The Freedom Of Truth As To The Celebration Of Christmas

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:

 When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph,

 before they came together, she was found with 

child of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:18 

     We can look at the Mid-East today and see the rules as to marriage, the often harshness as to a woman having sexual intercourse before marriage, it was and is: stoning! The sanctity of engagement and marriage is held high now and was the same in the past in Israel. Therefore, Mary now being with child was subject to death, in the least ostracized. Some critics will disagree with this account of the pregnancy of Mary to be something that God did and say that all this was a ruse to hide this pregnancy. On the surface I will agree that this seems to be two lovers not wanting anything bad to happen. Some critics will not admit that the birth of Jesus had anything to do with the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14) so to give to this new birth the name Immanuel, or Jesus was just part of this ruse to prove a long ago prophecy. The name Jesus is an English translation for Joshua the Hebrew pronounciation or the Latin version "Justus." This word "Jesus" means Jehovah saved. Immanuel is a Hebrew word and means with is is God. In Matthew 1:23 Jesus is said to be called "Immanuel" and yet this was no what Jesus was called, so what does this mean? The subject of this, or the context of this narrative is the birth of Jesus and that He was to be called "God with us" or in English "Jesus.' The Greek is: "καὶ καλέσουσιν (3rd person plural, future, indicative and active) τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ (Genitive reflexive pronoun)  Ἐμμανουήλ·" The fact that the word for to be called is plural refers to others, that this is what they will call Him and this will be in the future, how far, if in present can be both but this is not to say that it is His name that He would have on earth, but refers to the fact that He was to be known as God is with us. The fact that a reflexive pronoun is used that is genitive where we put the word "of" as in of this or that, means that His name of Him would be known that God is with us and that the Hebrew word "Joshua" was to be His name, God saved, or saves, has therefore in this context that this one to be born by Mary due to the conception through the Holy Spirit, God, then we have this assurance that Jesus was and is the One prophesied. But how do we know this to be absolutely true? As a young boy, age 12, Jesus confronted and confounded some Jewish scholars, and then in His adult life He performed miracles that only God could do: think on this....The man with the withered arm that was instantly restored to normality, or the blind man from birth that had his eyesight instantly restored and read the narrative of the withered hand and that Jesus said that He was the I Am, I Am that made the Pharisees made, or that the priests who met with the blind man who was no longer blind and that Jesus was said to be the One who healed him and that man's parents vouched that he was blind from birth and the reaction of the priests, the plotted against Jesus. There is more, the calming of the sea, the feeding of the 5,000, and more, things only God could do, so we have facts that Jesus is Immanuel, and is Joshua the promised Messiah. Let me add this: The Jewish people relied on truth and would confront anything that was construed as a lie so that when Matthew, and others wrote about the life of Jesus they would confront if this was not true. Not like today where people cannot seem to know what is truth. 
     Yes, Christmas has pagan roots! Get over it! That is unless you follow its pagan roots by following paganism, the gods of paganism, if not then you are not using paganism in this celebration. You play with a ball, well, it has pagan roots, etc., so we who are not giving credence to its pagan roots but using this time to celebrate the fulfillment of a prophecy some 700 years before it happened have every right to celebrate and give this time to be a time to worship God with us. 

 Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you
     a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, 
and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
                         Isaiah 7:14

Prepare to celebrate, to worship Jesus Christ

Richard L. Crumb