Hundreds of prophecies preceded the birth of Jesus. His mission was not beclouded too. Our text provides about the clearest purpose for His coming – to save His people from their sins. Since the incidence in the Garden of Eden where Adam committed high treason, no one had been able to redress it. Many prophets came and went, preached and did many miracles, but none of them had answers to the sin question. Jesus was born for this express purpose. His birth and the eventual death provided the only solution to the sins of humanity.

“Christmas should be an opportunity to receive the forgiveness brought to us by Jesus and a time of rededication to live acceptably before God as we make Him our model for all things.”

If we are to add another reason for His coming, it would be to demonstrate before the world how to live. In Ephesians 5:1, Apostle Paul enjoined the believers at Ephesus to be followers of God who is their Father. A translation of that verse used the word “imitators” for followers. The idea expressed there was to mimic God! That would pose a problem. How can one imitate God who is invisible? Jesus came as the express image of the invisible God. When one asked Him to show them the Father, He replied by saying whoever has seen Him as seen the Father. Following in the footsteps of Jesus would mean imitating God. Christmas should be an opportunity to receive the forgiveness brought to us by Jesus and a time of rededication to live acceptably before God as we make Him our model for all things.