What the Church Fathers Had to Say About Christmas
The following quotes from trusted church scholars and theologians are taken from the Timeless Truths Bible. Click here to learn more about this new Bible.
Isaiah 11:1-10
“A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock,
a bud will sprout from his roots.
The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him—
a Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom,
a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans,
a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord…”
“The Messiah is called a “branch.” The words signify a small, tender product; “a shoot” such as is easily broken off. He comes forth out of the stem of Jesse; when the royal family was cut down and almost leveled with the ground, it would sprout again. The House of David was brought very low at the time of Christ’s birth. The Messiah thus gave early notice that his kingdom was not of this world. But the Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall rest and abide upon him; he shall have the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in him. The Messiah would be just and righteous in all his government. His threats shall be executed by the working of his Spirit according to his word. There shall be great peace and quiet under his government. God’s people shall be delivered, not only from evil but from the fear of it.”
-Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
Isaiah 9:1-7
“The people walking in darkness
see a bright light;
light shines
on those who live in a land of deep darkness.”
“Listen to what Isaiah predicted: He will be “called Wonderful Adviser, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” No one could say this of a mere man. No man from the beginning of time has been called Mighty God or Everlasting Father of the world to come or the Prince of Peace. For Isaiah said, “Of the increase of His…peace there will be no end.” And this peace has spread over the whole earth and sea, over the world where people dwell and where no one lives, over mountains, woodlands and hills, starting from that day on which he was to leave his disciples and said to them, “My peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does (John 14:27). Why did Christ speak in this way? Because the peace that comes from a human being is easily destroyed and subject to many changes. But Christ’s peace is strong, unshaken, firm, fixed, steadfast, immune to death, and unending.”
-Chrysostom (c. 347 – 407)
Matthew 1:18-22
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately. When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled:”
“Having established Joseph’s faith by all means- by past expectations, by future hopes, by present grace, and by the honor given to himself – the angel then gives expression in support of all these, proclaiming beforehand the good things that are to occur to the world through the Son: Sins are removed once and for all. “He will save his people from their sins.” Here again the coming event exceeds all human expectation. From what are the people being saved? Not from warfare or violent men but something far greater: from their own sins, a work that had never been possible to anyone before.”
-Chrysostom (c. 347 – 407)
John 1:1-5
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God.”
“If the Son was not made, then he is not a creature; but if he is not a creature, then he is of the same substance with the Father. For all substance that is not God is creature, and all that is not creature is God. And if the Son is not of the same substance with the Father, then he is a substance that was made; and if he is a substance that was made, then all things were not made by him; but “all things were created by him,” therefore he is of one and the same substance with the father And so he is not only God but also very God.”
Augustine (354 – 430)
Luke 1:26-38
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!”
“Behold, just consider what an unimaginable miracle I must announce to you. You will not give up your chaste being, and yet you will be pregnant in your womb with a Son. To understand that this is a great thing devised by God long ago, remember what the prophet Isaiah prophesied many hundreds of years ago concerning it. You yourself are this virgin who was in God’s Word and mind long, long ago. In you will be fulfilled what has been hoped for so ardently for several thousand years. In you the one promised in paradise will begin to be what he is not, even if he is everything!”
Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg (1633 – 1694)
Luke 2:8-20
“Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”
“The word gospel means a good, joyful message that is the proclamation of the new covenant. The angel says, I bring you good news of great joy. Where is it? Listen again. “Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord.” Whoever preaches him rightly preaches the gospel and pure joy. How can a heart hear of greater joy than that Christ is given to him as his own? He not only says that Christ is born but he also makes his birth our own by saying “your Savior.” Therefore the gospel not only teaches the history and events of Christ but also makes him our own and gives him to all who believe it, which is the true and proper nature of the gospel.”
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546)
Matthew 2:1-12
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalemsaying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.””
“What joy these wise men felt upon this sight of the star. None know so well as those who, after a long and melancholy night of temptation and desertion, under the power of a spirit of bondage, at length receive the Spirit of adoption, witnessing with their spirits that they are the children of God…The gifts the wise men presented were gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Providence sent these as a seasonable relief to Joesph and Mary in their present poor condition. Thus our heavenly Father, who knows what his children need, uses some as stewards to supply the wants of others and can provide for them even from the ends of the earth.”
-Matthew Henry (1662-1714)
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Content in this article is taken from the Timeless Truths Bible.
The Timeless Truths Bible will encourage you through the always timely wisdom of those who came before us. Devotional notes and commentary from trusted theologians and pastors from the second century up to the twentieth offer insight and inspiration. The ancient creeds and confessions of the faith will grow your understanding of the tenets of the faith down through the ages. And artwork created throughout the history of Christianity will deepen your worship of the one we call Lord.
