THE REAL SAINT NICHOLAS

THE REAL SAINT NICHOLAS!

Isa 7:14

14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matt 1:23

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

           "A Visit from St. Nicholas", more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas" and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously in 1823 and later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, who claimed authorship in 1837. Some commentators now believe the poem was written by Henry Livingston, Jr.

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads

           The real Saint Nicholas was Nikolaos of Myra, a historic 4th-century Greek Bishop of Myra, in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey).  His legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus through Sinterklaas. He was cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian but was released after the accession of Constantine and was present at the Council of Nicaea.

           The Council of Nicaea was convened, among other things, to determine the true nature of the Son of God and His relationship to the father. Questions lingered regarding the virgin birth and whether Jesus was “begotten” and had no beginning or “created” and therefore did have a beginning. The amazing thing to me is that a group of men believed they could convene to determine truth! Truth stands regardless of the consensus of any council.

           It seems appropriate to me that the man who gave birth to Santa Claus would historically be involved in whether or not Jesus was virgin born. By the way, Santa Claus did believe in the virgin birth and argued on behalf of this truth.

Luke 1:35

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Dear Jesus, thank you for your virgin birth, your sinless life, your sacrificial death, and your victorious resurrection! AMEN