The Real Purpose of ChristmasSample

The True Lamb of God

The Bible tells us that on the night Jesus was born, there were shepherds tending their flock nearby. These particular shepherds were tasked with breeding and raising sacrificial lambs. And although they were faithful to their assignment, all along, they had fixed their eyes on the wrong lambs. On this holy night, an angel appeared and told them that the real Lamb of God had been born in Bethlehem.

Just as these shepherds wrapped little sacrificial lambs in swaddling clothes to protect them and to help them remain lambs without blemish so they could be offered as Temple sacrifices, Christ was born that night as “a Lamb without blemish and without spot” (see 1 Peter 1:19).

Years later when Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized, John the Baptist even declared, “...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

John the Baptist was Jesus’ relative and had spent time with Jesus as they were growing up. John had no doubt heard the miraculous stories about Jesus’ birth, and all his life, he was told by his parents that one day he would prepare the way for Jesus.

John’s parents instilled it into him as a young man that he was born to fulfill that divine destiny. This shows the power of parents to guide a child to God’s calling on his or her life.

John had been told and trained that his cousin Jesus appeared at birth as the Lamb of God when His parents wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and placed Him in a manger, as was customary with sacrificial lambs that were born near Bethlehem. Just like the angel who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, John knew that Jesus was the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. And that is exactly what Jesus did.

The glorious coming of our Savior into the world is truly remarkable. The way in which He came and those to whom He first revealed Himself are significant.

Jesus — the Anointed Christ, God in the flesh, and Supreme Lord of all — didn’t hide His purpose for coming. From the moment of His birth, He was presented to the world as the Lamb of God “slain from the foundation of the world” to take away the penalty of man’s sin. And His intentions were first revealed that historical night to those who would understand it best: shepherds in the field who were keeping watch over sacrificial lambs.

Questions to Discuss:

Are you praying and preparing your children for their divine destiny? If you don’t know the destiny of your children, ask God to guide you in how to best prepare them to fulfill His purpose in their lives.