By Olatokunbo Odunuga
Behold, the euphoric December season of goodwill is here; crept in stealthily but surely. It’s a period that Christians and even non-Christians, in every nation of the world, universally acknowledge as unique and extraordinary.
The atmosphere seems saturated with the echoes of love and mercy droplets generally associated with the season that commemorates the event that took place in the ancient city of David over two thousand years ago.
Traditionally’, it marks the time of the year when the Sovereign Lord of the Universe, the Majesty of the Heaven of heavens and the King of Eternity incarnated into the limitation of time when Mary’s boy-child Jesus Christ was born on ” Christmas ” day.
The Incarnate Lord, the Harbinger, and Author of Peace [Isaiah 9:6, John 14:27] left His Father’s throne above and interpenetrated Space and Time. It was the goodwill mode of the awesome event that made the humble shepherds watching over their flocks that glorious night to experience the angelic visitation that they neither anticipated nor even prayed for.
CONTROVERSY OVER DATE OF BIRTH :
There had been recurring controversies over His birth being on December 25, the date initiated by Roman Emperor Constantine in 336 A.D.
A school of thought posited that the severely harsh harmattan of Palestine in December wouldn’t have allowed the shepherds to expose their flocks in an open field overnight, as they would have frozen to death.
It was also opined that since our Lord lived for thirty-three and a half years and was crucified on the “Easter“- Acts 12:4 KJV (rightly, Passover – NKJV, NIV, NLT, etc), traditionally in late March/April, the half year factor indicates that He was born six months prior to March/April, i.e. September/October. But the date controversies don’t negate the reality of our Lord’s incarnation.
THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM :
It was also the same goodwill that made the star of Bethlehem appear to the Magi (their number not biblically stated but historically indicated as three- namely, Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar. Please accept or ignore this; as again, their number doesn’t negate the reality of the birth of Jesus, and you may make reference to Encyclopedia Britannica or Google).
They were recorded to be oriental heathen kings from Persia, India and Arabia whereas the Jewish priests and scribes, who were then designated ‘sons of the kingdom’ and knew the letters of the scriptures concerning where the Messiah would be born [Matthew 2: 4-6] were not even aware of the stupendous, earth- shaking event, playing out right under their noses.
Wherever bigoted children of the Kingdom like Balaam allow themselves to be bewitched, the Sovereign God can use “God-fearing” unbelievers as the ass to act and speak [Numbers 22: 23-30; Galatians 3:1].
The Star heralded the culmination of the promise of the Seed of the woman [Genesis 3: 15], the hope of the world; the Daystar from on High who came to give Light to those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death and to guide their feet into the way of peace [Luke 2: 78-79].
THE MAGI ABDICATED THEIR THRONES :
The Magi purportedly responded to the grace by abdicating their thrones with all the imperial privileges and embarked on the arduous wilderness journey for about 4 years (to and fro) at a point in history when there were no aircrafts or automobiles.
What a price! It was the fact of the two years earlier, when they first saw the star and left their domains that Herod extrapolated to deduce his evil mathematical calculations and destroyed babies two years old and below! After the Orientals encountered the celestial Daystar, Jesus the Sun of Righteousness, they no longer needed the lesser star to lead them back to their countries because wherever and whenever the sun rises, stars vanish into oblivion.
ABUNDANT LIFE, NOT MATERIAL LIFE :
What if Jesus did not come? Life definitely would have been universally gloomier, more tragic, and miserably dreary, directionless, and meaningless.
But then He did come! What was the purpose of His coming? He came primarily to redeem mankind from sin and purposeless living. He Himself declared in John 10:10 that He had come that we may have Life (Zoe) and have it more abundantly. ‘Zoe’ life, a spiritual dimension, not ‘bios’ life, not ‘psuche’ life; which are physical and soulical, but an intangible, invisible, and untouchable dimension of life eternal!
Alas, some often erroneously misunderstand this “abundant life” to mean abundance of material goods, more often so misled by some 21st century commercial preachers and covetous shepherds who are actually wolves in sheeps’ clothings. But far from it! Aptly, Professor Leon Morris said, ” Jesus came to bring men to God, not property to man.”
BIBLICAL PRECEDENCE
The abundant life has to do primarily with the fullness of Christ. Job, who was born about 1,990 years before Jesus and also Isaac, Jacob, and even the crude Nabal, all already had abundance of livestock and material goods long before the advent of Jesus.
The very richest men presently on this terrestrial ball generally have no relationship with or any desire for Jesus Christ. And I believe we are aware of some of them and their philosophy for living.
John, the apostle who was inspired to write John 10: 10, declared Peter’s assets and his own by implication as ‘silver and gold have I none’ [Acts 3: 4, 6]. Paul, who asserted in 2 Corinthians 8 :9 that Christ came to enrich us, declared unequivocally that he did not have this world’s goods, as he deliberately counted them as dung [refuse, garbage] in comparison to the excellency of the knowledge of Christ but he did have the fullness of Christ, i.e. spiritual riches – [Phillipians 3:8; Ephesians 1:3].
He lived out the principle of his epistle in 2 Timothy 6:8, content with having food and covering [ actually: shelter, dwelling place] Hence it wasn’t a matter for Paul to live in a rented apartment towards the end of his life in his early sixties [ Acts 28:20].
Even our Lord Jesus Christ declared, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head.”- [Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58 NLT]. And unlike the 1st century Paul,
I have observed that many 21st century Christians are prone to deliberately misread “every other things” ( in the whole wide world ) instead of “all these things” into Matthew 6:33, which contextually refers only to “what to eat”; “what to drink”; and “what to wear” in the preceding verses 31 and 32. That is, primarily, all basic needs or necessities [ Philippians 4:19 ].
Hear John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, before he transited at 88, “If I leave behind me £10, you and all mankind bear witness against me that I lived and died a thief and a robber.” The foregoing from Lord Jesus Christ, Paul, Wesley and 1 Timothy 6: 9-10 ought to be our counterpoise against greed and discontentment.
FURTHER ON MATERIALISM? :
Sequel to what was stated about Paul’s bountiful acquisition of spiritual riches, may I also mention that there is nothing intrinsically evil or wrong with these world’s goods, if legitimately earned or acquired and God is in the equation except that they have nothing to do with God’s priority or ultimate intention.
Even the well-quoted John 3: 16 states that God gave us His only begotten Son …that we may have ETERNAL Life. Hear Prof. C. S. Lewis of Oxford / Cambridge, ” Whatever is not eternal is eternally useless.”
However, our possessions, much or moderate but if legitimate, impose on us the responsibility of Kingdom stewardship! If the sole purpose of turning the table to provide us with the abundant life in the material sense, then He needed not have come at all because the likes of Solomon who was born about 1,000 years before Jesus came had already been enabled to acquire all the bounties and goodies beyond measure [1 Kings 3: 13].
So, it is this wrong belief that Christ came to make material acquisitions- inordinate or otherwise- normative to all christians that emboldens many to veer off into covetousness, a stock of Gehazi and Demas who are not bothered about how they acquire- the end justifying the means syndrome, ignoring the eternal truth that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions [Luke 12:15].
STUPENDOUS FEATS?
Jesus performed other miraculous feats such as healings, deliverance, raising the dead, etc, but all these are electives, not the core mission of the Kingdom. Moses was on ground about 1,760 years before Jesus came at all, and he performed stupendous feats and miracles; so did Elisha.
He also did not come primarily so that we may be pre-qualified to go to literal heaven immediately after death. Not at all! Noah came 2,944 years before Jesus and already pre-qualified for “heaven,” so were Job and Daniel [Ezekiel 14: 14]. Even Enoch, who came 3,378 years before Jesus, was literally ‘ parachuted ‘ up to the heavenlies [Genesis 5 : 24]; so did Elijah in a fiery spacecraft.
None of the departed believers from Adam till this very hour are yet in heaven as generally believed [ John 3:13], but in Hades [Sheol], with one wing Abraham’s bosom or Paradise, an ecstatically blissful state for believers and the other an agonizing hellish state [ Luke16: 19-26], the former awaiting the seventh and last Trumpet [Psalm 16: 10 [NKJV]; 1 Thess. 4:16].
Or was it so that faith in God may be inaugurated on Earth? Not really! Abraham who was born about 2,000 years before Jesus, already had faith and was even certified as the father of faith, so were Joseph, Jephthah and others listed in Hebrews 11 as heroes of Faith long before the advent of Jesus.
WHY DID JESUS COME? :
What is the conclusion of the matter? Now, did Jesus come merely that this would be a season to be engrossed with superfluous dining, wining, and festivities? Not at all! For emphasis, Christ came into the world to save sinners [ 1 Tim. 1:15] and that we may have Life, divine life [ John10:10 ], to be partakers of His divine nature [ 2 Peter 1:4 ].
This He accomplished, in accordance with the economy of God, His eternal purpose, by redemption and tabernacling in us [John 1: 14, 1 Corinthians 6: 19].
Thus, each of us had become part of His many mansions – His abodes, His dwelling place. So God became Man by incarnation, that man can become as God in resurrected life as we, by grace, conform to Christ’s image [Romans 8 :29], grow into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ [Ephesians 4: 13].
Our reconstitution to heavenly citizenship! Indeed, that is what was predestinated. Anything less is a short-change! So, by His grace and out of gratitude to Him, who was the best gift of love from heaven to mankind, we purpose deliberately to come after Christ, denying self, and carrying our cross daily [Luke 9:23],
Now, in oneness of the Spirit, I wish you all a Christ-filled, ecstatic season, enjoying the marvels of His grace and wonders of His love, as we all flow triumphantly through the remaining part of this year 2025 into a beautiful, flourishing, and fulfilling New Year 2026.
Friends, Jesus Christ, is indeed the reason for this season and for all the beautiful seasons, as well as the very reason for our very existence in season and out of season.
Christ the Son of God, the only Potentate, dwelling in unapproachable light. God our Saviour, the Only Wise One, to whom alone be Glory, Majesty, Dominion, and Power now and forevermore. Amen! SHALOM!- With love,
ODUNUGA, O. O.