The Point of It All: Rediscovering the True Meaning of Christmas
12/21/25 - Sermon Blog: Pastor Jim McKinnies
The Christmas season brings with it a whirlwind of activity from decorations, family gatherings, gift exchanges, and festive celebrations. Yet amid all the busyness, there's a profound truth that can easily get lost in the shuffle: Christmas is fundamentally about salvation.
A Name That Reveals Everything
Before the angels sang their heavenly chorus, before shepherds rushed to Bethlehem, before wise men bowed in worship, God revealed the entire purpose of Christmas in a single sentence: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
The name Jesus itself means "Yahweh is salvation." This wasn't just a pleasant-sounding name chosen at random. It was a declaration of purpose, a mission statement wrapped in identity. Everything about Christmas points back to this central truth; God came to rescue humanity.
In the Old Testament, salvation meant deliverance, rescue, safety, victory, help, and freedom from distress. The New Testament expands this to include preservation, healing, wholeness, and being brought into a safe condition. Jesus came "to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10). This is the heartbeat of Christmas.
Understanding "His People"
When the angel declared that Jesus would "save his people from their sins," who exactly were "his people"? The answer is found in something we often gloss over—the genealogy of Jesus.
Both Matthew and Luke carefully recorded Jesus' family tree, and it's not the pristine lineage we might expect. Matthew traces Jesus back through David to Abraham, establishing His covenant credentials with Israel. But Luke takes it all the way back to Adam, connecting Jesus to all of humanity.
This genealogy is remarkable for who it includes. There's Tamar, involved in scandal with Judah. There's Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute. Ruth was from the pagan nation of Moab. Bathsheba is alluded to as "her that had been the wife of Uriah," a reference to adultery and murder in David's life.
Why include these broken, messy people in the Messiah's family line? Because God is making a powerful statement: His people include the broken, the failures, the sinners, the misfits, and the outsiders. His family tree isn't sanitized—it's real. It's full of dysfunction, scandal, and mistakes.
When Jesus said He came for "His people," He wasn't just talking about the religiously qualified or ethnically pure. He was talking about all of us; Jew and Gentile, near and far, clean and unclean, expected and unexpected.
The Necessity of the Flesh
Why did salvation require God to become human? Why couldn't an all-powerful God simply decree forgiveness from heaven?
To save humanity, God had to enter humanity. Sin had to be defeated from the inside. Jesus had to be born, live, and die as a human to serve as our substitute and take on our sin. He had to become the sacrifice that would redeem us from Adam's fall.
This is why Jesus' humanity matters so much. Hebrews 4:15 tells us, "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was at all points tempted just like we are, yet without sin."
Jesus experienced everything we experience. He was tired, hungry, betrayed, beaten, rejected, and misunderstood. He felt pressure and walked through grief. He fought temptation not with heavenly power that would nullify His human experience, but as a man relying on the Word of God.
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he was trying to get Him to step out of His humanity and use His divine power. But Jesus responded as a human, saying, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." He had to defeat Satan through human means to truly be our representative.
The Manger Was the Message
The manger wasn't an accident; it was the message itself. God didn't arrive in power and majesty, demanding recognition. He came as a vulnerable baby, born into poverty, laid in a feeding trough.
Philippians 2:7 says He "made himself of no reputation and took upon the form of a servant." He came low so He could lift us high. He came near so He could bring us near. Sin had separated us from God, but Jesus bridged that gap by becoming one of us.
This is why we can say "come as you are" to people far from God. Nobody could make themselves righteous enough to approach a holy God. So God came to us. And the only way to come to us was to become us.
From Death to Life
Jesus came to undo what Adam broke. Romans 5:19 explains: "For by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners." We're all born into Adam's lineage, which means we're born into sin.
But Jesus stepped into that lineage. His DNA goes back to Adam too. He entered time through birth so He could defeat sin and death from within humanity. He crossed over from Adam to Christ, from flesh to spirit, from death to life, from condemnation to adoption.
This is the promise of Acts 2:17: "It shall come to pass in the last days, sayeth God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh." Not perfect flesh. Not religious flesh. Not qualified flesh. All flesh—meaning all people.
The Real Christmas Struggles
As we move through Christmas week, many people experience a range of difficult emotions. There's stress about preparations and finances. There's anxiety about family gatherings. There's loneliness when everyone else seems connected. There's grief over loved ones who are no longer here. There's disappointment over how life has turned out. There's exhaustion from trying to do it all.
These struggles are real, and acknowledging them doesn't mean we lack faith. Jesus' own lineage was full of family tension, dysfunction, and brokenness. He understands because He lived it.
The good news is that none of these struggles disqualify us from being "His people." In fact, they make us exactly the kind of people Jesus came for. He didn't come for the perfect or the self-sufficient. He came for the broken and the desperate.
You Are the Reason
Christmas is about salvation, not perfection. It's about redemption, not just family gatherings. It's not primarily about gifts under the tree, but about the greatest gift that hung on a tree.
If Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba belong in Jesus' genealogy, then you belong in His family. Your past doesn't disqualify you. Your mistakes don't eliminate you. Your story doesn't surprise God.
You are the reason He came. You are the reason for the manger. You are the reason for the cross. He came to save His people from their sins—and you are His people.
This Christmas, beyond the decorations and traditions, remember the point of it all: God became human so humans could be saved. He entered our brokenness so we could enter His wholeness. He took on flesh so He could pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
That's the message of Christmas. That's the point of it all.
The Christmas season brings with it a whirlwind of activity from decorations, family gatherings, gift exchanges, and festive celebrations. Yet amid all the busyness, there's a profound truth that can easily get lost in the shuffle: Christmas is fundamentally about salvation.
A Name That Reveals Everything
Before the angels sang their heavenly chorus, before shepherds rushed to Bethlehem, before wise men bowed in worship, God revealed the entire purpose of Christmas in a single sentence: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
The name Jesus itself means "Yahweh is salvation." This wasn't just a pleasant-sounding name chosen at random. It was a declaration of purpose, a mission statement wrapped in identity. Everything about Christmas points back to this central truth; God came to rescue humanity.
In the Old Testament, salvation meant deliverance, rescue, safety, victory, help, and freedom from distress. The New Testament expands this to include preservation, healing, wholeness, and being brought into a safe condition. Jesus came "to seek and to save that which is lost" (Luke 19:10). This is the heartbeat of Christmas.
Understanding "His People"
When the angel declared that Jesus would "save his people from their sins," who exactly were "his people"? The answer is found in something we often gloss over—the genealogy of Jesus.
Both Matthew and Luke carefully recorded Jesus' family tree, and it's not the pristine lineage we might expect. Matthew traces Jesus back through David to Abraham, establishing His covenant credentials with Israel. But Luke takes it all the way back to Adam, connecting Jesus to all of humanity.
This genealogy is remarkable for who it includes. There's Tamar, involved in scandal with Judah. There's Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute. Ruth was from the pagan nation of Moab. Bathsheba is alluded to as "her that had been the wife of Uriah," a reference to adultery and murder in David's life.
Why include these broken, messy people in the Messiah's family line? Because God is making a powerful statement: His people include the broken, the failures, the sinners, the misfits, and the outsiders. His family tree isn't sanitized—it's real. It's full of dysfunction, scandal, and mistakes.
When Jesus said He came for "His people," He wasn't just talking about the religiously qualified or ethnically pure. He was talking about all of us; Jew and Gentile, near and far, clean and unclean, expected and unexpected.
The Necessity of the Flesh
Why did salvation require God to become human? Why couldn't an all-powerful God simply decree forgiveness from heaven?
To save humanity, God had to enter humanity. Sin had to be defeated from the inside. Jesus had to be born, live, and die as a human to serve as our substitute and take on our sin. He had to become the sacrifice that would redeem us from Adam's fall.
This is why Jesus' humanity matters so much. Hebrews 4:15 tells us, "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was at all points tempted just like we are, yet without sin."
Jesus experienced everything we experience. He was tired, hungry, betrayed, beaten, rejected, and misunderstood. He felt pressure and walked through grief. He fought temptation not with heavenly power that would nullify His human experience, but as a man relying on the Word of God.
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he was trying to get Him to step out of His humanity and use His divine power. But Jesus responded as a human, saying, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." He had to defeat Satan through human means to truly be our representative.
The Manger Was the Message
The manger wasn't an accident; it was the message itself. God didn't arrive in power and majesty, demanding recognition. He came as a vulnerable baby, born into poverty, laid in a feeding trough.
Philippians 2:7 says He "made himself of no reputation and took upon the form of a servant." He came low so He could lift us high. He came near so He could bring us near. Sin had separated us from God, but Jesus bridged that gap by becoming one of us.
This is why we can say "come as you are" to people far from God. Nobody could make themselves righteous enough to approach a holy God. So God came to us. And the only way to come to us was to become us.
From Death to Life
Jesus came to undo what Adam broke. Romans 5:19 explains: "For by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners." We're all born into Adam's lineage, which means we're born into sin.
But Jesus stepped into that lineage. His DNA goes back to Adam too. He entered time through birth so He could defeat sin and death from within humanity. He crossed over from Adam to Christ, from flesh to spirit, from death to life, from condemnation to adoption.
This is the promise of Acts 2:17: "It shall come to pass in the last days, sayeth God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh." Not perfect flesh. Not religious flesh. Not qualified flesh. All flesh—meaning all people.
The Real Christmas Struggles
As we move through Christmas week, many people experience a range of difficult emotions. There's stress about preparations and finances. There's anxiety about family gatherings. There's loneliness when everyone else seems connected. There's grief over loved ones who are no longer here. There's disappointment over how life has turned out. There's exhaustion from trying to do it all.
These struggles are real, and acknowledging them doesn't mean we lack faith. Jesus' own lineage was full of family tension, dysfunction, and brokenness. He understands because He lived it.
The good news is that none of these struggles disqualify us from being "His people." In fact, they make us exactly the kind of people Jesus came for. He didn't come for the perfect or the self-sufficient. He came for the broken and the desperate.
You Are the Reason
Christmas is about salvation, not perfection. It's about redemption, not just family gatherings. It's not primarily about gifts under the tree, but about the greatest gift that hung on a tree.
If Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba belong in Jesus' genealogy, then you belong in His family. Your past doesn't disqualify you. Your mistakes don't eliminate you. Your story doesn't surprise God.
You are the reason He came. You are the reason for the manger. You are the reason for the cross. He came to save His people from their sins—and you are His people.
This Christmas, beyond the decorations and traditions, remember the point of it all: God became human so humans could be saved. He entered our brokenness so we could enter His wholeness. He took on flesh so He could pour out His Spirit on all flesh.
That's the message of Christmas. That's the point of it all.
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