A few years ago I watched a clip titled “Retooning the Nativity” by Igniter Media (sample link at the bottom). I remember during that time I had a conversation with someone. I told them something about Christmas that was not factually correct. Then they jokingly (yet correctly) proceeded to tell me, “Get your Christmas facts straight!” It was humbling, because as a pastor I’m supposed to know such things and I simply regurgitated something I thought was right without taking proper care in my study of God’s Word. And the fact of the matter is that often times we simply believe things because someone told us something and we believed it without never double-checking it to know its veracity.

Now if you ask any Christian what Christmas is all about they will tell you: the birth of Jesus. The problem we face today is that we have packaged, or wrapped, the Christmas story inside a gift box that is full of contradictions. If you ask the average Christian how many magi were there, they would say 3. If you ask what that good ol’ “silent night” was about, they would say baby “Jesus”. Some would probably tell their children its Jesus’ birthday. If you ask what the angels did to announce Jesus’ birth, they would say, they sang. Not to mention the “fact” (which is not truly a historical fact), that some truly believe that Jesus was born on December 25th, that Mary had a little lamb, and the manger was somewhat a very significant part of the nativity story.

So let me offer you a “retooning” of some major Christmas facts. First, Christmas is the celebration of one of the most foundational doctrines and truths of the Christian faith, the incarnation. Incarnation refers to God becoming flesh, or human. Christians believe the incarnation is foundational to Christology. It is what makes Christ both fully God and fully man. The apostle John puts it this way, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” ( John 1:14).  Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, through the aid of Mary’s womb. The immaculate conception and incarnation of Christ happened in the first century. But the exact date? No one truly knows. Today, we celebrate his birth on December 25th because sometime during the 4th century the church decided to trade the pagan holiday of Sol Invictus, which signaled the beginning of Winter Solstice, with a Christian holiday, instead celebrating the birth of Christ.

Second, remember those “three kings” from the east? Maybe you are familiar with the song “We Three Kings?” (https://www.metrolyrics.com/we-three-kings-lyrics-christmas-carols.html). In western Christian Tradition, the three “so-called” kings by the name of Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, followed a shooting star to the manger where the infant Jesus was resting. In most Christian homes a nativity scene usually depicts three king-like figures who are present at Jesus’ birth. They are displayed riding a camel, but no one considers they come from the East where they mainly rode horses. This Christmas myth must not only be debunked, but repackaged altogether. The reason why many believe there were 3 magi, was because the magi, who came from the East, brought three gifts with them: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, it is highly unlikely that three lonely men made a long journey from the East and arrived into the city of Jerusalem being noticed by the whole city to the point of being invited into the home of king Herod (Matthew 2:3-4). What is more likely is that they were part of a great entourage with several servants, animals, and goods. What we do know is that there were more than just one magi. Matthew 2:1, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem.”

What we also know is that they were not kings, but were kingmakers. These kingmakers usually appear in Nativity scenes as if they were there immediately after Jesus was born. But, Mary and Joseph were living in a house in Bethlehem when they came (Matthew 2:11), and Herod the Great tried to kill the children in Bethlehem two years of age or under (Matthew 2:16). This means Jesus may have been as old as two. Further, in Luke 1:41 the word brephos is used to describe the Messiah, which is the Greek word for a newborn child, while in Matthew 2 the word paidion is used, which is used of infants or young children. And finally, what we do know is that the only other place magi are mentioned in the Bible is in the book of Daniel. The prophet Daniel himself had become the chief magi of Babylon hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus (Daniel 4:9). Maybe the magi were given a messianic prophecy of the coming of the Son of Man by the prophet Daniel? Yep, you guessed it right!

Third, what about the “manger”? In the Gospel of Luke an angel appears to some shepherds watching over their flock by night and says, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12). Here we must ask why the angel said baby Jesus would be wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger? Well, there is nothing too special about Jesus being wrapped in snuggly cloths, other than the fact that if he wasn’t he would probably suffer from the cold temperatures of the region. As a newborn baby he would be subject to hypothermia. The important thing to glean here is that Jesus is a humble Savior. He was born in a very simple way. This in fact is amazing, not the fact that he was wrapped in snuggly clothes. Since there was no room for him at the “Inn”, they had to literally bundle him up and place him in a feeding trough, which is typically used to feed domesticated animals.

Since we are talking about the “Inn,” let’s address that as well. Traditionally nativity scenes depict an animal stable as the place for Jesus’ birth. As a baby, Jesus is surrounded by a donkey, goats, sheep, and cow or two. The problem? There are no animals mentioned anywhere in Scripture as it relates to Jesus’ birth! The Bible simply says, “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:6-7). Some, have actually suggested Jesus could have been born in a cave since that’s where animals were kept during those times, but even that theory has some holes…want to know more? just google it!

Finally, haven’t you heard about those angels singing on high? Sweetly singing o’er the plains? Also, didn’t you know that Mary was an amazing singer? She probably sang in the key of G really well…Well…the Bible doesn’t say Mary sings and the angels are depicted “praising” God, not necessarily singing. If you open your English Bibles in Luke chapter 1, you’ll usually find a title under what is now known as Mary’s Magnificat that says “Mary’s Song” (check your ESV bible, for instance). The text simply records that Mary “said…” (Greek eipon), not that she sang. She’s is more like Hannah in 1 Samuel 2, then Kari Jobe performing a Christmas musical!

Further, the fact that is trickier for us to rebuttal is that angels sang at Jesus’ birth. Did they sing? It’s hard to know. Luke 2: 13-14 writes, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'” Note that the text says the angels were “praising” God. The issue here is that our contemporary minds equate praise with music, or singing. The word used here is aineō, which means “extolling” or “exulting.” The word for singing in Greek is humneó. This is to me, not a settled fact. Some translations render aineō as “singing praises,” but why did the original author not use the word humneó in this context, if in fact that is what they were doing?

From time to time we need a “retooning” in order to never remain complacent. In a culture of confusion, overloaded with information, and so busy that we never stop to reflect, it is important to refocus every once in a while; especially when it comes to matters of our faith. This Christmas season let us celebrate the true reason for this season…the Incarnation of Jesus Christ! Tune out all distractions, focus on the historical account of Jesus’ birth, read the birth of Jesus accounts in Matthew and Luke, and praise God like the angels did! God became flesh…and he ultimately not only humbled himself and became one of us, he eventually died to save us from sin and death!

I end offering you a few powerful quotes about the incarnation of Jesus Christ:

“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.” ~ J. I. Packer

“What we celebrate at Christmas is not so much the birth of a baby, but the incarnation of God Himself” ~ R. C. Sproul

“The purpose and cause of the incarnation was that He might illuminate the world by His wisdom and excite it to the love of Himself.” ~ Peter Abelard

Written by Daniel Messina