of this Great Commission toe-tapper: GO. TELL.
16. O Little Town of Bethlehem
In the eyes of the world, Bethlehem was nothing special. It wasn’t the center of commerce or the seat of governmental power. It was just a little town of no consequence. Until…Jesus. This song, sung so delightfully by these four brothers in Christ, reminds us that Jesus is what makes the ordinary… extraordinary.
17. Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
In a magnificent use of metaphor, this song casts Jesus Himself as the beautiful “star” of Bethlehem. And indeed, for Believers, Jesus is that “star divine,” lighting and guiding the way “unto the land of perfect day,” when we finally see Him, in all of His glory, face to face.
18. Ordinary Baby
Jesus was fully God, but sometimes we forget that He was also fully man. And not just fully man, but an ordinary, nondescript man. He was approachable, not elite. Personable, not intimidating. Accessible to kings and paupers alike. The Erwin siblings deliver this simple song with smooth and mellow charm.
19. We Are the Reason
The tradition of Christmas time gift giving is an homage to the gifts the wise men gave Jesus. But what about the “greatest gift of our lives” that Jesus gave us? He gave all He could give to us: His life, forgiveness of sin, salvation. Avalon handily dusts off this CCM classic and freshens it up for a 21st century audience.
20. O Holy Night
Christ, the thrill of hope, entered our darkened world on that holy night so long ago. As the soft, plaintive melody gradually swells into a great and glorious crescendo, we are reminded of how long the world pined away in sin and error, punctuated by the resplendent arrival of her Savior and King, much the same way we await His second coming today.
21. Sing We the Song of Emmanuel
One of the reasons I’m not crazy about contemporary Reformed worship hymns as a genre is that so many of them sound like funeral dirges. There’s no joy. They’re slower than Christmas. Not this one. This is a song about a joyful event that actually sounds joyful. Hope alive, let the gospel ring! Sing it with joy in your heart and a smile on your face!
22. He Who Is Mighty
Another contemporary one I’ve grown to love in recent years. A modern day Magnificat. Indeed, Christ has “shattered the darkness and lifted our shame,” and Holy is His name.
New This Year!
23. O Come All You Unfaithful
The author of this song explains that her inspiration for the lyrics came from singing O Come All Ye Faithful at church during a particularly difficult Christmas season when she felt very unfaithful. But I would argue that Christians are simultaneously the faithful of O Come All Ye Faithful and the unfaithful of this song.
We are the barren and waiting ones who have nothing, and for whom Christ was born, and that is precisely why we joyfully and triumphantly come and adore Christ the Lord.
Bonus Nomination: Best Christmas Album
This is largely a nostalgic, rather than theological, nomination. My favorite Christmas record album growing up was Have a Happy Holiday with Lorne Greene. If you appreciate a classic, masculine baritone, you’ll want to grab a copy. (I still have mine!)
Was Jesus really born in a barn? Did the angels actually sing? How many wise men were there, really?
There are lots of components of the Christmas story that we’ve come to accept as gospel truth, but that the Bible doesn’t actually teach. Here are some great resources to help us better understand the details surrounding the biblical account of the birth of Christ.
Did Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem?
The Bible doesn’t tell us, so we don’t know for sure. She could have ridden a donkey. She could have ridden in a cart. She could have walked. All Scripture tells us is that Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem. It doesn’t say how they got there.
Was Mary in active labor when she and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem?
It makes for dramatic nativity movies, but it’s very unlikely. God Himself had given Joseph the enormous and grave task of taking care of Mary and Jesus. You’ve seen first time dads and the weight of responsibility they feel to protect and provide for their wives and their own babies. This was God’s Son. Joseph must have been quaking in his sandals to make sure he got everything right. He certainly would not have waited until Mary was near her due date and risked her delivering the baby in the open country on the trip (not to mention outside of Bethlehem, which would have failed to fulfill prophecy).
Luke 2:6 says:
And while they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to give birth.
“While they were there,” not “as soon as they got there.” “The time came,” not “IT’S TIME, JOSEPH! Find me a room NOW!” The phraseology of this verse suggests that Mary and Joseph spent some time in Bethlehem before Jesus was born. Rather than taking Mary to Bethlehem at the last minute, it’s much more likely that Joseph carefully prepared for the trip, made sure to get there with plenty of time to spare, and made arrangements to stay in Bethlehem until the baby was born.
Was Jesus born in a barn or stable? And what about that innkeeper?
Luke 2:7 tells us:
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
To our western minds, an inn is like a hotel – a business that rents rooms to travelers. But in biblical times, the cultural rules of hospitality dictated that travelers stay with family, friends, or anyone who would extend hospitality to them. Thus, there was no hotel-like “inn” in Bethlehem, and, of course, no innkeeper.
The Greek word kataluma, usually rendered as “inn” in Luke 2:7 is more accurately rendered “guest room” or “upper room” (of a home) – the same sort of “upper room” Jesus used for the Last Supper. One of Joseph’s relatives would have welcomed him and Mary into their home when they got to Bethlehem. But because Bethlehem was packed with visitors arriving for the census, the guest room of the home they stayed in was likely already full. So instead of giving birth in the crowded upper room of the home, Mary moved to the lower room. This lower room would have had space for the animals to be brought in at night, complete with a feed trough (manger), giving her a convenient cradle for the little Lord Jesus to lay down His sweet head. Jesus was not born in the kind of barn or stable we think of in America and usually see in traditional nativity scenes.
Did Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem? Was she in active labor when she arrived? Was Jesus born in a barn/stable? And what about that innkeeper? Time to bust some popular Christmas myths!
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes But little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes
Until I started researching this article, I didn’t realize that some people think Jesus never cried as a baby because of these two lines from the Christmas carol Away in a Manger.
I don’t think that was the hymnist’s intent. The stanza reads as though, in that particular moment when He woke up, Jesus was content and happy, not that He never ever cried.
Furthermore, we know from Scripture that Jesus was not only fully God, He was also fully human. Human babies cry when they’re hungry or tired or sick or in pain or a thousand other scenarios. That’s how they communicate. Jesus was a real live human baby who cried, nursed, spit up, burped, needed His diaper changed, fell down when He was learning to walk, and had to be potty trained. The only type of crying we know He never did was sinful crying – because He didn’t get His own way, because He was angry and frustrated, etc. – since we know Jesus was without sin.
Hark! Did the “herald angels” actually sing?
It’s possible, but we don’t know for sure. We know that the gloria in excelsis deo proclamation was spoken to the shepherds because Luke 2:13-14 says.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, โGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!โ
But it also says they were praising God. In the Bible, though praise can be expressed in many ways, singing is one of the most common and natural ways of praising God. So while we know the angels weren’t singing exclusively, there’s no reason they couldn’t have been singing at some point.
At least two (because the Bible speaks of them in the plural), but possibly a whole passel of them. Our minds are set to “three” because the Bible mentions that they brought three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh, because of Christmas carols like We Three Kings, and because every nativity set comes equipped with three wise men. But it’s just as possible that two wise men gave three gifts, or that three gifts were given corporately by a larger group of wise men.
Did Jesus cry as a baby? Hark! Did the “herald angels” actually sing? Just how many wise men *were* there, exactly? Ready to bust some Christmas myths? Check this out!
The end of Luke 2 tells us the story of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the temple to offer the appropriate sacrifice for Him as “the first male to open the womb”. While they’re there, Simeon shows up and prophesies over Jesus and Mary. And “at that very hour” Anna also “began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” But nowhere does the passage even hint that they were married to each other, or that they even knew one another.
I think a lot of people mentally marry Anna to Simeon because their stories are back to back, because they showed up at the temple at the same time, and because we tend to assume they were both elderly. (Anna was at least 84, but, technically, we’re never told Simeon’s age or that he was elderly.) But verse 37 clearly tells us that Anna “lived as a widow”. She wasn’t married to anyone, including Simeon.
How many babies were murdered in the slaughter of the innocents?
Matthew 2:16 tells us that an enraged King Herod “sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under” in an attempt to murder Jesus. We tend to think of scores, even hundreds, of babies being murdered in this event which has come to be known as “The Slaughter [or Massacre] of the Innocents.” But as the beloved Christmas carol states, it’s “O little town of Bethlehem”. Bethlehem had a population of approximately 1500. Statistically speaking, scores or hundreds of baby boys age two and under in a population that size would have been impossible. Twelve to fifteen – still a horrifying tragedy- would be more accurate.
Does Christmas have pagan origins, and does that mean Christians shouldn’t celebrate it?
No, and no. Christians celebrating the incarnation of Christ is Christian, not pagan, and Christians are free to celebrate (or not) Christ’s incarnation any day of the year, including December 25.
Do some aspects of the celebration of Christmas find their origin in millennia-old paganism? Possibly. But are you participating in that paganism if you put up a tree or give gifts at Christmas? Probably not. The โChristmas is paganโ lore is so ancient and uncertain that most people arenโt even aware of it. How could you possibly be participating in paganism if youโre not even aware of its existence, you have no intention of participating in it, and it has nothing to do with your reasons for celebrating?
Does Christmas have Catholic origins, and does that mean Christians shouldn’t celebrate it?
Maybe you’ve heard people say that the word โChristmasโ means โChristโs mass,โ so Christmas is Roman Catholic and Christians shouldnโt celebrate it or use the word โChristmasโ.
Itโs true that the word โChristmasโ is a shortened form of โChristโs massโ. It first appeared in English usage as Crฤซstesmรฆsse in 10381, and, at that time, it did refer to the Roman Catholic mass celebrating the birth of Christ.
Youโll note that 1038 was long before the Protestant Reformation. In 1038, Roman Catholicism was the primary manifestation of any form of Christianity. There was no other church. So, at that time, if you were going to refer to a religious observance of the birth of Christ, you naturally would have couched it in Catholic vernacular. You would not have had any other frame of reference for Christianity.
But the word โChristmasโ has come a long way in the last thousand years. It no longer refers exclusively or primarily to a Roman Catholic mass. It refers to all kinds of things surrounding December 25 and the birth of Christ, from a Christmas worship service at your own doctrinally sound church to Christmas sales, presents, trees, carols, 5Ks, parties and everything else under the sun that takes place this time of year. Itโs perfectly fine for Christians to use the word โChristmasโ. I mean, โThursdayโ started out as โThorโs Day“. Itโs actually named after a false god, and none of us bat an eye when it rolls around every week, so why would โChristmasโ be problematic?
But if you have a sensitive conscience and it bothers you to use the word โChristmas,โ why not try on โIncarnation Dayโ and see how it fits? Or maybe โNoelโ? It derives from Old French and means โbirthโ or โbirthdayโ1.
As for celebrating Christmas, itโs not required by Scripture, so you donโt have to observe the day if you donโt want to, but I would plead with you, donโt use โbecause itโs Catholicโ as your reason. Donโt dignify that evil, apostate religious system โ which has sent millions to Hell โ with the power to be a factor in your spiritual decision making. Donโt let it keep you from celebrating the birth of your Lord in the biblical way of your choosing. They donโt have that right, and you shouldnโt give them that power. I would encourage you to read my article Is Christmas Pagan?. Everything in it applies to Catholicism as well.
Does Jeremiah 10:3-4 (and other passages) prohibit Christmas trees?
for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Jeremiah 10:3-4
Itโs imperative to look to Scripture to make sure that none of our Christmas traditions conflict with Godโs Word. But we need to make sure we’re handling God’s Word rightly and in context.
If we read all of Jeremiah 10, it’s very clear that the entire chapter is talking about idol worship. The English Standard Version even has a little heading at the top that says, โIdols and the Living Godโ.
Verses 3-4 of Jeremiah 10 are not referring to Christmas trees. They’re talking about ancient pagans – not Christians – chopping down trees to create wooden idols to worship, not chopping down a tree and decorating it – as is – in honor of the birth of Christ, or for any other reason. Itโs talking about the crafting of wooden idols.
We know this because of the phrase in verse 3, “worked by the hands of a craftsman”. Some translations render it “a craftsman shapes it with his chisel”. The craftsman carved a piece of wood into an idol which was then often dipped into or plated with gold or silver. This is exactly whatโs being described in verses 8-9:
the instruction of idols is but wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; [the clothing the craftsman would dress the idols in] they are all the work of skilled men.
Idol worship is the “custom of the peoples (pagans) that is vanity,โ as it says in verse 3, and that is what God prohibits in this passage, not Christmas trees.
Neither do the passages of Scripture that refer to idol worship taking place under โevery green treeโ prohibit Christmas trees. I can only surmise this false belief came into being because โevery green treeโ sounds like โevergreen tree,โ which is what Christmas trees are. There are several verses that use this phrase, โevery green tree.โ Hereโs one of them:
You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. Deuteronomy 12:2
Again, all of the verses that use this phrase are talking about idol worship, because thatโs apparently where the idol worship took place. The tree itself wasnโt intrinsically evil, itโs the fact that people were using it in their idol worship.
So, unless you’re worshiping your Christmas tree as an idol, or youโre using your Christmas tree as some sort of altar from which to worship an idol, your Christmas tree itself isnโt evil. You donโt have to have a Christmas tree in your house if you donโt want one, but you canโt use these Scripture passages to justify your choice or to bind the consciences of other Believers.
Isn’t using the term “X-mas” somehow taking Christ out of Christmas?
No. But itโs kind of understandable that people would think that the โXโ in X-mas is removing Christ or genericizing Christmas. We use the letter X as an unknown variable in math. We might see a detergent commercial in which one of the bottles is labeled โbrand Xโ instead of its real name. So it can kind of seem like X is a place-filler or that it can stand for practically anything.
But thatโs not the case with the X in X-mas. That X has a finite value. X = 1, the One and only, Jesus Christ. How do we know that?
In the term X-mas, rather than the letter X taking Christ out of Christmas, the letter X actually stands for Christ.
There are lots of myths about Christmas flying around out there. And there are lots of sentimental and striking details of the Christmas story we’ve come to embrace over the years. But it’s imperative that we get our theology from the Bible, not Christmas carols, traditions, and assumptions. Yet even more important than donkeys and stables and trees is why Jesus came – to save sinners like you and me.
Please note, I am not thoroughly familiar with the theology of every site linked above. I have only vetted the specific articles that are linked. I do not endorse anything at the sites above that conflict with my theology as outlined in my “Statement of Faith” and “Welcome” tabs at the top of this page. Please reject any theology you may come across at these sites that conflicts with God’s Word.
