Merry Christmas!

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)

 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:7-14 (KJV)

What exactly does the word Christmas mean? And what does it mean when we say “Merry Christmas?”

Christmas comes from the Greek word Christ, which means the Anointed One and His anointing. In the Hebrew, He is called the Messiah. And mass, refers to a holy celebration. Therefore, Christmas is a celebration of Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. And every time we say Merry Christmas, we are telling one another to have a joyous celebration of the Christ, the Messiah. This celebration speaks of us giving praise to Jesus Christ.

The name Jesus refers to salvation, or Savior. As we already know, Christ refers to the Anointed One and His anointing And Lord is the Greek word kurios, which means owner, controller, one with absolute dominion, supreme authority, master. When we say Jesus Christ is Lord, we are saying the Savior, the Anointed One is our Master, Owner, and the One in authority. We are enforcing His ownership, authority and dominion in our lives. And when we say, “Merry Christmas,” we are enforcing who Jesus is and what He did for us. Thus we are calling into our lives all that Christ accomplished.

Let’s unpack the phrase “Peace, good will toward men.” Peace refers to wholeness, nothing missing or broken. It speaks of safety, propsperity, protection, completeness, health, and healing. The word goodwill speaks of the will of God being good towards mankind. Because He is good, God does good for all of us. James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes from Him. When He gave us Jesus, He gave the perfect Gift. As we receive Jesus, we are unwrapping the greatest gift ever.

Truly, when Christ is the center of our celebration, it really is a very merry Christmas! Let the celebration begin and let it continue throughout the year!

Janean and I wish you a very Merry Christmas! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!