Christmas is beautiful, but the very first Christmas was anything but neat and tidy. In fact, the birth of Jesus had scandal written all over it.

Mary—a virgin—was pregnant and not yet married. Imagine the tabloid headline: “Unwed Virgin Gives Birth to Baby!” Add a mad king, Herod, desperately trying to kill the newborn Christ and ordering the execution of every boy under two in Bethlehem. Then imagine the King of Kings and Lord of Lords being born in a cave where animals were kept and laid in a feeding trough full of hay.

Jesus’ birth was smelly, messy, dangerous, and scandalous.

And that’s the whole point.

Jesus came right into the middle of mess, pain, and brokenness to show us that He comes into our messy lives, too. None of us has a perfect life. Not one of us. Jesus’ arrival in a chaotic world makes it clear: His birth is for everyone—the good, the bad, the ugly, the messy, and even the scandalous.

As we celebrate Christmas, here are three truths from that first Christmas that speak to us today.

Jesus’ Birth Means God Is With You

In the Gospel of Matthew, the angel tells Joseph that Jesus will fulfill the words of the prophet: “A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel.” And Matthew adds, “Emmanuel means ‘God with us.’”

One of Jesus’ many titles is Emmanuel—God with us.

Senator John McCain once shared a powerful story about discovering this truth during his years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His captors often tied his arms behind his back, looped the rope around his neck and ankles, and left him through the night with his head pulled down between his knees. It’s one of the reasons he could never lift his arms above his shoulders.

One night, a guard quietly entered the cell, put a finger to his lips, and loosened McCain’s ropes to ease his pain. The next morning, before leaving his shift, the guard tightened the ropes again—never speaking a word.

A month later, on Christmas Day, McCain stood in the courtyard when that same guard approached. Without looking at him or smiling, the guard used his foot to draw a cross in the dirt. They stood silently, side by side, remembering the true light of Christmas—even in the darkness of a prison camp.

Jesus was born to tell us that God is with us—in the joys and in the darkness, in the manger and in the prison cell.

At our home, after Christmas decorations are packed away, we leave one nativity set out all year as a reminder that God is with us—not just in December, but in every season. When life feels out of control, I look at that nativity and remember: I am not alone.

You aren’t either. You may feel alone. You may feel the darkness closing in. But you never have to be lonely. Jesus was born to say: God is with you.

Jesus’ Birth Means God Is For You

One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture is Romans 8:31–32: “If God is for us, who is against us? He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him?”

If God is for us, who can possibly stand against us?

Years ago, a teacher at my son’s school suffered a brain aneurysm while jogging. It was devastating. As she recovered, her husband shared updates online—each one more miraculous than the last: she was talking, walking, picking up objects. It was a true miracle. Reading those updates reminded me again and again: God is for us.

One day, someone posted a simple line in the prayer group for her: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” How true that is.

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said: “My peace I give you… Don’t be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27) That’s just one of about one hundred places in Scripture where God tells us not to be afraid. Why? Because He is for us.

If your life is hard right now, Jesus was born to say, “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”

If your life is out of control, God is speaking to you through Isaiah 43:1-5: “Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine… When you pass through the waters, I will be with you… When you walk through the fire, you won’t be scorched.”



Jesus’ birth proclaims: God is for you.

Jesus’ Birth Means God Loves You

John 3:16 may be the most quoted verse in Scripture: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life.”

But the very next verse is just as powerful: “God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

Jesus was born to show us God’s love—not to condemn us, but to rescue us.

John Ortberg tells a story of his friend Jimmy, who was vacationing in Mexico when his son was swept out to sea by a riptide. Jimmy swam after him, but soon the current pulled them both farther and farther away from shore. Exhausted, he realized they would both drown.

But Jimmy’s cousin, who understood the ocean, walked to a hidden sandbar and stood as close as he could. He lifted his hand and shouted: “You come to me!” And they lived.

The moral: if you panic and swim in the direction your gut tells you, you’ll die. But if you go toward the one who knows where the solid ground is, you’ll live.

Jesus says the same: “Come to me, and you will live.”

The world promises that cars, houses, jobs, vacations, and success will satisfy us. I’m telling you—that’s junk. True life and love come only from the God who was born in a manger 2,000 years ago and is calling you to Himself.

Here’s the gospel in one sentence: “You’re more sinful than you ever dared believe; you’re more loved than you ever dared hope.” (Tim Keller)

Jesus loves you as if you were the only person in all the world to love. He came for you—so He would never have to live without you.

Jesus was born to say: “I love you. God loves you.”

Do You Believe It?

When I was serving Jesus in the local church, I ended every Christmas Eve sermon the same way. I’d say, “Whether you are here every Sunday or part of the community and curious about church, or someone who comes once a year, welcome. We are truly grateful you are here. And I know some of you are thinking: “Those are nice words, preacher. But do you really believe it? Angels? A virgin birth? Wise men? God in a manger?”

Let me tell you: I don’t just believe it. I’m counting on it.

I’m counting on Jesus being with me.

I’m counting on Jesus being for me.

I’m counting on Jesus loving me.

And I’m counting on Him for you, too.

I hope that you’ll choose to count on Him as well.

Merry Christmas, friends. I love you, Florida Conference!

All God’s love,

Jay