Is Christmas "too big?"

Maybe you’ve heard it before: “Christmas has gotten too big.” We say it when displays go up after Labor Day. And Christmas music is playing by Halloween. And Black Friday gets backed all the way up to Nov 1. Or we’re cramming all those events into our calendar. Or hauling off all that shredded wrapping paper on the 26th. “Christmas has gotten too big.” In some ways, maybe it has. But if we understand Psalm 98, we’ll see that in other important ways, Christmas hasn’t gotten nearly big enough for us yet.

What God did for our world at Christmas is much bigger than we realize. It’s when God the King came, and launched this whole Psalm 98 project. This is what John tells us in the famous prologue to his gospel (John 1:1–18). In Luke 1, when the angel tells Zechariah and Mary that the rightful King is finally arriving, they start singing songs that sound a lot like Psalm 98. They understand just how big Christmas is supposed to be!

Only what happens next is not at all what we expect. We are so familiar with the story that it doesn’t shock us, but if you are expecting Psalm 98 and you get Luke 2:1–20, you’re scratching your head. Because God the King doesn’t come as the mighty judge. He’s a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, laid in a manger. There’s no loud celebration—at least no human singers. No harps or lyres. No oceans roar or hills sing. The people of Bethlehem don’t even get out of bed when God the King comes! He’s born in a stable to two poor parents, cold, scared, and in the dark. And what about judging the earth in righteousness? Wicked Caesar is still in charge, ordering people around like he’s a god. And there’s crazy Herod, killing babies to hold onto power. Looks like the same old broken world. What happened to the big hope of Psalm 98?

That’s the great plot twist of the gospel. The angels who sing for Jesus on Christmas night let us know that God really has come, and that he really will save and judge and rule, just like Psalm 98 promises. But unexpectedly, he is doing it in two stages. Why?

If God came and instantly established perfect justice on earth, it’s not just Herod who is going down, but you and me. We are not just victims of pain and evil; we’ve also added plenty of our own sin. So God the King came not to deliver judgment, but to receive it. He put our sin and evil on himself at the cross, to bear the curse in his body and to taste death for us (Gal 3:10, 1 Pet 2:24, Heb 2:9). Then he overcame it all in his mighty resurrection! Now, Jesus tells us that he is coming again: Psalm-98-style this time. The rightful King will return to judge with righteousness, discard death, and wipe away every tear from his people’s eyes. Creation will explode in praise! But the invasion began at Christmas. And Christmas hasn’t gotten as big as it should be, in our lives and in our world, until its big hope and big joy works its way deep into our hearts.

Has it for you? First, enter the Kingdom of God by turning from your sin and self-made kingdoms, and trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Receive his forgiveness and place your life under his rule. Then, sing for joy! Even in the longest night, you can know that God the King has done a marvelous thing for you, and the story isn’t over. You might start with Joy to the World; Isaac Watts based this song on Psalm 98. Finally, live with hope. Start living God’s righteous way now, smack in the middle of this sad, sinful, broken world. Your shining light can show your neighbors that a better kingdom is coming! Let’s make Christmas bigger than ever!

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church