Christmas, celebrating the birth of a new born king. A season of rejoicing, spending time with family and friends, eating and drinking as much as you like, the atmosphere of goodwill and cheer.
Underlying all this, is an event so tragic that it is most times left out – ‘The Massacre of the Innocents’. This event happened around the time Jesus was born when Herod ordered the death of all children two years and below in Bethlehem. This event challenges the sentimental depiction of Christmas because as Jesus was born into the world, children were killed. This is not the warm merry scene we are drawn to at Christmas. The birth of a child caused the death of ‘others’ and ironically he was punished and killed so that ‘others’ may live.
The underlying tale of Christmas is that a child was born to die. A king was born to suffer for the lives of you and me. We celebrate the birth of a king but become lost in the celebration that we forget the other part of the tale as to why he was born. Despite Mary and Joseph’s escape to Egypt, He was not able to escape the tale foretold before His birth.
He was despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him. But [in fact] He has borne our griefs, and He has carried our sorrows and pains; yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken, Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; the punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him, and by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3-5 AMP)
Hence, during this period, we should not be lost in celebration but remember the purpose of his birth. A Child was born; One whose fate was so tragic that he was born to be oppressed, afflicted and die so that we could live. This is the reason why we should Celebrate, we have a hope and access to Eternal Life and Fellowship with our Father!
CANDENTIA. 