Why Did He Do It?

Christmas is really about Jesus Christ. He left heaven where all power, glory and praise was His and came to this earth where He was rejected, hated and abused beyond adequate description. The Bible puts it this way. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” Philippians 2:5-8.

Imagine that! He was the creator of all things. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made,” John 1:3. He is the “Almighty,” Revelation 1:8. There can be many who are mighty, but there is only one Almighty. Jesus Christ was (and is) “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords,” 1 Timothy 6:15. Nobody made Him come here and go through that absolutely horrendous, bloody, mind-boggling ordeal. He did it voluntarily, of His own free will. Hear it in His own words. “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” Matthew 28:18. “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself,” John 10:18.

What would move Him to do such a thing? Just one thing: His love for you and me. Yes! “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,” John 3:16. God knew that all of us are sinners and that sin has consequences. “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23. That’s not merely a grave, it’s separation from God. Unless sin is properly addressed, the separation is eternal in a lake of fire. No man is capable of properly addressing his sins. Only the blood of an innocent, sinless sacrifice can do it. If the sin problem damning every man was to be addressed, God would have to personally address it. Only He is sinless and qualified. Would He give Himself in the place of sinners or would He stand by and let all of them perish in the lake of fire? We know the answer to that question. He’d willingly and voluntarily do for them what they could not do for themselves. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for us . . . God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” Romans 5:6, 8. What made Him do it? Love, not for the lovely and good; but love for us as unlovely as we are! “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us,” 1 John 3:16.

Oh what a joyous season Christmas is! We love the special time with family and other loved ones. We make little chubs out of ourselves with all that great food. Who doesn’t like to be remembered with special cards and gifts? So much glitter, the festivities, a little time off from work! I love those beautiful Christmas trees and all those decorations. The music is great, especially the carols. The kids are all full of anticipation. The excitement is contagious. Yes, it’s a great, great season!

But, the bottom line is Jesus Christ! Christmas is really about Him. Our hope is in Him. If He had not come, Christmas and life would be empty, meaningless. There would be no hope, especially beyond the grave. It would all be about right here; and with aging, disease, death and a world that is more and more dangerous and out of control there couldn’t be very much joy. The good news is that He did come; and while He was here He died on the cross, went to the grave and three days late conquered it in resurrection. Yes, that’s really good news. Upon the strength of what He did, every man can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Someday the body will go back to the earth from which it came, but the spirit of all who come to Christ for forgiveness of sins and eternal life will go to be with God forever.

In view of His coming and sacrifice Jesus said, “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,” John 10:28. Friend, don’t miss Christmas. It’s about Jesus Christ doing for you what you cannot do for yourself. You have one and only one lifetime to get it right. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely,” Revelation 22:17.