Why Do We Celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ?

I studied about the Christmas story in my Come Follow Me study for this week in a lesson titled “Good Tidings of Great Joy.” The lesson was preceded by this bit of counsel: “Consider how pondering the Savior’s birth and mission can help bring a spirit of peace and sacredness to the Christmas season.” Then the lesson was introduced with the following information. 

Why does the birth of a baby bring such great joy? Perhaps because a new baby can be a symbol of hope. There’s something about a brand-new life full of possibilities that invites us to ponder what life might hold for that child and what wonderful things he or she will accomplish. Never has this been truer than at the birth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Never has there been more hope placed in a child, and never has there been one born with so much promise.

When an angel invited shepherds to seek a newborn child in a manger, he also gave them a message about that child. It was a message of hope—that this baby had come to earth to fulfill a sacred mission. The shepherds made their message “known abroad … and all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:17-19). Perhaps it would be good to follow Mary’s example this Christmas: to ponder in your heart the things you have learned about the Savior this year. How did He fulfill His mission of redemption in the accounts you have read? And more important, how has His mission changed your life? Then you might feel inspired to follow the example of the shepherds: how will you make it “known abroad” what Jesus Christ has done for you?

There are two principles contained in this lesson. The first principle is “Jesus Christ condescended to be born among us on earth” (Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20).

You may have heard studied the story of the birth of Jesus Christ many times, but the lesson encourages us to study it this time pondering this thought: “Christmas is not only a celebration of how Jesus came into the world but also of knowing who He is – our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ – and of why He came” (Craig C. Christensen, “The Fulness of the Story of Christmas” [First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Dec. 4, 2016], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). The lesson suggested several questions to answer while studying His birth. 

·         What do you know about who Jesus Christ was before He was born? (Suggested references are John 17:5; Mosiah 3:5; Doctrine and Covenants 76:13-14, 20-24; Moses 4:2). These scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ lived with Heavenly Father and had power and glory before He came to earth as a newborn babe, that He is a living Personage who stands on the right hand of His Father, and that He wanted to do His Father’s will and give all glory to His Father.

§  How does this knowledge affect the way you feel when you read about His birth?

·         What do you know about why Jesus Christ came to earth? (Suggested references are Luke 4:16-21; John 3:16-17; 3 Nephi 27:13-16; Doctrine and Covenants 20:20-28.) These scriptures tell us that He came to “preach the gospel to the poor,” “heal the brokenhearted,” “preach deliverance to the captives,” recover “sight to the blind,” to give liberty to those who are bruised; to save all those who believe in Him by giving His life for those who repent, are baptized in His name, and endure to the end; to be crucified, die, be resurrected, and to ascend into heaven to be with Heavenly Father again.

§  How does this knowledge affect the way you feel about the Savior?

§  How does it affect the way you live?

You can find a wonderful video titled “The Christ Child: A Nativity Story” at this site. 

The second principle in the lesson is “Jesus Christ fulfilled His mission and made it possible for me to inherit eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:21-26; Colossians 1:12-22; 1 Peter 2:21-25). The story of the birth of Jesus Christ includes numerous miraculous events. However, His birth would have been just another birth if it had not been for what He accomplished as an adult. President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, “There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection” (“The Wondrous and True Story of Christmas,” Ensign, Dec. 2000, 5).