Luke 3:2-4 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
As we think and prepare for Christmas (next Thursday) we too often miss what Christmas is about. Meals, family get-togethers, decorations, shopping and more fill our minds and lives with seemingly endless activities. But Christmas is not just those things – unfortunately they have taken center stage, as it were, and Christ is pushed aside.
The Scripture above from Luke tell so Jogn the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for Christ in His ministry. But we can think about that in preparing for the Christmas celebration as well.
Jesus did many miracles – feeding thousands with little, opened blinded eyes, cleansed lepers and more, but his was not His main purpose. He came to save mankind from his sin.
Since God is Spirit and a spirit cannot die, God had to take on a human body in order to die for mankind. Only a blood sacrifice would suffice for the satisfaction of God’s judgment. This little Baby in the manger was born to die for all mankind.
Just as John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus’ earthly ministry, so we should prepare our hearts to celebrate the Savior born to die for us.
This doesn’t mean we do not celebrate with gift-giving, decorating, lavish meals, etc., but it does mean that we make it a priority to worship and remember the rrue meaning of Christmas.
