The Christmas Story As You May Never Have Heard It

We are all familiar with the traditional Christmas story as presented in three of the four Gospels.  Each tell of a census being declared by Augustus Caesar and that Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register and to pay the tax required by the Roman government.  We are told that there was no room for them in the inn so they found shelter in the stable where Jesus was born and laid in a manger,  

We know of the star over Bethlehem  and marked the spot where the Savior lay and that shepherds being visited by angles telling of the joyous birth . We know the shepherds made their way to the stable and there they worshipped the New Born King.   

We are also told that wise men who traveled a very long distance to pay homage to a new king and that they , as would most natural men stopped at the palace of King Herod, thinking surely this would be a fitting home for a king. 

The scripture records that Herod was furious that perhaps his successor was born without his knowledge and thus threatened his power.  The scriptures tell us that in his rage he ordered all young male babies from age two and under be killed...And this leads me to the Christmas Story as perhaps you have never heard it told....

Matthew27:35-54:  35He then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. 6 “He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 

 As I was reading this passage thinking of Jesus coming into his Father’s vineyard 2000 years ago on that first Christmas, one phrase jumped off the page at me. It was the father’s statement – surely, if I send my son, “They will respect my son.” 

We know this child, Jesus, grew into manhood, and people were drawn to Him by His Spirit and His compelling message. Many who heard him teach and saw the miracles that he performed followed Him. This displeased those who were in power, especially the Jewish leaders.  And that dear readers is what lead me to tell the story" .... an unusual Christmas story  
Indeed He was sent , not to collect from the tenants in the manner some may see but to collect the “hearts” of those  who would hear and accept His message . 
The story of the son who goes to the vineyards is little different . The result was the same for indeed He... God's Son was rejected, beaten, and then killed (crucified).    For indeed those to whom He was sent...did not respect the Son


Things through history have changed little for indeed today we see that many still show no respect for the Son.  We are bombarded daily through the media and especially the social media by those who have no respect for the Son.   They rail against the words written on our currency,, IN GOD WE TRUST... They claim it holds up Christianity as something better than other religions  and that it mush be cast out of our society immediately.  Then there are those who would sink so low as to release, especially at this most Holy Season, a NETFLIX movie depicting Jesus,, the Son of God as a gay man and his mother  Mary as a prostitute,  They show no respect for the Son.   Others ridicule those who follow Jesus as Lord of their life... they show no respect for the Son.

The disrespect of the Son who was sent has brought the condition of the world to where it is today.  Little do they know that the killing of the Son was not the end of the story....it was but the beginning and a wonderful beginning for those who accept the Son as their Savior. 

Those who put the Son to death some 2000 years ago and those who attempt to kill Him anew each day have forgotten the rest of the story.  We know from the accounts in the Gospels that Jesus was taken from the Cross and buried in a borrowed tomb, but then, on the third day, He arose from the grave, triumphant over death and the grave. And that, dear friends, is a wonderful reason for celebration. 

There is yet another reason to celebrate but not all will do so because like the workers in the vineyard they will reject “The Son” and their story will have no glorious end. But for those who chose to claim Him as their Lord and Savior the story has no end. For we read in the Scripture that He indeed will come again, this time as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and all those He calls his own will reign with him Forever and Ever.
 
Now that is a reason for celebration!