Christmas and Politics

"For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

Isaiah 9:6 NKJV

It's Christmas time; time for happiness, cheer, joy, family. At least that is what our society tells us, but our society has turned Christmas into a materialistic holiday full of fluff. We like to throw around phrases such as "holiday spirit" and "the happiest time of the year" but less and less do we hear what we are actually celebrating.

I do hope that you all are happy and joyful and with family during this holiday season but I also want us to remember what Christmas is truly about. Even the nativity scene does not fully cover what we are celebrating because it is more than just a baby being born in a manger. Something begin on that first Christmas that was even deeper than a plan for our salvation.

Christmas is about a new Kingdom being established.

I wrote about this last year in my post The True Meaning of Christmas, but I feel this is a point that is so important and so often missed that it is important to reiterate it. In a recent series of posts Dr. Andrew Decort asked the question Was Jesus Political? and he started with the song that Mary sang after hearing the announcement that she would be pregnant with the Messiah:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Luke 1:46-55

Already, before Christ was even born, there is a political aspect in preparation for him. Mary's song shows the establishment of a Kingdom that is backwards from the normal, earthly kingdom, a kingdom in which the mighty are pulled down and the weak and hungry are exalted. 

This same idea is repeated by Jesus when the mother of James and John asks Him to grant her sons the seats on Jesus' right and left in heaven:

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, 

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, 

and those who are great exercise authority over them. 

Yet it shall not be so among you; 

but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 

And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, 

and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:25-28

Jesus came to this earth to establish a new type of Kingdom. No longer are we to be looking to be great, to be mighty, or to be strong but we should be looking to serve. This is what Christmas is about, the start of this new Kingdom. 

As we celebrate Christmas it is a time to remember to be a servant, to remember our new Kingdom!

This is also a perfect entry into the new year. As we begin to think of our plans for the new year, what we want to change, how we want to have a fresh start, we can look at how we can better be servants to those around us.