The Lord Jesus laid down His life for us. No other shepherd, before or after Him, ever did that. He wasn’t the first to be crucified, but He was the first to be crucified in the place of others, surrendering Himself of His own free will. He could have delivered Himself from His captors as they led Him to the cross, but He didn’t. He chose to go on and die for us all; it wasn’t that He had no option; He was driven by love.

 

Jesus did everything He did because He loved us; when He declared His purpose for coming in St. John’s Gospel it was that we might have life, and that we might have it to the full (John 10:10). Testifying before Pilate in John 18:37 He said, "…To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." He came to bear witness to the truth. What is that truth?

 

He declared it in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jesus was born for us, lived for us, and died for us because of His love for us. As we celebrate His birth today, let your focus be on the purpose for which He came, lived, died, and rose again triumphantly. It was so that you might have eternal life—the God-kind of life—and become one with the Father.