Christmas: What Scripture Says, What History Shows

Days and Feasts · Article 3 of 3 · 2026-10-30 · Key passages: Luke 2:1–20; Matthew 1:18–25; Romans 14:5–6. Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.

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On a night in Bethlehem, shepherds were “keeping watch by night over their flock.” (Luke 2:8). An angel stood by them, and they were terrified. Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.” (Luke 2:10). Every December, believers read those words again. Many sing of that night with joy. Others were taught that Christmas is a pagan feast with a Christian name, and that a faithful believer keeps no part of it. Still others were taught that keeping it is a duty. This article reads what Luke and Matthew say about the birth of Jesus. It then asks what Scripture does not say, what historians have found about the day, and how Scripture tells believers to weigh such a day. We ask you to read each passage for yourself, and to check every word.

Read These First

• Luke 2:1–20: the birth, the shepherds and the angels.
• Matthew 1:18–25: “for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).
• Matthew 2:1–12: the wise men.
• Luke 22:19–20: “Do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19).
• Romans 14:5–13: days and conscience.
• 1 Corinthians 10:25–31: “do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

The Birth of Jesus Is Good News of Great Joy

What the text says. The angel Gabriel was sent to Mary in Nazareth. He told her, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’” (Luke 1:31). He said, “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,” (Luke 1:32). Mary asked how this could be, and Gabriel answered:

The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.

— Luke 1:35

An angel told Joseph in a dream, “She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21). Luke tells where and how the child was born:

Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to enroll himself with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him as wife, being pregnant. While they were there, the day had come for her to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough, because there was no room for them in the inn.

— Luke 2:4–7

The angel told the shepherds, “For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11). Then “there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army praising God and saying,” (Luke 2:13), “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14). The shepherds went and found the child. They “returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen,” (Luke 2:20).

Matthew tells of wise men from the east. They asked, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2). “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.” (Matthew 2:10). Matthew goes on:

They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

— Matthew 2:11

In the temple, Simeon took the child in his arms and blessed God, saying, “for my eyes have seen your salvation,” (Luke 2:30). Passages: Matthew 1:18–20; 2:5–6; Micah 5:2; Galatians 4:4.

What we conclude. Scripture says plainly that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of Mary in Bethlehem, David’s city (Luke 1:35; 2:4–7). It says plainly that the angel called his birth good news of great joy, and named the child “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11). It says plainly that angels praised God, the shepherds glorified God, and the wise men rejoiced (Luke 2:13–14, 20; Matthew 2:10). Our conclusion is that the birth is good news because of who was born and what he came to do: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” (1 Timothy 1:15). Our conclusion is also that Scripture itself shows rejoicing at his birth, and nowhere rebukes it (Luke 2:10–14, 20).

Matthew says the wise men came “into the house” (Matthew 2:11) and found “the young child” (Matthew 2:11). Herod then killed the boys of Bethlehem “from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.” (Matthew 2:16). Our conclusion is that the wise men came some time after the birth, not on the night of the shepherds (Matthew 2:11, 16). Matthew names three gifts but does not say how many wise men there were (Matthew 2:11).

Galatians 4:4 gives the manner of the sending: “born to a woman, born under the law,” (Galatians 4:4). John was “a man sent from God,” (John 1:6), and Jesus prays, “As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18). Our conclusion is that God sent his Son by his birth, and that sent into the world is a commission (Galatians 4:4; John 17:18; 1 John 4:9). Our examples of sending are of men already living, and no text calls a birth itself a sending. Galatians 4:6 uses the same words of the Spirit. That presses against us, and we say so. In John 6, came down out of heaven is said of bread: “I am the living bread which came down out of heaven.” (John 6:51). The same verse says, “the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51). Our conclusion is that from heaven there means from God, by his gift and sending (John 6:51). Jesus speaks of his own will elsewhere: “I don’t seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.” (John 5:30). Our conclusion is that the will in John 6:38 is the obedience of the man sent, not a choice made before his birth (John 5:30). Four verses later Jesus asks, “Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” (John 6:62). That reads against us on its face; it is among the texts listed under Questions Answered, and we say so.

Isaiah’s child is born and given, and reigns “on David’s throne,” (Isaiah 9:7). Isaiah credits that reign to another: “The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:7). Jeremiah says of Jerusalem, “This is the name by which she will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 33:16). Our conclusion is that Isaiah’s titles are throne names given to the son of David, telling what God does through him (Isaiah 9:6–7; Jeremiah 33:16). Isaiah uses mighty God of Yahweh a chapter later: “A remnant will return, even the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.” (Isaiah 10:21). That presses against us, and we say so.

Matthew quotes Micah on Bethlehem (Matthew 2:6). Micah says the ruler’s “goings out are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2). Two verses later the ruler has a God: he shepherds “in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God.” (Micah 5:4). Our conclusion is that his goings out are his origin in David’s ancient line, foretold of old, not a life before his birth (Micah 5:2–4).

Gabriel ties the title Son of God to that conception (Luke 1:35). Our conclusion is that Jesus came into existence when the Holy Spirit came on Mary (Luke 1:35). Article 3 of The Good News and the Statement of Faith, section 15, answer who the Word of John 1 is before he “became flesh” (John 1:14). Section 15 lists the other texts that read against us, with our answer and its confidence; they are listed under Questions Answered below. The confession John makes the test is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2–3). Readers on both sides of that question make it.

Scripture Gives No Day for His Birth, and Asks Us to Remember His Death

What the text says. Luke dates the birth by the rulers of the time, not by a day:

Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

— Luke 2:1–2

Matthew says Jesus was born “in the days of King Herod,” (Matthew 2:1). Luke says that when Jesus began to teach, he “was about thirty years old,” (Luke 3:23). The shepherds were “staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock.” (Luke 2:8).

On the night he was betrayed, Jesus gave his disciples bread and said, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19). Paul passed on the same words to the church in Corinth:

In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

— 1 Corinthians 11:25–26

The apostles preached his death and resurrection as the heart of the good news: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). Passages: Acts 2:22–36; 1 Corinthians 11:23–24.

What we conclude. Scripture does not give the day of Jesus’ birth, or the month. Luke names the rulers and the census, and Matthew names Herod (Luke 2:1–2; Matthew 2:1). Luke says the shepherds were in the field by night, but he does not name the season (Luke 2:8). Some readers argue from that verse that the birth cannot have been in winter. Our conclusion is that the verse does not settle the season, so we rest nothing on it (Luke 2:8).

Scripture says plainly that Jesus told his disciples to eat the bread and drink the cup in memory of him (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25). It says plainly that by doing so believers “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26). The New Testament nowhere commands believers to keep the day of his birth, our conclusion (Acts 15:28–29; Colossians 2:16). Our conclusion is that remembering his death is commanded, and keeping a day for his birth is not, so it is free (Romans 14:5–6).

Our conclusion is that what Pharaoh and Herod did on their birthdays is judged by what they did, not by the day (Genesis 40:20–22; Matthew 14:6–10). Our conclusion is that the Preacher compares a life ended well with its beginning, and does not forbid marking a birth (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

A day the New Testament does not record the apostles keeping is not forbidden for that reason alone, our conclusion. Scripture records Purim, a yearly feast the Law of Moses did not command, without rebuke (Esther 9:27). That is an argument from silence, and we give it as our conclusion. It is taken up under Each Believer Keeps a Day, or Does Not, to the Lord. What Paul says of days is plain: “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.” (Romans 14:6). Our conclusion is that the believer who does not keep Christmas, and the believer who does, may each do so to the Lord (Romans 14:5–6).

Historians Give More Than One Account of the Day, and No Teaching Rests on Any

What history records. History gives some context, though no teaching rests on it. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) says that Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. It notes that Irenaeus and Tertullian leave it out of their lists of feasts (C. C. Martindale, Christmas, in The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908, newadvent.org, opened 2026-10-30). Andrew McGowan, writing in Bible Review, says the Gospels and Acts do not mention celebrations of the birth. He adds that they give neither the date nor even the time of year (Andrew McGowan, How December 25 Became Christmas, Bible Review, December 2002, biblicalarchaeology.org, opened 2026-10-30). Both sources report that Clement of Alexandria, writing about the year 200, knew of people who had worked out a day for the birth. The dates he reports fall in April and May; McGowan notes that Clement does not mention 25 December at all.

McGowan calls a Roman almanac of the mid-fourth century the earliest mention of 25 December as Jesus’ birthday. It is known as the Chronograph (or Chronography) of 354, and its calendar as the Philocalian Calendar. Its list of the burial days of martyrs opens with an entry for 25 December. McGowan renders it, Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea (The Chronography of 354, Part 12, Commemorations of the Martyrs, from MGH Chronica Minora I, 1892, pp. 71–72, tertullian.org, opened 2026-10-30; McGowan). The Catholic Encyclopedia judges that this list probably dates from 336. It adds that it is not clear the calendar holds evidence earlier than 354.

The sources we opened give two main accounts of how the date was chosen, and the Catholic Encyclopedia a third view. The first holds that the church set the birth of Jesus against a pagan feast. McGowan notes that in 274 the emperor Aurelian established a feast of the birth of Sol Invictus, the unconquered sun. The Catholic Encyclopedia judges that this solar feast, kept on 25 December, gives a strong reason for the date. It does not say the church borrowed the date on purpose. Its author judges that the same midwinter instinct may have set both feasts at the solstice. On his view this needs no deliberate borrowing or reckoning. It also says the origin of Christmas is not to be found in the Saturnalia, a Roman midwinter feast. The second account holds that the date was reckoned. Some early Christians held that Jesus was conceived on the day of the year on which he died, taken to be 25 March. Nine months later is 25 December. McGowan cites Augustine, who wrote that Jesus was believed to have been conceived on 25 March, the day on which he also suffered. Augustine added that he was born, according to tradition, on 25 December. The Catholic Encyclopedia names this reckoning as Duchesne’s theory. It notes that there is no evidence from the fourth century of a feast of the conception on 25 March. McGowan says the borrowing account is not found in any ancient Christian writing. He traces its first appearance to a twelfth-century note in the margin of a manuscript. He leans toward the second account, but he says the question cannot be settled with certainty. He also allows that some parts of the festival, as it grew from the fourth century on, may have come from pagan traditions.

Some later customs are recorded too. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that the Christmas tree is first clearly mentioned at Strasbourg in 1605. It says that an Act of Parliament banned Christmas in England in 1644.

What we conclude. Historians do not agree on how 25 December was chosen, and the sources we opened name more than one account. Our conclusion is that Scripture does not settle the question, and our answer does not depend on how it is settled (Romans 14:5–6; 1 Corinthians 10:25–26). If the first account is right, the date was set against a pagan feast. If the second is right, it was reckoned from the day of his death. On any of the accounts, a date is a thing, and no one worships it. Our conclusion is that a date once used for idols is not forbidden for that alone, as Paul allowed meat from the market (1 Corinthians 10:25–26). Our conclusion is that what Scripture forbids is worship given to anything but God, on any day (1 Corinthians 10:20–21). It also forbids the nations’ acts of worship brought into the worship of God, our conclusion (Deuteronomy 12:31).

Ezekiel’s men worshipped the sun at the door of Yahweh’s temple (Ezekiel 8:16). Jeremiah’s cakes were made “to the queen of the sky,” (Jeremiah 7:18), and the people poured out drink offerings “to other gods,” (Jeremiah 7:18). Our conclusion is that each is an act of worship to another god, which is what Deuteronomy 12:30–31 forbids. A meal, a light or a date that no one worships is not that, our conclusion (1 Corinthians 10:25–26).

Paul allowed meat from the market: “Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat, asking no question for the sake of conscience,” (1 Corinthians 10:25), for the earth is the Lord’s (1 Corinthians 10:26). The apostles wrote “that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols,” (Acts 15:29). Revelation also faults those who taught others “to eat things sacrificed to idols,” (Revelation 2:14). Paul also says, “But if anyone says to you, ‘This was offered to idols,’ don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you,” (1 Corinthians 10:28). Our conclusion is that these texts forbid eating what is known to be offered to idols. Paul lets believers eat from the market “asking no question” (1 Corinthians 10:25). Our conclusion is that what is forbidden is sharing in the idol’s worship and table (1 Corinthians 10:20–21). He also said, “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean of itself;” (Romans 14:14). Our conclusion is that a thing once used for idols is not forbidden for that alone (1 Corinthians 10:25–26).

Jeremiah warns against being “dismayed at the signs of the sky;” (Jeremiah 10:2). He goes on to describe what the workman and the goldsmith make. “They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move.” (Jeremiah 10:5). “But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood.” (Jeremiah 10:8). It is “the work of the engraver and of the hands of the goldsmith.” (Jeremiah 10:9). Of such idols he says, “Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil,” (Jeremiah 10:5). Our conclusion is that the tree of verses 3–4 is carved by a workman into an idol (Jeremiah 10:3–5, 8–9). The passage forbids fearing the signs and making idols, not trees as such, our conclusion (Jeremiah 10:2–5).

Moses names Asherah poles with the nations’ objects of worship: “burn their Asherah poles with fire. You shall cut down the engraved images of their gods.” (Deuteronomy 12:3). Maacah “had made an abominable image for an Asherah.” (1 Kings 15:13). Our conclusion is that Deuteronomy 16:21 forbids setting an object of another god’s worship beside God’s altar. A tree no one worships is not that, our conclusion (Deuteronomy 12:3; 1 Corinthians 10:25–26). Paul names the deeds of darkness just before: “sexual immorality, and all uncleanness or covetousness,” (Ephesians 5:3), and the “covetous man (who is an idolater),” (Ephesians 5:5). Our conclusion is that these deeds are forbidden at Christmas as on any other day, and that the verse does not name the day (Ephesians 5:3–11).

Paul asks of the unclean thing, “What agreement does a temple of God have with idols?” (2 Corinthians 6:16). Our conclusion is that the unclean thing in view is idols and their worship (2 Corinthians 6:16). It is not all contact with the world, which Paul says would mean “you would have to leave the world.” (1 Corinthians 5:10). Paul names whom he is answering in Galatians: “you that desire to be under the law,” (Galatians 4:21), and “you who desire to be justified by the law.” (Galatians 5:4). Our conclusion is that the bondage he warns against is days kept as law to be made right with God (Galatians 4:9–10). It is not days kept to the Lord, our conclusion (Romans 14:6). Article 1 of this series, The Feasts God Gave, and What They Point To, answers it more fully.

Each Believer Keeps a Day, or Does Not, to the Lord

What the text says. Scripture never names Christmas. Paul writes of days without naming them:

One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.

— Romans 14:5–6

He adds, “Therefore let’s not judge one another any more,” (Romans 14:13), and, “whatever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23). He writes, “Let no one therefore judge you in eating or drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day,” (Colossians 2:16). And he gives one rule for all of life: “Whether therefore you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Scripture records a yearly feast that the Law of Moses did not command. After Haman’s plot against the Jews was turned back in the days of Esther, Mordecai wrote that they should make the days “days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy.” (Esther 9:22). Then:

the Jews established and imposed on themselves, on their descendants, and on all those who joined themselves to them, so that it should not fail that they would keep these two days according to what was written and according to its appointed time every year;

— Esther 9:27

John also records, “It was the Feast of the Dedication at Jerusalem.” (John 10:22). “It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.” (John 10:23). Passages: Romans 14:1–4; 1 Corinthians 10:23–33; Esther 9:20–28.

What we conclude. Our conclusion is that Paul’s rule covers any day a believer keeps to the Lord, including days Scripture does not command (Romans 14:5–6). Scripture says plainly that one believer keeps a day to the Lord and another does not (Romans 14:5–6). It says plainly that believers are not to judge one another (Romans 14:13). Our conclusion is that each believer may keep Christmas to the Lord or not keep it, fully assured in his own mind (Romans 14:5–6).

Scripture records Purim, which the Jews “established and imposed on themselves,” (Esther 9:27), without rebuke. That is an argument from silence, and we give it only as our conclusion. A feast of thanks not commanded in the Law is not condemned for that alone, our conclusion (Esther 9:27). John places Jesus in the temple at the Feast of the Dedication (John 10:22–23). The text does not say that he kept it, and we do not say more.

Our conclusion is that a family may mark the day before the Lord, reading Luke 2 and giving thanks for the Savior (Romans 14:6). Or it may let the day pass, practising nothing Scripture forbids, our conclusion (1 Corinthians 10:31). A tree, lights, a meal or gifts that no one worships are things, judged as other things are, our conclusion (1 Corinthians 10:25–26; Romans 14:14).

Paul also limited freedom for the sake of others: “Conscience, I say, not your own, but the other’s conscience.” (1 Corinthians 10:29). Our conclusion is that a believer gives up a custom where it would wound another’s conscience, and need not keep any of it (1 Corinthians 8:12–13; 10:28–29; Romans 14:6). Our conclusion is that no one may teach keeping such a day as God’s command, nor avoiding it where Scripture is silent (Mark 7:7; Colossians 2:21–22).

Questions Answered

These questions touch this article. Each is answered from Scripture and labeled. The Statement of Faith, section 15, gives the same answers.

Whether Jesus existed before his conception. Our conclusion: Jesus is a man, the Son of God, who came into existence in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit. Before that he existed in God’s purpose and foreknowledge.

Gabriel said: “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35).

Read the other way: John 1:1–3, 15, 30; 3:13; 6:62; 8:58; 17:5; Philippians 2:5–8; Colossians 1:15–17; Hebrews 1:10–12; Jude 5; Micah 5:2; Proverbs 8:22; Revelation 1:17; 2:8; 22:13. Confidence: Narrow. Luke 1:35 is plain, but the texts listed read against us on their face, and we say so.

What Isaiah 9:6’s titles mean. Our conclusion: they are throne names given to the son of David. Like “Yahweh our righteousness” (Jeremiah 33:16), they tell what God does through the one who bears them.

Isaiah wrote: “For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).

Read the other way: Isaiah 10:21. Confidence: Narrow. Verse 7 and Jeremiah 33:16 support us, but Isaiah 10:21 uses the same words of God.

Days Scripture does not command, such as Christmas and Halloween. Our conclusion: each believer may keep such a day to the Lord or not keep it, fully assured in his own mind, and no one may judge another over it. A thing once used for idols is not forbidden for that alone, as Paul allowed meat from the market. But no one may worship another god, or worship God in the ways the nations served theirs, and no one may teach such a day as God’s command, nor teach its avoidance as God’s command where Scripture does not command it.

Paul wrote: “One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5).

Read the other way: Exodus 32:5; Deuteronomy 12:30–32; Jeremiah 10:2–5; Galatians 4:8–10; 2 Corinthians 6:14–17; Ephesians 5:11; 1 Kings 12:32–33; 1 Corinthians 10:28–29; Acts 15:29. Confidence: Solid. Scripture never names these days. Romans 14:5–6 speaks of days without naming them, and Colossians 2:16 of the Law’s feast days; applying them to days Scripture does not command is our step, with 1 Corinthians 10:25–26 for things once used for idols. Scripture plainly forbids worshipping other gods, sorcery and consulting the dead, on any day (1 Corinthians 10:20–21; Galatians 5:20; Isaiah 8:19). Deuteronomy 12:30–31 is the hardest text; our step is to draw the line at worship itself, not at things once used in it.

The authority of church leaders and teachers. Our conclusion: leaders have real authority to teach, shepherd and correct by the Scriptures. No leader, council or church may bind a believer to anything Scripture does not teach.

Jesus said: “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers.” (Matthew 23:8).

Read the other way: Hebrews 13:17; Matthew 16:19; 18:18; Acts 15:28; 2 Thessalonians 2:15. Confidence: Solid. Leaders’ duties and their limits are both plain; applying them case by case is our step.

Whether salvation depends on these questions. Our conclusion: salvation depends on believing the good news about Jesus and remaining in his teaching. It does not depend on settling every question in this document.

Jesus said: “I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24).

Read the other way: John 8:24; 1 John 2:23; Galatians 1:9. Confidence: Solid. John 8:24 and 2 John 9 name what is required; Romans 14:1 shows that not every question divides.

What Scripture does not say. Scripture does not name Christmas. It does not give the day of Jesus’ birth, or its season. It does not say how many wise men came. It does not say that Jesus kept the Feast of the Dedication. It does not command a feast for his birth, and it does not forbid one.

“The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Where We Stand

Scripture says

• “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35).
• “For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11).
• “for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).
• Angels praised God at his birth, and the shepherds returned “glorifying and praising God” (Luke 2:20).
• Jesus said of the bread, “Do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19).
• “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.” (Romans 14:6).
• “Therefore let’s not judge one another any more,” (Romans 14:13).

We conclude

• Our conclusion: no feast for his birth may be laid on believers (Acts 15:28–29; Colossians 2:16).
• Our conclusion: remembering his death is commanded; keeping a day for his birth is free (1 Corinthians 11:24–26; Romans 14:5–6).
• Our conclusion: Immanuel declares God present with his people through his Messiah (Matthew 1:21–23; Luke 1:68).
• Our conclusion: Jesus came into existence when the Holy Spirit came on Mary (Luke 1:35).
• Our conclusion: no teaching rests on how 25 December was chosen, which historians dispute (Romans 14:5–6; 1 Corinthians 10:25–26).
• Our conclusion: the line falls at worship itself, including the nations’ ways of worship brought into the worship of God (Deuteronomy 12:31; Exodus 32:8).
• Our conclusion: each believer may keep Christmas to the Lord or not, and no one may judge another over it (Romans 14:5–6, 13).
• Our conclusion: no church may lay the day on a believer as God’s command (Colossians 2:16; Mark 7:7).

Hope

The angel’s words are for every reader: “I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.” (Luke 2:10). The child was named Jesus, “for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21). Simeon held him and said, “for my eyes have seen your salvation,” (Luke 2:30). He called him “a light for revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:32).

Paul writes, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,” (Galatians 4:4), “that we might receive the adoption as children.” (Galatians 4:5). John writes, “By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only born Son into the world that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9). The one born in Bethlehem died, was raised, and will come again: Christ “will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28).

Living It Out

These are applications, offered as invitations.

• You might read Luke 2:1–20 and Matthew 1:18–2:12 aloud this season, and thank God for the Savior they announce.
• You might decide as a household, before the Lord, how to mark the day or let it pass. You could leave others free to decide differently (Romans 14:5–6).
• If you were taught that keeping Christmas, or not keeping it, makes you more faithful, you might read Colossians 2:16 and Romans 14:13.
• If a custom would wound another believer’s conscience, you might set it aside for that person’s sake (1 Corinthians 10:28–29).
• Whenever you share the bread and the cup, you might remember that the child of Bethlehem gave his body for you (Luke 22:19).

Questions for Reflection

1. What did the angel tell the shepherds about the child born in David’s city? (See The Birth of Jesus Is Good News of Great Joy.)
2. In Luke 1:35, what reason does Gabriel give for the title Son of God? (See the answer under The Birth of Jesus Is Good News of Great Joy.)
3. How do Luke 22:19 and Luke 2:10–14 fit together when believers ask about keeping Christmas? (See Scripture Gives No Day for His Birth, and Asks Us to Remember His Death.)
4. What does Jeremiah 10:3–9 say the workman and the goldsmith make, and what do we conclude the passage forbids? (See The strongest objection under Historians Give More Than One Account of the Day, and No Teaching Rests on Any.)
5. How do Romans 14:6 and Colossians 2:16 guide believers who choose differently about Christmas? (See Each Believer Keeps a Day, or Does Not, to the Lord.)
6. What does Galatians 4:4–5 say God did when the fullness of the time came, and what does it mean to you? (See Hope.)

Check It Yourself

• Opening: Luke 2:8–10.
• The birth: Luke 1:26–38; 2:1–20, 25–32; Matthew 1:18–25; 2:1–16; Micah 5:2–4; Galatians 4:4; 1 Timothy 1:15; Luke 1:14, 68–69; Nicene Creed 2; John 1:14; Isaiah 7:14–16; 9:6–7; 10:21; Jeremiah 33:16; Luke 7:16; Matthew 28:18–20; John 6:38, 51, 62; 5:30; Galatians 4:4–6; John 1:6; 17:18; 1 John 4:9; 1 John 4:2–3.
• No day, and the Supper: Luke 2:1–2, 8; 3:23; Matthew 2:1; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; 15:3–4; Acts 2:22–36; 15:28–29; Genesis 40:20–22; Matthew 14:6–10; Ecclesiastes 7:1; Esther 9:27; Romans 14:5–6.
• History and the objections to it: Deuteronomy 12:3, 29–32; Exodus 32:4–8; Isaiah 44:17; Ezekiel 8:14–16; Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 10:2–9; Deuteronomy 16:21; 1 Kings 15:13; Ephesians 5:3–11; 1 Corinthians 10:20–28; Acts 15:29; Revelation 2:14; Romans 14:14; 2 Corinthians 6:14–17; 1 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 4:8–10, 21; 5:4.
• Each believer weighs: Romans 14:1–23; Colossians 2:16, 21–22; 1 Corinthians 10:23–33; 8:12–13; Esther 9:20–28; John 10:22–23; Westminster Confession of Faith 21.1; Deuteronomy 12:32; 1 Kings 12:27–33; Romans 15:8; 1 Timothy 4:13; Colossians 3:16; Acts 2:42; Mark 7:7; Matthew 23:8; 16:19; 18:18; Hebrews 13:17.
• Answered: Statement of Faith, section 15; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 14:5; Matthew 23:8; John 8:24; Deuteronomy 29:29.
• Hope: Luke 2:10, 30–32; Matthew 1:21; Galatians 4:4–5; 1 John 4:9; Hebrews 9:28.

Next

This completes Days and Feasts. Next comes Test the Teaching, beginning with One Mediator: does any person or organization stand between you and God?

Previous article: Halloween, the Dead and the Spirits
Study guide: Study Guide: Christmas: What Scripture Says, What History Shows
Series: All 3 articles in Days and Feasts

© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/days-and-feasts/03-christmas/
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