One of the reasons Isaiah is known as the “Prince of the Prophets” is because he foretold the coming of the Messiah more than any other prophet. His prophecies are even at the heart of the Christmas story in the Gospel according to Matthew. This...
For Christians, Christmas is all about the story of Jesus’ birth. It is the story of the birth of the most significance person in human history; the story of the birth of the King of the universe, the very Son of God, Creator of heaven and...
The Christmas story reminds us of the great relief of innocence and humility. That Christ comes to us in the form of a soft, helpless, and innocent baby restores in our hearts the truth that God is more powerful than human manipulation, oppression...
No one simply stumbles onto Jesus. There are always signposts to Jesus. There is always someone (or something) pointing the way to Jesus. We see this in the birth narrative of Jesus. For the Maggi, it’s the star. Even the cosmos point the way...
Note to the Reader This post is longer than usual, but its length testifies to its importance. Jesus was born during a time of high political and racial tension. For starters, first-century Palestinian Jews were divided among themselves concerning...
Just a few weeks ago, my wife said to me, “Every time someone watches a Christmas movie before Thanksgiving, an elf kills a reindeer.” She feels pretty strongly about when the Christmas season does and does not begin. As for me, I’m ready to put up...
Luke 2:1–21 (ESV) 2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And...
Even while living in Haiti, I’m all too aware of the evangelical frustration with the commercialization of Christmas. “It’s not about presents, it’s about Jesus!”. Even this, you see, God has redeemed. It’s hard to admit that secular and capitalist...
I wanted to share this post by Ben Witherington III
The Old Testament is constantly battling to dethrone the myth that power is manifest in human might and strength. The book of Isaiah in particular takes up a polemic against this wrong conceptualization of power. We find this in one of the most...