Why Christians Celebrate Christmas

Both Mormons and Christians celebrate Christmas. And while we both observe this holiday in recognition of the birth of Jesus, the thing that makes this event special to us differs significantly.

Latter-day Saints view Christmas as the day in which their eldest brother Jehovah was born on earth. But Christians celebrate Christmas as an unparalleled event in which the infinite, eternal, unchanging God who created heaven and earth became a man (Colossians 1:16).

God is infinite, all powerful, uncreated, and completely unique. The Bible teaches that there is no one like Him (Isaiah 45:5-6, Isaiah 46:9, 1 Kings 8:60), no one who can even be compared to Him (Isaiah 44:6-8, Isaiah 40:18, Psalm 89:6-8)! The entire Bible repeatedly makes it clear that God is not one of us (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29)! 

But God became one of us, in order to save us. Christians call this the Incarnation, and we celebrate this miracle each Christmas.

We are not merely celebrating another spirit child from Heavenly Father who came to earth—as Mormonism claims all mankind has. We’re celebrating that the infinite God of the universe (who cannot be contained by time or space) miraculously took on human flesh. 

Jesus was not just another one of us, He was the wholly unique Uncreated Eternal God – from whom, through whom, and for whom all things exist (Romans 11:36). That’s why this is the greatest miracle in history! The matchless glory of Almighty God was found in a manger. The Father did NOT become a man and neither did the Holy Spirit. But the Son—the second member of the Trinity—took on flesh. 

But why did Jesus need to become human? The Bible gives us several reasons:

Jesus became one of us to fully identify with us.

In becoming a man, Jesus had to endure all the typical trials and struggles of human life. He dealt with growth, hunger, pain, temptation, and even death. And through it all, He remained perfect and sinless.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are,  yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

This is why the Bible can call Jesus our brother! Not because He was our spirit sibling, but because He identified with us by becoming human. This is what makes Jesus so suitable to help us when we are tempted. 

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted (Hebrews 2:18).

Jesus came to be the final mediator between God and Man.

Under the Old Covenant, God ordained certain men to serve as mediators between Him and His people. But because these Prophets and Priests were merely human, none of them were able to perfectly fulfill their role.

The Old Testament showed that we needed a better mediator! One who would live forever as our ultimate Prophet and Priest: Jesus. Hebrews 2:16–17 says,

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:16–17).

Jesus is the only one who could perfectly mediate between God and man. He is Himself both God, and man! He’s perfect, eternal, and will never fail us as a mediator. The Bible says,

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

Jesus took on human flesh so that he could die.

…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14).

Because our sin separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2-3), we needed a once-for-all sacrifice to put away sin for all time (Hebrews 10:10-14). Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sins (John 1:29). And in order to die, Jesus needed to be human!

But God demanded that a sacrifice for sin needed to be perfect, just as Old Testament sacrifices needed to be unblemished (Deuteronomy 17:1). But none of us are without sin! 

Only God Himself could perfectly obey the holy requirements of the Law. So Jesus took on a human nature to become our sinless sacrifice that would forever cleanse those who believe in Him (1 John 3:5).

Christmas is a celebration of the promised Messiah, who was Himself the very God that the Israelites of the Old Testament worshiped. The Son eternally added to His divinity, humanity. Jesus was born into our family—through flesh…in order to adopt us into God’s family—through faith.

So what makes the Christian celebration of Christmas different than the Mormon celebration? The Apostle John puts it best:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it….The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God….And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 9-12, 14).