Don't Let Traditions Distract Us From the Truth

December 5, 2024

In the Christmas story, when the Son of God was born, not a single religious person was invited. The shepherds in the field were invited. And, after Jesus was born, the wisemen from the East came to visit him. But, the very people who “should” have known the most about the birth of Jesus, spiritual and religious leaders of Israel, didn’t have a clue.

Wisemen who had studied the Hebrew Scriptures came from the East (they were not from Israel) because they had seen the star. They knew the Savior of the world had been born. They were seeking the truth.

These Wisemen travel from afar, and when they asked King Herod of Israel, he didn’t have any idea about the birth of the Messiah. Herod asked his religious scholars about the claim, and they knew exactly what he was talking about. They’d been waiting for this for hundreds of years.

The Bible says King Herod “called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, ‘Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?’ ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they said, ‘for this is what the prophet wrote’” (Matthew 2:4-5 NLT, second edition).

The three wisemen came a long distance to witness the birth of Jesus. Yet the king’s religious advisers, who were already in Israel, didn’t want to even check out the claim.

Israel’s religious leaders had waited for centuries for Jesus to come. Over time, they started paying more attention to their traditions than really seeking the Messiah.

That sounds familiar, doesn’t it? We have so many Christian traditions.

Now, traditions can be great! I hope that you have many fun traditions within your own family. But, we can’t let our traditions get in the way of the truth.

And, this isn’t just a Christmas concept. Traditions could look like rushing through a prayer that you have memorized and you don’t even think about the words you’re saying anymore, rather than taking a moment to actually pause and thank God for your food. Traditions could look like looking down on someone wearing a hat in church, because that’s not how you were raised. And, for you, maybe that’s a standard you keep for yourself. But, is it truth… or is it tradition?

We can’t let our traditions get in the way of our relationship with God or with loving others.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew every religious tradition by heart, but they wouldn’t walk five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to witness the birth of God’s Son.

People today will put up lights, have parties, give gifts, and send out cards. They’ll participate in every single Christmas tradition they can squeeze into December. But many will never take the time to thank Jesus for coming on that first Christmas.

Don’t be like the religious leaders who were more concerned with tradition. Follow the example of the wise men, and seek the TRUE meaning of Christmas, Jesus.