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Well, Merry Christmas to you, and to yours. I trust you're having a wonderful Christmas celebration already today, and perhaps you're getting this first thing in the morning before the celebration begins.
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If so, I hope you have a wonderful day. If you've tuned in later in the day because of the busyness of the morning,
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I hope it's been a good day for you, and that you have had and are going to have a
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Christ -centered Christmas celebration. On this Christmas Monday, I think it would be helpful for us to remember why there was this advent of Christ, why
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Christ came. We get an indication of that reason in our
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Bible reading for today. Today we're reading in the next to the last book of the
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Old Testament in Zechariah, and specifically chapters 11 and 12, and then we're also reading in the book of Revelation.
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I want to focus on just this one part of a verse in Zechariah 12 and verse 10, where Zechariah is actually prophesying of the second advent of Christ.
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When he comes, he says, in that day, he says, I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication.
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Then they will look on me whom they pierced. They will look on me whom they pierced.
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Yes, he says, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn.
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They will look on him whom they have pierced. On this Christmas day, that reminds us of why the
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Lord Jesus came in the first place. He came to be pierced.
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He came to die. This is a great day of celebration. It's a day of joy and rejoicing, but why?
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Why are we joyful? Why are we rejoicing in the birth of this baby
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Jesus? Is it simply because a baby was born? No. Millions and millions of babies have been born, yet we don't have global celebrations for the birth of all of those babies.
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Families celebrate the birth of their own, but not globally for every one of them. But why this one?
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Because this one is Jesus, the one who saves.
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How did he save? How does he save us? He saves us by giving himself to be pierced.
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He was bruised for our iniquities, the prophet Isaiah tells us.
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Here, Zechariah says that the time is coming when Jesus, who came the first time and then died on a cruel cross because of being pierced by those he came to save, he will come the second time.
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When he comes, those who have pierced him will mourn. They will weep and they will mourn.
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On this day, let's pause and reflect. We thank the Lord Jesus for coming into this world, for taking upon him the robe of flesh, for God becoming man in a most humble way, born in a manger, to live a life that would be a life of servitude and humility.
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He took upon him the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men.
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And why? To humble himself and become obedient unto death, even the death on a cross, even being pierced.
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So, thank the Lord for our scripture reading today, reminding us and putting into perspective our
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Christmas celebration. The Savior came. Praise the Lord. Joy to the world.
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The Lord has come. I trust the rest of your Christmas celebration will be a joyful one, and that God will bless you richly as you celebrate together in this time of remembering and reflecting upon the coming of Jesus and why.
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I hope you have a wonderful day. May the Lord bless you. Let's close in prayer, shall we? Our Father and our
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God, we do thank you today for the Lord Jesus Christ and his coming, and thank you that our
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Savior came knowing full well that what was lying ahead of him was a life on this planet of humility, of service, and ultimately of being pierced.
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Thank you for his condescension, his humility, his sacrifice for us.
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Bless these thoughts to us today, we pray in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. God bless you and have a wonderful Christmas.