PASTOR’S CORNER He came

We can only wonder what the world would be like if Jesus had not come — really, what if Christmas had never existed? For 400 years, the world was in spiritual darkness. There was no prophetic word, for prophecy had been silenced. The Holy Spirit was not at work. It was as if God had closed up heaven.

In our high-tech world, where we can go around the globe through the internet, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, can we imagine not hearing a word from the Lord for 400 years? That is longer than any of us have lived, meaning that in our lifetime there would be no preaching, no teaching, no Bible study, no missionary or outreach ministry, no Bibles, no churches, no choirs, no youth ministry. In fact, the church would not exist if baby Jesus had not come.

But all of the saints in the Bible did not have any of these things. Jesus Himself, being the Word made flesh, did not have anybody He could count on among His own disciples. In fact, one of His own — one who ate bread with Him — sold Him out. Yet Jesus came. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not (John 1:11). Yet through 42 generations, He came to Bethlehem.

But what if He did not come 2,000 years ago? Think about that for a moment. What would the world be like if there were no Christmas? If He had not come, there would be no Christmas lights, no Christmas decorations, no “Silent Night, Holy Night.” We could not sing “Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come, let earth receive her King,” or “Away in a Manger, no crib for a bed; the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.” There would be no “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” because there would be nothing to tell.

There would be no Christmas spirit that we feel at this time of year; no “Merry Christmas” greetings, no Christmas cards, Christmas trees, Christmas dinners, Christmas presents, no Christmas music, Christmas plays, wreaths, cookies, cakes, pies and everything else surrounding the holiday.

What if the Savior had not been born? Then the shepherds who were keeping watch over their flock by night would not have seen the light that shone from heaven. The heavenly host would not have appeared. The wise men would not have seen the star in the east and visited Him two years later. The prophetess Anna would not have recognized Him in the temple, and Simeon — who was told he would not die until he had seen the Messiah — would have died without seeing the promised Savior.

We would not be able to congregate on Sunday morning. The love of God would not be shed abroad in our hearts. There would be no miracles, and those of us who have been healed by Him or touched by Him would not have experienced it. We would not be able to pray, because we could not pray in His name.

Death would still have its sting. The grave would still have its victory. Sin would still have power over us, and Satan would not have been defeated. Think about it — what if? All that we know about Christmas would not be.

But He came.

He kept His word. He did not come not knowing what to expect. He came knowing that He would be rejected by the ones He came to save. He came knowing that He would not be appreciated, that even His own brothers would not believe Him. He came into a hostile world, knowing He would be betrayed by one of His own, denied and forsaken by His own disciples — yet He came anyway.

Paul said, “For when the fullness of time had come — meaning the right time — God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law” (Galatians 4:4-7). God the Father sent the Son to die for us, and God the Son sent His Spirit to live in us. At the right time, He came.

Despite the fact that when He prayed in the garden His sweat would be like great drops of blood, still He came. He came knowing the religious leaders would hate Him, plot to kill Him, and that His own disciples would run off and leave Him by Himself. Still, He came. He knew He would be brutally beaten, slapped, spit on and ridiculed — that He who knew no sin would become sin for us — still He came.

We worry ourselves sick about what we think is going to happen, and much of what we worry about never happens. But Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him, and still He came. He knew that when He was born, Herod would kill all the babies trying to kill Him, that Joseph and Mary would have to flee. Our Savior knew the people would cry, “Crucify Him,” that Pilate would wash his hands of Him, and that He would be brutally scourged, that the hair would be plucked from His face and a crown of thorns pressed down on His head, causing blood to run.

He knew the nails used to nail Him to the cross would be five to nine inches long, driven through His wrists — not His palms. Now, He could have said, “The heck with this. If this is the way they are going to be, I’m going back to glory.” He could have left us to ourselves.

But still, He came.

With all of that in His view, still He came.

Joy to the world — the Lord did come.

Let earth receive her King.