“In the little village of Bethlehem, there lay a child one day; and the sky was bright with a holy light, O’er the place where Jesus lay. Alleluia! How the angels sang! Alleluia, how it rang! And the sky was bright, with a holy light, ‘Twas the birthday of a King.” (William Harold Neidlinger, 1863-1924)
And, oh, what a birthday that was! History had to be rewritten because of it. Potentates quaked at the news of that birthday. Calendars world-wide give evidence every day to it and documents are dated with reference to what happened before and after that indelible date.
We who know the Word of God know it is no accident that all the world once a year sets aside a day to commemorate the most important birthday of all time. It is an event that impacted time and eternity for it is the birthdate of the King that is Lord of time and of history.
The birthday of the King: we will, in a few days, be remembering His birthday with special gatherings and celebrations.
If one were to ask a dozen “men on the street” why Jesus came into the world, no doubt there would be nearly a dozen different answers offered. But if one were to ask the Lord Jesus Christ Himself why He was born, why He came into the world in the humble fashion with which He made His entry, there would be one answer given and it would echo the answer Jesus gave to Pilate in his Judgement Hall:
“To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world: that I should bear witness unto the truth.” (John 18:37)
Why was Jesus born? He came into the world to bear witness to the truth:
- He bore witness to the truth regarding SIN. The Devil had lied to mankind regarding the results of sin: “…ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen.3:5)
- The Devil had lied to mankind regarding the responsibility for sin: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” (Gen. 3:4)
- The deceiver has been lying to men ever since regarding the results and responsibility for sin.
Jesus minced no words when he confronted the religious leaders of His day: “Ye are of your father, the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
- Jesus testified of the truth regarding the results and responsibility for sin:
“I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24)
“…whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” (John 8:34b)
Winston Churchill once said, “Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” He went on to affirm that truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it; ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. Jesus came to bear witness of the truth. Men did deride it and it was viciously attacked, but the witness from heaven came and delivered and there it is.
So, our Lord was born into this world to bear witness to the truth regarding sin, the results of sin and the responsibility for sin.
“The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; the light of the world is Jesus.”
But our Savior also testified to the truth regarding SALVATION. Consider His truthful testimony to:
- Nicodemus: “…except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
- The woman at the well: “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst: but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
- To His Disciples: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6)
- To Martha: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?” (John 11:26)
- To unbelieving Jews: “Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:47)
- To the Jews again: “Verily, verily I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” (John 8:51)
- Again, to His Disciples: “I am the door; by me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9)
- To the blind man that He had healed “…for judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see….” (John 9:39)
- To a tax collector that had faith in Jesus: “…this day salvation is come to this house forasmuch as he also is the son of Abraham…for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:9,10)
- And, to a woman known to be a sinner who anointed Jesus’ feet: “…thy sins are forgiven…thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48,50)
So, on the upcoming birthday of the King, we have so much to celebrate, not the least of which is why He came to this earth, became a servant, was made like as we, His created beings, remaining sinless while becoming sin so that we who are sinners could become ultimately like Him, sinless. He came, as He would tell the Roman interrogator, to testify to the world of the awful results of sin and the truth about the responsibility for it. Satan has deceived mankind since he lied to Adam and Eve about what sin would result in; Jesus came to set the record straight about it, but not only about sin but about salvation. The old Devil-Liar had from the beginning lied about salvation, how to receive it and what would happen to those who did. The proto-type of salvation, true and false, can be seen in Genesis 4 where Cain believed the Devil’s lie about how to be saved while his brother rejected Satan’s falsehood about this crucial matter. History since has been the working out of the histories of men and women, those who believe Satan or those who reject his deceit. None will stand before the final judgment bar of God with any excuse for going to Hell: Jesus came, in person, giving His life in so doing, to set the record straight. He told the truth. There it is.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
YOU and GOD 