Christmas for Every Tribe
I am a witness to the story I tell today. It is sure and true.
Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
Revelation 5:5,9
There is a movement happening this Christmas across sand-swept deserts and barren basins of land long scarred by tribal conflict. Village elders are embracing Jesus. Skeptic women are surrendering to His lordship. Children are chattering about the King of kings. Governments are groaning as numbers swell. This is no longer a handful of infidels talking out of their minds about the Messiah. It’s a people movement.
This Christmas, governments are sweeping up the faithful, locking them in prison, demanding they deny Jesus. If they don’t, they face the death sentence.
The faithful are standing up sure, steadfast, determined to declare that Jesus is indeed the Lord. Their children cluster daily at the prison gates, rallying, raising voices in unity with the faith of their imprisoned parents.
The whole country is talking about it.
Who is this Messiah who purchased with His blood people from every tribe and language and people and nation?
He was a tribesman Himself. He understands very personally the cost of a tribal movement toward the one true God. His extraordinary ordinary arrival in Bethlehem that first Christmas made quite a stir. The events of that night had the whole country talking. Simple shepherds and worshiping wisemen were bowing before the Savior of the world.
The government was alarmed by the swell of people migrating their allegiance to a little baby called Immanuel. The king rose from his warm bed and declared death to his tiny rival. No action was too severe to shut down a threat to his sovereignty.
What the king did not understand, could not understand without faith, was that the Sovereign had come. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, had arrived on earth. And He would triumph in human hearts.
The persecuted are living the Christmas story. Their lives tell us the true tale of Christmas, the glory story that purchased people from every tribe and brought peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. #faith Click To Tweet“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and 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 among those with whom he is pleased.”
Luke 2:12-14
John Piper once wrote, “We know that without faith it is impossible to please God, so Christmas does not bring peace to all.”*
The governments who would imprison, torture, and kill those who follow Jesus do not know God’s peace, for they do not have faith in His Son. But those who know the Prince of Peace stand before their accusers with a serenity that cannot be understood or fully explained. Theirs is the peace we sing about at Christmas. This is the peace the baby in a manger brought. Such peace is found only through faith.
Certainly, Christmas does not bring peace to all.
Faith pleases God. Faith leads to peace and goodwill. Faith is central to Christmas.
On this second Sunday of Advent, may we all make faith central to our Christmas. What is standing in the way of your peace? Take a moment to trace what troubles you back to its base. You might find a lack of faith is the real holiday hooligan.
Lord, increase my faith this Christmas; I want to please you. Amen.
*Piper, John (2013). Joy to the World: Daily Readings for Advent. Desiring God.
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