8. The Bible nowhere tells us to observe a holiday
celebrating Jesus Christ's birthbut it clearly does tell us to
commemorate His death.
As noted earlier, the Bible nowhere mentions Christmas or tells us
to celebrate Christ's birth.
This is not to say that the Bible doesn't tell us to commemorate a
highly significant event in Jesus Christ's life on earth. It
doesbut that event is His death, not His birth.
Notice what the apostle Paul, conveying the instructions of Jesus
Himself, tells Christians: "For I received from the Lord that which
I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in
which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He
broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for
you; do this in remembrance of Me.'
"In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying,
'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you
drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes . .
. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and
drink of the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:23-28 ).
And yes, many believers do what they consider a form of this today
in taking communion or "the Lord's supper." They fail to realize,
however, the full significance of these acts, or that what Paul is
actually describing here is the Passover which is what Jesus
Himself called this observance (Matthew 26:18-19; Mark 14:14-16;
Luke 22:8-13, 15).
And many have no idea of the real date of Christ's death and the
annual Passover observance, but that's an issue for another time.
(Hint: It isn't "Good Friday" prior to Easter as so many mistakenly
believe. See our booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter
Which Days We Keep? for details.) The point is: Jesus clearly
expects His true followers to commemorate His deathnot His
birthby observing the Passover.
