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From the Pastor’s Desk
Pastor Paul A. Coats
Many years ago, the comedian Don Rickles was part of a Celebrity Roast for director Orson Welles. I will never forget
what he said about the man who is credited with creating the greatest movie ever made—Citizen Kane. “Orson Welles,” said Rickles with his classic, intense,
deadpan face, “knows more than any man alive.” But then added, “Of course, most of the things he knows are wrong.”
In the spirit of that pronouncement: What do you know about Christmas? Much of what we think we know is not based on the Bible but on what we have heard others say, what we have seen in movies, on TV, or in Christmas pageants. It could be that much of what we know may well be wrong. There is an easy way to find out. Take this little quiz and see how you fare. Don’t fret if you get a few wrong as the answers are printed upside down to your right. That way, you can share the quiz with others and pretend you knew the answers all along. Christmas Quiz:
1. The wise men were three kings from the orient.
2. The wise men arrived on the night of Jesus’ birth presenting their gifts to the child in the manger.
3. Jesus’ ancestors include a prostitute, an adulterer, a woman who committed incest, and a non-Israelite.
4. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary first and then Gabriel appeared to Joseph.
5. Mary rode a donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
6. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem because of a decree by Caesar Augustus.
7. Both Joseph and Mary were told that the baby was to be named “Jesus.”
8. The Angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds because of the honored position they held in society.
9. When Herod heard about Jesus he was the only one concerned about the birth of this new king.
10.After the angels’ announcement, the shepherds went straight to Bethlehem to see Jesus.
11.Joseph married Mary immediately after the angel appeared to him.
12.Some of the shepherds doubted and refused to believe the message they heard from the angels.
Christmas Quiz Answers
1. The number of wise men is not mentioned; and they were not kings.
2. The wise men arrive sometime after Jesus is born (Matthew 2:1). Jesus is called a child, rather than a baby (Matthew 2:11). He may have been as old as two when the Magi visited him and gave him gifts (Matthew 2:7,16).
3. Rahab was a prostitute, David and Uriah's wife were adulterers, Tamar and Judith commited incest, and Ruth was from Moab. Mt. 1:3,5,6.
4. Trick question. Mary was first, but we don't know the name of the angel who appeared to Joseph (Matthew 1:20). It might have been Harold. You know, "Hark the Harold Angel Sings."
5. A donkey appears no where in this Biblical account. She probably walked.
6. Yep. Luke 2:1-5.
7. Yes. (See Matthew 1:21 and Luke 1:31). In Judaism, babies were always named by their father. Here we see God the Father (not Joseph) giving Jesus his name. By the way, "Jesus" is the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Joshua," the successor of Moses. (Joshua means "Yahweh saves").
8. Actually, in the first century B.C., shepherding was close to what we would consider garbage collecting. Shepherds were unable to remain ritually pure according to Pharisaic laws and so were considered unclean. Yet God chose them for his birth announcement!
9. All Jerusalem was disturbed by this news of a new king (Mt. 2:3).
10.Correct. They were excited! They did not hesitate. They did not stop at Starbucks, they did not pass "Go" and stop to collect thier $200! Luke 2:15-16.
11.Yes. When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. When he woke, he did as the angel had commanded and took Mary home as his wife. Mt. 1:24.
12.They went to see the baby right away spreading the word and praising God for what they had seen and heard. Luke 2:15-20.
The Origin of Dec. 25th for Christmas
There is a very widespread theory that Christmas began
in Rome as a response to pagan festivities centering around the winter solstice, which was locally considered to be 25 December. The pagan celebration, which was first established by the Roman emperor Aurelian in AD 274, was called The Birth of the Invincible Sun. However,
there is evidence that, some years earlier, Christians
had made a sincere attempt to calculate the actual date of Jesus’ birthday. People commonly believe that Christmas was instituted on the date of a pagan holiday to supplant it, but it was actually the other way around. Christmas was there first.
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