A “humbug” is a person or object that behaves in a deceptive or dishonest way, sometimes meant to be a joke played on others.
When referring to a person, a “humbug” means a fake. Today, the word is most associated with Ebenezer Scrooge, a character created by Charles Dickens. You may remember Scrooge’s reference to the celebration of Christmas, “Bah! Humbug!”, declaring Christmas to be a fraud, from the book, A Christmas Carol, and commonly used in stage and television versions. The word also prominently used in The Wizard of Oz, where the wizard describes himself as “just a humbug.”
When used in reference to Christmas, the word must surely be demonic in inspiration, for the devil certainly is God’s number one enemy. My purpose here is not to debate whether or not the Christian should celebrate Christmas as a December 25 holiday. I will boldly state this, the Incarnation of the promised Messiah definitely is something we could, and should, honor with a spirit of celebration. However, notably Christians routinely allow themselves to be involved in worldly aspects of Christmas, which mask the “reason for the season.”
I used to ask Christians the question, “Why do we give presents at Christmas?” The most common response: “Because the three kings brought presents to Jesus!”
First, the Bible does not speak of “three” kings, or even three “wise men”. You may check that for yourself. Second, if these wise men brought gifts in the way modern Christians do gifts, they would have brought them and simply exchanged them with one another.
Let’s take a biblical look at The Deeper Side of Christmas:
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:18-23)
I just want to point out two great truths to grasp from these Scriptures. First, God is for Us! He is on our side. He wants to help us. Then, God is with Us! He came to us. He became one of us. His purpose was to rescue us.
Philippians 2:5-8 reveals the deeper side of Christmas —
“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.”
Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross was an amazing gift to all who would receive it, and I trust you have or will very soon. However, have you given any thought to all the sacrifices Jesus made?
First, have you considered His sacrifice of leaving His eternal home in heaven to live among us? He left behind some things we can only imagine, and not too keenly at that. He left the internal, eternal fellowship of the Trinitarian Godhead. He would now be a part of something somewhat different.
He left behind all the glories of heaven, including the continual praise of angels. Beloved, this so far is a huge sacrifice!
However, let us continue looking at His sacrificial journey. The next sacrifice I want you to consider is the incarnation process, beginning with the immaculate, pure, faultless, conception. In ways that blows my mind to understand, Jesus, the Son of God, Himself became entombed within the womb of a virgin for a period of approximately nine months, having been fathered by the Holy Spirit. Folks, the Creator placed Himself inside creation! Then, the birth itself was a sacrificing act!
After His birth, the whole of the rest of His earthly life was sacrificial. The One Who spoke the universe into existence, now must work with His human hands to accomplish all that He needed for His own earthly existence. Biblically, we know He performed no miracles whatsoever until after His baptism and filling with the Spirit of God.
Yes, everything about Jesus is sacrificial giving.
Beloved believer, the Deeper Side of Christmas is the Cross! Jesus was born (incarnate) only to die! The Cross of Jesus is the revelation of God’s judgment on sin. Forget any notion or idea that Jesus became a martyr for some good cause. The Cross, forever a divinely enacted victory that shook the very foundations of hell. Do not be confused about the purpose behind Christmas! Christmas was God making a way for humanity to be restored to Him. The whole meaning of Christmas, the Incarnation, was the Cross! Do not lose sight of the Deeper Side of Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
