Luke’s Story: Two Miraculous Conceptions Luke 1:1–4 tells us that his Gospel is undergirded by a robust historical method. The evangelist affirms that the narratives about Jesus on which he draws are based on eyewitness testimony. He also states that he personally investigated the events concerning Jesus’ life so that he could write an “orderly account”… Read More
The 5 Days of Christmas: Day 2
Matthew’s Story: The Long-Awaited Messiah Think about the genealogy recorded in Matthew 1:1–17. If we, in our 21st-century Western context, were tasked to write the beginning of the New Testament, we probably would not have started with such a list of names. While this approach may seem foreign, the timeline recorded in this genealogy has much… Read More
The 5 Days of Christmas: Day 1
The Story of the Incarnation Many think of Christmas as “the most wonderful time of the year.” But why? When you take a closer look at the reasons why people celebrate Christmas, it turns out that Christmas is often more about commercialism than Christ. If we are honest with ourselves, we will probably realize that… Read More
Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men?
Christmas cards frequently proclaim, and Christmas carols echo, the well-known angelic pronouncement at Jesus’ birth of “peace on earth, good will toward men.”[1] Or do they? A closer look at the actual passage in Luke 2:14 proves both intriguing and illuminating. In context, Luke opens his narrative of the birth of Jesus Christ regarding the… Read More
Christmas Is Too Big for One Day: Why We Celebrate Advent
Christians, and even many non-Christians, around the world celebrate Christmas as the day when Jesus, the Messiah, was born in a stable in the little Judean town of Bethlehem. Whether Jesus was born on December 25th or not, his birthday has easily become the most widely celebrated birthday in human history. But what about Advent,… Read More