24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood;[b] see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged[c] Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.-Matthew 27:24-26
Christmas is fast approaching and as we shift toward celebrating it this passage was a timely reminder of why Jesus came. I don’t know how many times I’ve read this and for years the people’s response has stuck with me. As I was reading it the other day Pilate’s words struck me. Neither he nor the crowds screaming for Jesus to be crucified had any idea the weight of the words they spoke. One man claims his innocence of the blood that would be spilled, and the rest pass the responsibility onto their children. The first doesn’t understand he is as guilty as everyone else and the second have no idea what they are truly saying, because his blood would be on their children, just as much as it was on them, but it doesn’t stop there.
Why do we celebrate the birth of Jesus? Why did Jesus come? We celebrate the reconciliation he made possible through his death. He came to die. The Christmas story is steeped in blood and death. It is easy to gloss over Herod killing all the boys in Bethlehem that were two years of age or younger for fear of losing his throne because we tend to focus only on the happy. We don’t talk much about that because Herod killing children because of his ego isn’t really printable in children’s Christmas books. But we don’t talk about the reason Jesus was born in them in the first place, either.
Not that I’m advocating you tell a group of toddlers about Herod’s killing spree, but we do a disservice to the gospel when we gloss over the fact of why Jesus came in the first place for a palatable version because of who we are talking to. Young children need the gospel just as much as adults. They need the real gospel. Not a watered-down version. If they are going to understand their need for the gospel as they grow, they need to know why we celebrate the birth of Jesus. There is plenty of emphasis placed on the crucifixion and resurrection at Easter, but why wait until then to talk about such things? The whole reason for Jesus coming was to reconcile us to God. Jesus was born to die.
You want to sweeten your celebration of Christmas? Remember why we celebrate it in the first place. A savior was born. The lamb of God came to rescue us. He came to save us. He came as a powerless baby in a dirty stable. He came in a humble state that was the opposite of Herod’s ego. He came to die. He was born to make a sacrifice so that we could be reconciled to God.
Pilate cannot escape the blood of Jesus because Jesus came for Pilate too. The children of the crowd would bear the responsibility of the blood of Jesus just as much as the crowd itself. That responsibility falls on us as well. He died for us. Beaten, broken, killed, for you and I. He would triumph over death and resurrect, reconciling us to God. But first he had to be born.
So, this Christmas as you celebrate don’t skip over why we celebrate the birth of Jesus. His birth is to be celebrated certainly; just don’t forget why he was born in the first place. He came to save sinners with his life, death, and resurrection.
