The holidays have definitely brought  about a few changes in how I normally post things! 

 

Intro

Christmas truly is my favorite season. It’s the season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. I’ve got to start with addressing the argument that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25^th.  That’s probably true. But really, does it matter whether it was a cold winter night or a hot humid summer morning? The literal definition of the word Christmas means “Christ’s mass”, and has been used since around the 12^th century to commemorate to a feast in honor of the birth of Christ. In fact, while we celebrate it on Dec. 25^th, Eastern Orthodox Christians have traditionally held the celebration on January 7.

It doesn’t matter whether the day we stuff ourselves with “roast beast” and goodies and sweets was hijacked from some pagan holiday, either. It does matter that our worship of Jesus’s birth has been hijacked by going into enormous debt trying to out-do the gifts that someone else has given. It matters that our culture has substituted Santa for the significance of redeeming grace.

But that’s not going to be the focus of this study. We’re going to spend a little time discussing the history and theology of some of the world’s most beloved Christmas carols. Some will get a little more attention than others, but none of them will be a deep dive.

Why It’s Important

First and foremost is the fact that we need to be as the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and examine everything we hear through the lens of Biblical truth, which has always been the premise of these studies. But on a more personal level, these are songs that we’ve been singing almost since we were old enough to carry a tune. And yet most of us don’t know the history behind a song, much less what the heck it means. Especially some of those traditional hymns that were translated from other languages or eras and words things in a way that we are unfamiliar with.

BEHIND THE CAROLS

 

It's easy to criticize this song for being so obvious. Of course, Mary knew. But did she really? She was a young woman, probably not much older than you girls, maybe even younger. Sure, she knew what she’d been taught. She knew the prophecies about the Messiah. And she knew and believed what the angel told her. She knew that she hadn’t been intimate with Joseph or anyone else, so she had no doubt that she was the one God had chosen for this.

But everything else was just head-knowledge. It wasn’t firsthand, yet, except for the pregnancy itself. Everything else was still to come. She might know of Him, but she didn’t yet know Him! Consider this for a moment. Assuming that you have been raised in one family your entire life, you’ve known your mom from the beginning. But does she know everything about you? Does she understand how you feel at all times? Does she know with certainty how you are going to live your life? Of course not. And trust me when I say you don’t know her as well as you think you do, either.

But over time and through shared experiences you will get to know the loved ones in your life far more intimately. Likewise, over the years if you walk with Jesus, He is going to reveal more and more of Himself to you. You’re going to know and understand Him on a much deeper level… if you stick with Him (John 15:4).

So, let’s take a quick look at this song, but let’s take out all the “Mary did you knows”. For each declaration of what she “knew”, see if you can find the corresponding prophecy in the OT and fulfillment in the NT.

…That your baby boy Would one day walk on water

…That your baby boy Would save our sons and daughters

…That your baby boy Has come to make you new

…This Child that you delivered Will soon deliver you

Verse 2

…That your baby boy Would give sight to the blind man

…That your baby boy Would calm a storm with His hand

…That your baby boy Has walked where angels trod

And when you kiss your little baby, you’ve kissed the face of God

Bridge

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again

The lame will leap. The dumb will speak, The praises of the Lamb

Verse 3

…That your baby boy Is Lord of all creation

…That your baby boy Will one day rule the nations

…That your baby boy Is heaven's perfect Lamb

And the sleeping Child you're holding Is the great I Am

 

Oh Little Town of Bethlehem

I failed to have this one put in the playlist, so we’re just going to quickly touch on it. The song was written in 1865 by a popular preacher in Philadelphia named Phillip Brooks, who, because of his popularity had been the one to deliver the eulogy for President Lincoln after his assassination. He took a year long vacation to Jerusalem at one point, and borrowed a horse on Christmas Eve, riding it from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The song is written from his perspective long after Jesus had been born, crucified and resurrected.

But Bethlehem was not a peaceful beautiful little town at the time of Jesus’ birth. In the book of Judges, Bethlehem is described as having a history of tragedy and spiritual darkness. But as the song says, the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight… Jesus was the light in the spiritual darkness that brought hope to mankind. Read Micah 5:1-5.

 

O Holy Night

 

Fun fact: This was the first Christmas song ever broadcast on the radio! It happened in 1906, about 60 years after having first been translated into English. For frame of reference, both the original author (in 1847) and the translator (whose names none of us would remember in five seconds if I shared them) were abolitionists, firmly against slavery.

The first two lines of the song set the scene. It’s a holy night (set apart for God’s purpose). The stars are shining; Jesus is coming into the world. The world had been living under the curse of sin from the time Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, and those who believed in God had been longing for the prophecies of Jesus’ birth to happen.

The second verse reflects the greatest commandment of Jesus, to love each other as He does. That’s His law, His command. The line about chains breaking and the slave being our brother is actually straight from the book of Philemon. Philemon was a slave owner whose slave Onesimus had run away. At some point Onesimus became a believer in Christ, and Paul instructed him to return. He wrote a letter to Philemon saying hey, whatever is owed to you, I’ll pay. Take him back as a free man, and treat him like a brother.

 

Silent Night

In 1816, a priest wrote a poem after walking home one quiet, snowy night, giving praise to Jesus for how He had humbled Himself to become a living sacrifice for us. A couple of years later, as the story goes, he was getting ready for the annual Christmas pageant at his church when he discovered the organ was broken. He was pretty stressed about it and tried everything he could before finally praying that God would show him what to do. Well, that’s when he remembered his poem. He dug it out and rushed it to a friend and asked him to put it to music, something simple that the choir could learn quickly. Some accounts say this was a same-day turn-around. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but the song was sung for the pageant accompanied only by a guitar.

On the night that Jesus was born, the world had become a dark place where hope was silenced. But it was the night God chose to give His greatest gift to humanity… His son, born in a cold barn (or cave, or something), wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a stone feeding trough that must have been about as warm as an ice cube, to a couple of poor peasants, tired and scared and dirty from travelling all the way to Bethlehem for a census.

On Dec. 24, 1914, during WWI, German and British soldiers were huddled in their respective trenches, taking a break from the bloodbath, they were fighting. By this time the song had been translated in many languages and was well known in many countries. The German troops began to sing. The British troops, not far away, recognized the melody and began singing in their own language. God worked through that, and the troops on both sides, united by a song, called their own cease-fire for the night and spent the evening together, sharing a meal, some smokes, some games of soccer. True story.

The song’s lyrics have changed from the original version but the meaning stays intact. The first modern verse describes the scene with God’s holy light and peace surrounding the small family in what was otherwise darkness. The second verse describes the fear that must have shook the shepherds when the angel announced the birth and then saw the heavenly hosts appear. The third verse describes how Jesus brought redemption through His sacrifice rather than through animal sacrifices.

 

Hark The Herald Angels Sing

Surprisingly this song was originally sung to the tune of Amazing Grace before someone gave it a melody of its own. Many people take issue with the angel’s singing, but in the original translation, the line was “Hark, how all the welkin (heaven) rings, Glory to the King of Kings”. The point of the song was to proclaim that Jesus was recognized as deity even before he was born. How that became angels singing is not really relevant. Scripture says in different places that angels say, shout, and proclaim. How can we say that it doesn’t sound like music to God’s ears? I mean seriously, God says make a joyful noise, which we associate with singing even if it’s off-key. Those angels are certainly making joyful noises to their King!  Consider, too, that birds chirp and insects make their buzzing and whirring noises, and cats meow and cattle “low” or moo, and we refer to that as all creation singing. Let’s not get hung up on what kind of sound is coming from the angels. They’re worshipping. Enough said.

The remainder of the song elaborates on giving glory to the newborn King. Christ is adored and worshiped in heaven. He is everlasting. He has been Lord of Creation from the beginning of time.

“Veiled in flesh the godhead see” may be a grammatical nightmare, but theologically it’s awesome! The godhead is often confused with the trinity, but linguistically “godhead” means divine nature. And this song is saying that God’s divine nature was wrapped up in human flesh. We can’t possibly see just how glorious He is because of His humanity, any more than we could see the glory of glories hidden behind the temple veil that was torn from top to bottom when Jesus gave His life for ours.

The next line references the prophecy found in Micah 4:2… Hail the Sun of righteousness and light, and then risen with healing in His wings. Jesus set aside His glory so that He could become God incarnate, God with us, born solely for redeeming us and giving us a second birth and eternal life.

 

Away In A Manger

There are a lot of people apparently who take issue with this lullaby because 1) scripture doesn’t say anything about Jesus laying on a bed of hay, and 2) that the song denies that Jesus would have cried as an infant. Some people make much ado about nothing.

It stands to reason that his parents would have grabbed a handful of straw to line the stone feeding trough with. And all babies have moments of quiet wonder, not crying. We know that Jesus cried. John 11:35 even says He wept. He was born as a human and lived 33 years as a human. He felt things. The good, the bad, and the ugly. He cried, he stressed, he got angry (righteous anger anyway), he got hot, cold, probably even got the flu. He felt as we feel. Worse, He felt lashes with a whip embedded with pottery chips, and felt nails being driven into His hands and feet. Away in a manger may be sanitized, but it makes a sweet lullaby for children. If you want one more realistic, listen to “This Baby” by Steven Curtis Chapman. It didn’t make it into this study, but probably will next year! But if you would like a preview, read Isaiah 7:14-21.

 

Winter Break
No classes the rest of this year! But let’s keep in touch through the holidays.

When you pray remember that Jesus really IS the reason for the season. Be sure to thank Him for His willingness to come be born in such humble circumstances and take our place on the cross so that we can live!