What is the reality of Christmas?

The nativity is so familiar that its sharper edges can disappear beneath the traditions built around it. Yet the biblical account is set amid political violence, poverty, displacement and resistance to God’s rule.

What Is the Reality of Christmas? returns to the details that get overlooked. It considers Herod’s determination to protect his power, the religious leaders who knew the prophecies but failed to welcome their fulfilment, and the vulnerability of a child born without privilege who would soon become a refugee. Against that background, the identity of Jesus becomes more striking: Immanuel, “God with us”, and the Lamb of God who came not merely to enter our world but to give Himself for it. 

This booklet also carries the Christmas story forwards to the cross and beyond, asking what Christ’s first coming teaches us about His promised return. Familiarity need not dull the wonder of Christmas; read attentively, the story still has the capacity to unsettle our assumptions about God, ourselves and the kind of King we are waiting for.

A shared invitation 

This resource is free to download. Our Daily Bread Ministries wants to keep opening Scripture with people through the familiar seasons of the year, helping well-known passages speak with fresh clarity. If you would like to support that work, your donation contributes to the free devotionals and resources we make available throughout the year.