The Cost of Christmas (Pt.2)

(Part 2 of 2)

“Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.) Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.”-John 6:60-66

Sometimes there is a cost to Christmas that we fail to consider. John tells us that at this point many of Jesus’ own disciples turned away and deserted Him. The people of Jesus’ day dreamed of the moment that the Messiah would come. They dreamed of being liberated from Roman bondage and living heaven on earth, so to speak, with the Messiah reigning among them. Many of Jesus’ disciples believed Him to be the Messiah and followed Him enthusiastically, until His teachings became difficult and demanded them to abandon their old way of living to follow Him. Yet, Jesus still chose to come.

In fact, Jesus warned those who would follow Him that, in much the same way, He was being rejected, so they would also be if they chose to follow Him. There is a cost to following Jesus. Like Him, it may cost you some relationships:

“A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.”-Luke 14:25-27

In comparison to Christ, we cannot love others or even our own lives, more than we love Him. So, when we celebrate the birth of Christ, we must count the cost of being His disciple.  If being abandoned by His disciples wasn’t difficult enough. He was, then, stripped of His dignity on the way to the cross:

“Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.”-Matthew 27:27-31

The Roman soldiers stripped Him down and mocked Him. They led Him to the cross, where they gambled for His clothes, and hung Him as a criminal on display for all to see. Christmas cost Jesus His dignity.

Ultimately, however, Christmas cost Jesus His life:

“By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last.-Luke 23:44-46

Jesus came to lay down His life as a ransom for many. Some of you are probably thinking this sounds like a Good Friday message. I’ll let you in on a secret, Good Friday is when the bill for Christmas came due. Christmas comes with a cost! Jesus had a budget for Christmas…ALL IN!

So before you get frustrated about getting another scented candle for Christmas or were forced to eat green bean casserole for the seventh time, remember the true cost of Christmas. We stress ourselves out over a few gifts and a hectic schedule and have gotten our eyes off what it truly cost Jesus to give us eternal life.

Pastor Scott Burr