Were the 3 Wise Men not there to celebrate Jesus birthday? First of all nowhere does the Word Of God actually say there were 3 of them. It only mentions 3 types of gifts given, but for what reason? For His birthday? No. Jesus was a KING! They recognized that He was a king and did what was the custom at that time of bringing specific expensive gifts when visiting a king. There were not actually there giving Him birthday presents, but gifts of honor for a king! The Bible says they did not come to celebrate His birth but to worship Him as a KING! Are these not good reasons to celebrate this holiday? This is what the Bible says.
"here is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." (Matthew 2:2)
How do we know this visit was not for Christ's birthday? Because according to what the Bible really says, the wise men did not even visit Him in the manger at the time of His birth. When they arrived after their very long journey, (some Biblical scholars estimate perhaps as long as 2 years), they came to a visit a "YOUNG CHILD" in His "HOUSE", not a babe in a manger. They worshiped Him and then presented their royal gifts of "gold, and frankincense, and myrrh"to the King they came to honor! This is what the Bible actually says.
"and when they were come into the HOUSE, they saw the YOUNG CHILD with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." (Matt 2:11)
Did the wise men exchange gifts with one another? No. They gave them to Jesus! "They presented unto him gifts." So why do we give gifts to each other instead of our Savior? Where did this selfish custom come from? If you are REALLY putting Christ back into Christmas you would be giving HIM gifts instead of your family, friends and neighbors! People do not do that because it’s NOT about the birth of our Savior to them. It is about all the enjoyable customs and joyful traditions related to family and friends!
Were the shephards not actually celebrating His birth? Does Scripture tell us the significance of this?
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child". (Luke 2:8-17)
Were they really there celebrating Jesus’ birth? No! There wasn't any celebration, party, tree decked with silver and gold, gift exchange, decking the halls, pagan customs and traditions, feasting and drinking around the manger. They were frightened as they were actually put on a mission from God, specially called and given a "sign" by Him as WITNESSES to the arrival of the "Savior", to all people, to make "known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child."
God actually saw these shepherds as a group of honest humble people who would faithfully convey His message. In their time shepherds were seen as honest and straight forward people whose words did not carry authority, but meant truth. The special witness borne by these shepherds was to tell family, friends, neighbors, literally everyone about the arrival of their Savior! Luke tells us that after the shepherds had seen the "babe lying in a manger, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child". Such was the declaration of the angel who stood before them that holy night, that these "good tidings of great joy should be to all people". The shepherds were not at the manger to set an example to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but as one time WITNESSES to the arrival of the Savior, so they could go forth and tell "ALL PEOPLE" that their Savior had arrived. It was a one time in history event, never repeated again. They were actually witnesses to the arrival of our King in whom we find salvation, in effect they really were the first evangelists!
Aside from the angels briefly praising God in Heaven at the time of Jesus' birth, we see no indication in scripture that God actually wants us to, or expects us to celebrate Jesus birthday in anyway every year. There is no command or instruction to likewise do so anywhere in Scripture.
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:13-14)
Did Jesus and or the Apostles celebrate His birth? No! Did the Apostles celebrate His birth after His resurrection? No. Did the early church celebrate the birthday of Jesus? No. During the first two centuries of Christianity there actually was strong opposition to celebrating, or even recognizing birthdays of anyone. Numerous church leaders at that time offered sarcastic comments about the custom of celebrating birthdays when, in fact, they really believed saints and martyrs (including Jesus) should be honored on the days of their martyrdom, not their birthday. The church in Rome actually did not even begin to celebrate this holiday on December 25 until in the 4th century during the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor who really did it for the pagan converts who refused to give up their festive December celebration of the birth of their Sun god.
If celebrating the birth of our Savior was actually important, do you not think God would have told us to do it? Would we not see more than a brief singing by the angels in heaven? Wouldn't there have been a great celebration of some sort? Do you not think He would have at least told us the date, WHEN to celebrate Jesus birth? Would the Apostles and early church have known it and done it? Nowhere in Scripture does God actually command or instruct us in any way to celebrate the arrival of our Savior 2,000 years ago in any manner! Jesus specifically commanded us to observe His death, by the partaking of bread representing His broken body, on Passover, BUT He never told us to observe His birth in any way! Is that not odd? Did He forget, or is it something He DOES NOT want us to do? All of the customs and traditions of this holiday actually come from the pagans, so as Christians who love God, we simply should not follow them and partake in the festivities of Christmas in any way!
Now you DO know the truth plainly from the Bible about not celebrating this holiday. You can ignore it and continue believing and doing what God does not want by celebrating this pagan holiday, OR you can repent and change and do what He says and walk away from ALL pagan celebrations and observances. The choice is yours for all eternity! What do you say? Will you believe what God says about celebrating this holiday or not?
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Gateway To Jesus Ministries - Bible Study #9.