Thursday, December 25

“Shallow are the souls that have forgotten how to shudder.” This is the alarm sounded by Leon Kass, a former ethicist from the University of Chicago. He warned our souls become shallow when we lose our sense of shock and horror when we see things that we deem profoundly wrong. I bring this up because there is a temptation at Christmas to paper over problems and numb ourselves with activities, traditions, and vacations.
The music, lights, and parties that punctuate the joy of Christmas are diminished when we disconnect the arrival of our Savior from the atrocities of our sin. John 3:16 is one of the most famous verses in all of Scripture and yet one pastor has written that it might also be one of the most distorted verses in all of Scripture. We quote this verse to celebrate the extraordinary love of God that was expressed in the sending of His Son so that whoever believes in Him might be saved. The context of John 3:16 gives it even more significance and force. The backdrop of John 3:16 is not just His conversation with Nicodemus, but Jesus refers to the story of God’s people battling a plague of venomous snakes (Numbers 21). Moses was instructed to put a snake on a stick and lift it up. Those who looked at the snake were healed. So too Jesus says He came into the world to be lifted up on the cross that whoever believes would be saved. It is with the backdrop of a snake-bit sickness that we read John 3:16. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believed in Him should not perish from our sin sickness but have eternal life. This Christmas, do not be afraid to shudder at the sin-soaked world that surrounds you. Let your eyes drift to the snake-crushing Savior who descended to the manger and who would eventually be lifted up on the cross so that all who look to Him might be healed and saved.

Sully Curtin