1. A Christmas without a ‘Christ!’
Christmas is the most celebrated festival in the world, with over 160 countries celebrating it religiously, culturally, as a public holiday, and commercially. 1 However, the nations noted in the above map do NOT celebrate Christmas. (See attached list and prayer requests for them at the end.)
Yet, the majority of those who celebrate Christmas this year do it without ‘Christ’ – even though it is associated with Christianity. So, how do we restore ‘Christ’ back to Christmas?
2. A Christianity without a ‘Christ?’
Although commercialization is blamed for keeping ‘Christ’ out of Christmas, it only reflects an absence of the living ‘Christ‘ in Christianity! Therefore, the responsibility of restoring ‘Christ‘ to the centrality of Christmas lies with Christians and the Church. It is more than just inserting a name!
3. ‘Christ’ is not the Surname of Jesus!
It is common for us to think that “Christ” is the surname or the second name of Jesus.
However, ‘Christ’ is the Greek term for Hebrew ‘Messiah’ – not as a name but as a function – as “The Anointed One.”
During His earthly ministy, according to Jewish custom, He was referred to as “Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45), identifying him by his location and parents.
Since Jews reserved the term ‘Christ’ exclusively to the Messiah, they would never associate it with Jesus. Their final repulsive indictment was: ‘Let this Messiah …come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32).
Similarly, His followers were never identified by Jews with ‘Christ’ either – they were called the people of “The Way” (Acts 19:23) or the ‘Nazarene Sect” (Act 24:5).
So how did ‘Christ’ become associated with Christians and eventually with Christmas?
4. The ‘Syrian Connection’ with Christmas!
Syria is very much in the news this Christmas season! It was a Pagan cosmopolitan city in Syria called Antioch that played a significant role in making ‘Christ’ synonymous with followers of Jesus:
“The disciples were called ‘Christians’ first at Antioch”( Acts 11:26).
The ‘missional Church’ in Antioch received the label ‘Christians,’ which likely comes from the Latin ‘Christiani’ meaning ‘Partisans of Christ.’
This label did not originate in Jerusalem but among the Gentile Pagan population in Syria.
No Jew, not even Hellenized one, would have followers of Jesus of Nazareth identified with “Christ,” as mentioned before.
“The label ‘Christiani was a contemptuous nickname, possibly inspired by the presence at Antioch of an organized brigade of chanting devotees of the emperor known as the ‘Augustiani.’
This group did nothing but encourage the public adulation of the Emperor, and their enthusiasm for paying ludicrous homage to Nero resulted in their being satirized as imperial cheer-leaders.
The comparison speaks volumes about the enthusiasm of the early Church in Antioch in promoting Christ to anyone who would listen.” 2
This Church in Antioch demonstrated the Messiah, the ‘Anointed One, in such a way so that their dynamic nature and outreach distinguished them from just being followers of ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’
Is it this lack of such demonstration of ‘Christ’ in Christians and Churches today the reason for betrayal of ‘Christ’ in Christmas?
4. The ‘Anointed One’ and Christmas.
This lack is evident in various ways in which the Christmas message is portrayed by the Church year after year. It is said that the most sung Christmas carol is ‘Silent Night‘ – after which the ‘sound of the Gospel’ is silently muted in Churches throughout the year! Feverish year-end activity trying to augment that silence is like a Santa unpacking his suit for Christmas for his temporary stint! But it is being “clothed from above” (Luke 24:48) with the ‘Anointed One’ could reveal Christ to the world throughout the year!
The Pentecostals boast about having that ‘Anointing.’ But the actual test of it is how Missional we are in taking the Gospel cross-culturally to nations like the Antioch Church. The ‘Anointed One’ empowered His followers in Acts 1:8 to be witnesses beyond “Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria” taking His Gospel to the World. This is exactly what was fulfilled in Antioch. Paul’s ‘Anointed’ ministry of the Spirit eventually accompanied the fulfillment of Christ’s Mission:
‘by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ
Romans 15:19
Therefore, only a ‘Missional Church’ can restore ‘Christ’ back to ‘Christmas’ – to both who celebrate and those who don’t. We dedicate this Prayer Network this Christmas to pray for every AG Church to become ‘Missional’ – to send missionaries out to take the Gospel to the Nations.
Pray around the Missional Christmas Tree.
We wish you a Blessed Christmas!
Please take a moment to pray for these nations that do not celebrate Christmas.
- Afghanistan: “Christmas is almost never celebrated here, with those who choose to do so running the risk of persecution.”
- Algeria: Has not observed Christmas in any official capacity since it gained its independence from France in 1962.
- Bhutan: Christmas is not part of the Bhutanese calendar, where Buddhism takes precedence.
- Brunei. The public celebration of Christmas has been banned in the tiny oil-rich Islamic state, with anyone found violating the law facing up to five years in jail or a fine of US $20,000, or both.
- China: “Another working day and schools, offices and shops all remain open”, adding: “The country is officially a non-religious state, so Christmas was once completely banned.”
- Libya. Christmas has not been celebrated in this predominantly Muslim nation for years.
- Mauritania: Despite having a small population of Christians within its borders, it chooses not to recognize them at all, with the most recent census claiming that 100% of the country is Muslim.
- Mongolia. The overwhelmingly Buddhist nation of Mongolia does not observe any public holidays around Christmas.
- North Korea.“The North Korean government works hard to ensure information about religious holidays does not enter the so-called hermit kingdom,” the newspaper continued. Anyone who did mark the holiday could be “imprisoned, tortured or ordered to death”.
- Somalia: Somalia, which adopted Sharia law in 2009, banned the celebration of Christmas outright, warning that such Christian festivities could threaten the nation’s Muslim faith.
- Yemen. The war-torn state of Yemen has not officially observed Christmas for decades. 3
For more information on Prayer in any of the Countries, visit Operation World.
Thank You for your Intercession for Missions during the past Year. We will connect with you in 2025!