A Christian Holidays Message

From the Cradle to the Grave

Around the world, billions gather each year to celebrate Christmas and Good Friday—the only two moments in Jesus’ life when he is almost completely silent. As a newborn in a manger, he cannot speak at all (unless, of course, you accept the Qur’an’s claim that he preached from the cradle). And on the cross, as the suffering Servant, every breath is agony—let alone the effort required to speak more than a few words.

Yet these are the two events mainstream Christianity emphasizes most. Trinitarian traditions, in particular, often fixate on “the birth of God” and “the death of God” while giving far less attention to the words of the One anointed by God. But what about everything in between? What about the New Covenant teaching of the most unique human person who ever walked the earth?

As Anthony has warned for decades, the satanic strategy is simple but devastating, to separate Jesus from his own teachings.

Scripture, however, will not let us do that.

The biblical pattern is unmistakable—God speaks in His Son and commands us to listen to him!

At his baptism the voice from heaven booms down:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:17)

At his Transfiguration:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)

Peter in Acts 3:22-23, quoting Deuteronomy 18:

“For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’” 

“In many parts and in many ways God spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us in a Son…” (Heb. 1:1-2)

Yet the world’s gaze remains fixated on a babbling baby in a manger and a dying man on a cross—never on his teachings. Even during his lifetime Jesus lamented:

“Why do you call me ‘lord, lord’ but do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

His grief became the theme of my first book, "Jesus Practiced What He Preached." He is the minister of the New Covenant, delivering His own Law (Gal 6:2; 1Cor 9:21), which fulfills and replaces the Law of Moses. But you cannot obey the Law of the Messiah if you refuse to hear the Messiah.

The irony is tragic: a speaking Jesus with an urgent message, yet the church has muted him—sometimes even banning his central teaching (see my videos and sermons on the historic suppression of the Shema in Christian liturgy).

Between the manger and the cross, we find the gospel Jesus himself defined: the gospel of the Kingdom, and his Sermon on the Mount, the very words of the New Covenant—the blueprint for the reformation of Judaism and the one place Jesus explains clearly how one is saved. These are the teachings He spoke most plainly and most often—yet they are the very teachings most churches ignore.

There are no national holidays—no parades, no multi-billion-dollar marketing campaigns for the teachings of Jesus.

The spirit of this present evil age is perfectly content for us to adore a baby or wear a dying man as a talisman while ignoring the Rabbi who shouted out:

“The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in that Gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

Meanwhile, the church, buries his doctrine under mountains of presents, parades, and putrid commercialism.

Jesus did not say, “I was sent so that you would celebrate my birthday and my death.”

He said:

“I must preach the Gospel about the Kingdom of God to other towns also, because I was commissioned for this purpose. So he continued preaching the Gospel in the synagogues of Judea." (Luke 4:43-44)

That—and nothing else—was his Purpose Driven Life.

The Bible makes his missionary teachings the centerpiece.

So here is the challenge for every follower of Jesus and for the entire church:

Will we go on celebrating a baby who cannot yet speak more loudly than the Jesus who speaks with thunderous clarity about the Kingdom?

Will we remain fixating on a silent baby and a crucified man while neglecting the Prophet greater than Moses, who tells us exactly what we must do?

Will we cling to sentimental holidays and religious trinkets while ignoring the message he was born and died to deliver?

Anthony put it plainly in his aptly titled paper Alert and Alarm! What Is Christianity?

"There is an alarming absence of Jesus from writings about Jesus! Jesus without his Gospel of the Kingdom is not the real Jesus. A person is defined by his acts and words."

In short: a gospel without the Kingdom is not the gospel of Jesus.

I know Christmas and Good Friday are deeply precious to millions of sincere Christians. I also know I’ll likely face pushback from some in my own church, readers and many online followers and listeners. But the Father’s command will never change:

“This is My beloved Son—listen to Him!”

Let us learn from the one you call rabbi-teacher and savior, who defines what truly matters:

"This is the core and essence of the Life of the Age to Come: that they may know You, the only one who is true God, and the one You have commissioned, Jesus the Messiah." (John 17:3)