Jewish Contributions to Christmas - Christian and Missionary Alliance

More documents

Recommendations

Info

and through whom he created all orders of existence: the Son who is the effulgence of God's splcndour and the stamp of God's vcry being, and sustains the universe by word of power" (Hebrews 1 :2-3 NEB). The poet summed it up in the carol: "The Virgin's sweet boy ,' Is the Lord of the carth." The Word is God the Son, the vcry creator and sustaincr o'f the universe, that One in whom creation finds its purpose, its bcginning and its end. It was this most exalted Being, thc eternal Son, who was enfleshed as the Son of Mary. It is the second chapter of Hebrews that speaks to the point of God's identifying with fallen man. He be- came ilcsh to idcntify with sinners. God had intcndcd (2:s-8) for .4dam's race to bring naturc into subjection and to rule His creation, but sin brought frustration and with 1111 his ingenuity man has continually hccn completely at odds with himself and his environment. Then into thc human prcdica- ment came Christ to sharc with us the common bond of human nature. The writer reminds us (Hebrews 2: 11-12) that a consecrating priest and those he consecrates are always from the same stock. If Christ thcn was to minister as a priest to the needs of our fallen race He must be our brothcr. The psalmist prophesied (22:22) that the Messiah was to be a brothcr to our race. We arc confronted here with pro- found mystery. Christ is not two persons hut one; how thcn two natures? The ancient creed reminds us that what is mystery is not neces- sarily confusion, for it states simply that these natures "are not mixed or confused, nor divided or separated." We must stand in holy awe before such mystery, and we must not miss its glorious message. God, the Son, has taken our naturc and shared in our predicament that we might par- take of His naturc and sharc in His glorious inheritance. Paul says that rvc arc "heirs of God, and joint- heirs with Christ" (Romans 8: 17). He is not ashamed to call us brothers. The writcr to the Hebrews reasons that since children of a family share thc snmc flesh and b ld, Christ took upon Himself flesh and blood as our brother (2:14). He had to share our cornnion .substance. Thus Christ's en- try into history involves not only mystcry but miracle-the virgin birth by which He was ablc to sharc our Rcsh and blood without our sinful State. "Veiled in flesh the Godhead sre; Hail the incornate deity, Plea.rcd a.r Man with mrn to dwell, Jesus, orlr E,nnianuel!" Emmanuel-God is with us. The end of this identification with fallen man was that He might sharc with us a common experience. The Hcbrcw Epistle statcs that it was fitting that He who was going to lead many sons to Glory should he made perfect through suffering (2: 10). That the mediator of sin must hc pcrfect was taught by bo~th type and precept all through Scripture. The Tsraclitc was required to bring for a sin sacrifice a lamb without spot or blemish. The Passover lamb was to be kept in close observation for thrcc days to he sure it was perfect. Wc can thcrcforc understand why, if Christ was to he the Saviour of our race, He had to be pcrfect. But to say that He was madc perfect through suffering raises immedi- ate questions in our minds. The writcr, however, does not say that Jesus was imperfect and then be- came pcrfect through suffering. Rather he says that perfection which has not been tested or demonstrated is without meaning. A coach tells me that his team has not becn scored upon. I am greatly impressed until I find out that they havc not played any games. But if they play the whole season and arc not scored upon then thcir defensive pcrfection has been demonstrated. If Christ, thc spotless ~amb ol God, has come to lead man out of his hopeless predicament, His perfection must be demonstrated in tcrms that man can see and know. Thus Christ was called to suffcr and Hc expcricnced the whole gamut of human tragedy. He was rejected by His own and misunderstood; He knew poverty; He endured humilia- tion, Ioncliness-and in all He ex- hibited pcrfect obedience and sub- mission to the Father. In taking our flesh and blood, Christ had to subjcct Himsolf to death. By His resurrection the fear of death (2: 14-15) that has held man in bondage has bccn broken. Our Brother went to the other side of the grave and returned victorious. Thcrc is hope, and that hope is be- lievable. The writcr concludes that Christ had to he like His brothers in every rccpcct (2:17). It was not for romantics that His life among men began in 3 manger and ended on a crms. Hc camc to idcntify completely ~ith sinners that He might be a faithful and merciful High Priest in atoning for thcir sins. Having becn tested through suffcring He is ahlc to help those who are king tempted. "Ours is not a high priest unable to sympathize with our wcakncsscs, but onc who, because of his likeness lo us, has been tested zvcry way, only without sin. Let us thcrcforc holdly approach the throne of our gracious God. where we may rcccivc mercy md in his grace find timely help" (Hebrews 4: 15-16 NEB). No, there is no incongruity in our singing about the Prince of Pcacc hcing born, even though the sounds of war are all about us. The Prince camc not to remove His 08wn from the presence of strife hut rather to suffcr with them and to exhibit His grace in enabling them to be men of pmcc in thc midst of a broken world. Whcn redemption is complete we shall be dclivcrcd from this bondage of corruption. But until then we are called to be conquerors in the midst of it through Christ who came down to idcntify with us in our need. So while you listen to the scveno'clock news sing another vcrsc of Longfcllow's carol: T1wn pealed the hells more lo~rd and derp: "God is not dcnd; nor doth He sleep! The Wron,q shall fail, Thr Right prevail, With pmcc on mrflr, podwill to mcn!"
Jewish Contributions to Christmas A beloved Jewish believer, onetime director of the New York Messianic Witness and now with the Lord. cites four Jewish contributions to our Christian holiday. THE two feasts, Hanukkah and Christmas, originated in the same land and among the same people. It is therefore not surprising that they exercise a powerful influence upon each other and contributed liberally to each other in several ways. The first contribution, though not the most important one, is the date. It was the Jews who set the date for Christmas. When Judaism instituted the feast of Hanukkah, a festival of lights, it was on the 25th day of the winter month called Kislev and was in accord with the lunar calendar. But whcn the Western world adopted the solar calendar thc result was that the 25th of Kislcv and the 25th of De- cembcr parted company. But the day of the month, the 25th. rcmaincd as the date on which the Christian world celebrated Christmas. This does not mean that Christians all over the world arc convinced that Christ the Saviour was born on the 25th of December. In the New Tes- tament, or in any other authentic record, no particular day is registered as the date of Christ's birth. The most important concern for us is not the date, but the fact of the Saviour's birth. Christmas is not merely a memo- BY SOLOMON BIRNBAUM rial of somc incident in the past, or the remembrance of somc pcrmn who lived and died two thousand years ago: it is an affirmation of faith in a present living Saviour. In the hcart of every believer Christ is born ancw. This is wh~at makes a person a Christian. This is what is meant by the new birth. This new birth and not the noise and revelry of December 25 is the true Christmas for the individual. Another important Jewish contribution to Christmas is the kindling of li,&~ and thcir symbolic identification with thc Light of the Torah, the Word of God. From the bcginning, light has been regarded as the appropriate symbol also for Christ- mas. Jcsus, the Messiah, said, "I am the lizht of the world: he that fo- loweth me shall not walk in darkness. hut shall have the light of life." Likewisc, whcn the devout Jew, Simem, took the infant Jesus in his arms, he liftcd up his voice in praise to God, saying, "Lord. now lettcst thou thy servant depart in peace, ac- cording to thy word: for mine eyes -- This mesrase in tract form is aunlabie from Herrnon House, 56 Second Aye. New York, N.Y. 10003. af a cost of $2.00 ner hundred It is uxed hcrc by kind llemirrinn of the New Y0.k Mes- sianic witnew. 1nc. have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." The greatest contribution to Christ- mas was, as the name indicates, Christ Himself, the Messiah. The Jew- ish prophets heralded Him as the great Light which was to shine in a land of utter darkness. He was born in Bethlehem in the land of Judah. He descended from the royal line of David. The hopes and aspirations of the Jewish people were ccntcred in Him. He spent His whole life among the Jews, and performed His work of mercy within the borders of Pales- tine, the land of the Jews. Isaiah, foremost among thc Jewish prophets, composcd the first and the most widely known Christmas carol. The words arc as follows: "The people that walked in dark- ncss Have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given: And the government shall hc upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Won- dcrful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace." The Light, the Child, the wonder- ful Name, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace! All thcsc treasures of hcavcn and carth are fused in this niatchlcss outburst of prophetic song. It is a song of praise to our Mes- siah. It is the song of Christmas. And in the song of Christmas not only do men upon the carth lift up thcir voiccs in praisc to God but even the choirs of the angels of heaven join with them together in the song: "Glory to God in the hixhest, and .OII earth peace, ~ood will toword men." Christmas, thereforc, is the most Jcwish, the most spiritual, the most hcavenly feast of joy. It had its birth in the hcart and mind of God. And, because of that, it has become the feast of joy of all mankind. W
Page 2 and 3: THE ALLIANCE A JOURNAL OF CHRISTIAN
Page 6 and 7: LIVE ABOVE ENVY! A well-known pasto
Page 8 and 9: on perfecting itself. Emulation in-
Page 10 and 11: and reached out to Christ in sur- r
Page 12 and 13: PRESS?IME PARAGRAPHS for your INFOR
Page 14 and 15: Tomorrow in Missions Frontiect in M
Page 17 and 18: A New Face for the Bobo-Dioulasso C
Page 19 and 20: To the Fields To PERU: Miss Betty M
Page 21 and 22: Personnel Changes TRANSFERS Rev. R.
Page 23 and 24: SALVATION TODAY: QUEST OR FACT? Fro

Jewish Contributions to Christmas - Christian and Missionary Alliance

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?