The Greatest Story Ever Told
By: Zach Collins
The holiday season is upon us, once again. The smell of fresh cookies and other baked goods wafts throughout our homes. The sounds of the holiday season fill our ears with the ring of traditional Christmas songs and our favorite holiday movies. The cards are perfectly organized on the entry table. The gifts are bought, wrapped, and placed on the fabric under the twinkling lights. In the words of the famous soundtrack, “Christmas time is here.”
The greatest story ever told, Jesus’ story, has been adapted into a commercialized success! Thus, many minds are focused on the commercialized Christ in the movies rather than God’s Christ in the Bible. I want to explore some myths about the birth of the Messiah, which might help us have a deeper appreciation of this significant historical moment.
We often sing, “Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word….” But do we view this story through the lens of a commercialized culture or the inerrant word of God?
Myth #1: Three wise men, kings from the Orient, came to see Jesus at the manger. We do not know the number of wise men, exactly. It might have been three, or it could have been more. It could be like some showers in our culture, where many people pinch in for expensive gifts. And it is never expressly stated that they were kings. Also, they were not present at the birth of Christ. The Bible states, when they found Jesus, He was in a house (c.f., Matthew 2:11). All the nativity scenes, around the world, might not be exactly, biblically, accurate.
Myth #2: The wise men came to Jesus to bring Him gifts. We know that the magi brought Jesus three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The gold was undoubtedly a gift for the king of kings. The frankincense was a perfume used in temple sacrifices, signaling His crucifixion. After all, Jesus was the lamb of God. The myrrh was used to embalm bodies, signaling His burial and resurrection. The gifts were a picture of His sacrifice, death, and resurrection for all the world! But was it their purpose to bring Him gifts? No. Their purpose was to worship Him (c.f., Matthew 2:11). Of course, though, culture would focus on material gifts, rather than the greatest gift we could give our Savior, our worship.
Myth #3: The name of Jesus was given because it was a family name. Jesus wasn’t named because it was the family name. The name Jesus means “Savior” or “Salvation.” His “middle name,” Immanuel, means “God is with us.” Thus, the word became flesh and dwelt among us (c.f., John 1:1-14). But it’s deeper than that. Think of all the Old Testament passages where God’s people would cry for salvation. For example, David wrote in Psa. 14:7, “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!” In crying out for salvation, in times past, God’s people were crying out the name of the One who would save them, Jesus (c.f., Hebrews 9:15).
Did you know? The book of Matthew, essentially, begins and ends with the same phrase. When Jesus was born, His name meant, “God is with us” (c.f., Matthew 1:23). The last recorded statement of Jesus, in Matthew’s gospel is, “I am with you always” (c.f., Matthew 28:20). It is, certainly, the greatest story ever told. However, let us never let a commercialized culture, driven by gifts and myths, take away from God’s greatest story, salvation.
