Dr. Robert Sumner passed away in December 2016. The Biblical Evangelist newspaper is no longer being published and the ministry of Biblical Evangelism has ceased operation.

The remaining inventory of his books and gospel tracts was transferred to The Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles and may be ordered here.

An Old Fashioned Christmas
Evangelist Robert L. Sumner

A church bulletin that crossed my desk some time ago told of a christening for the baby of a nobleman. Guests came from far and near, but when the time arrived for the christening, no one could locate the baby. The parents and others searched high and low until one guest remembered seeing the infant sleeping on the bed where guests had been depositing their wraps.

The mother rushed quickly to the room and discovered the lifeless form of a baby underneath a load of coats. He had been smothered. How ironic that the guest of honor for the occasion should have been thus forgotten and destroyed.

Was that story true? Perhaps, but probably not. However, it surely illustrates the Christmases of our day. We have forgotten the Honoree!

Some unknown author wrote “A Christmas Meditation” that goes like this:

“I have many friends. When they arranged to have a celebration in honor of my birthday, I was pleased. One likes to be remembered by one’s friends, and celebrations are gratifying events. Moreover, it was intimated to me that extensive preparations were being made for gifts to be given. This made me especially happy, for my needs are great – or rather, the needs of others for whom I am giving my life are many and in my present circumstances are wholly dependent on what my friends are doing. You may be sure that it was with kindling emotions and welling gratitude that I looked forward to the day when I was to be so signally honored with a great part and with gifts.

“The great day came. A vast number had remembered it, and my name was on every tongue. Gifts also came in such profusion that I was almost overwhelmed at the sight of them. But when I looked on the cards on which the names were written, indicating those to whom the gifts were made, I was astonished and amazed. I could not find my name on one card! My friends were giving gifts back and forth to one another in hectic complexity! But I, whose birthday was the occasion of the party, was strangely forgotten. I walked about, enjoying the occasion as best I could, watching the happiness of others. But what lonesomeness I felt, and how I wondered how I would meet those needs which I had thought the gifts would supply.

“I am the Christ whose birthday people celebrate by giving gifts to each other, but not to Me!”

Many today are talking about returning to an old-fashioned Christmas. I am all for it! Dear friends, an old-fashioned Christmas exalted Christ. It honored Him. It was His day!

Much of our 21^th century Christmas celebration revolves around modern innovations. For example, Santa Claus is a “Johnny-come-lately” – or should I say a “Santa-come-lately”? Our American Santa Claus is merely a remake of the old European St. Nicholas.

Nicholas was archbishop of Myra, a city in the ancient country of Lycia in southwest Asia Minor. We learn that Paul changed ships there on his way to Rome, according to Acts 27:5, 6. Nicholas died a whopping 1,656 years ago, in A.D. 343.

He was elevated to his mythical sainthood by the Roman Catholic hierarchy and eventually became the patron saint of Russia, of sailors, of children, of virgins, of scholars, of merchants, and even beer drinkers and brewers! In fact, during the Middle Ages, thieves regarded him as their patron saint!

It was as the patron saint of Russia that he gained his reputation as a giver of gifts, something springing from the tale of his act of kindness to three maiden sisters without dowries. Back in those days a girl without a dowry could be sure she would also be a woman without a husband. In pity, Nicholas reportedly dropped a bag of gold through a window for each sister. On his third visit to drop the third bag of gold, the father caught him in the act, and this was how what he supposedly did became known. By the way, the international symbol of pawnbrokers and moneylenders is based on this myth. You have seen the three golden balls painted on the window or hanging over the front door of pawnshops.

Eventually a tradition developed in connection with the Feast of St. Nicholas on December 6 of giving gifts to children. Throughout Europe – especially Holland, where he was known as Sinterklass (Santa Claus is an English corruption of this Dutch name) – he was pictured as a thin, religious man with a white beard and riding a white horse. He held a basket of gifts in one hand (for the good children) and bundle of switches in the other hand (for the bad children)!

It is interesting that, at the time of Rome’s “housecleaning” of its saints in 1969 (acknowledging it was doubtful many of them had ever even existed), Nicholas was demoted as a saint – along with such popular saints as St. George, St. Christopher, St. Barbara, St. Catherine, etc. – but his feast day was kept on the church calendar and is still observed every December 6.

However, Santa Claus, another myth, didn’t come into his own until the 19th century. In 1809, Washington Irving wrote of him in Knickerbocker’s History of New York. He described him as being fat, jolly, smoking a long clay pipe, wearing big breeches and broad-rimmed hat. He had him flying across the  skies in a horse-drawn wagon and dropping gifts down chimneys.

Late in the 19^th century, Thomas Nast, cartoonist in Harper’s Illustrated Weekly, gave him the image he enjoys today. [By the way, Nast was a great innovator. He is credited with coming up with the elephant for the Republicans, the donkey for the Democrats, and tiger for Tammany Hall. Nast changed the wagon to a sleigh, replaced the black priestly robe with a bright red suit trimmed in ermine, left the long clay pipe, added reindeer, and put northern lights in the background.]

It took something between these two events of the 19^th century to really put Santa on the map, it seems. Clement Clarke Moore, a Hebrew and Greek professor at a prestigious New York seminary, wrote a poem for his children at Christmas in 1822. He titled it, “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” but you probably know it as “The Night Before Christmas.” One of the family friends supposedly sent the poem to a Troy, New York, newspaper and it was published in 1823 in the Troy Sentinel. Other newspapers picked it up, and in 1837 it was published in an anthology. From there it hit “the big time,” as they say, and is one of the best-known pieces of poetry in the world today.

By the way, not all scholars think Moore wrote this particular verse. The son of an Episcopal bishop who was president of Columbia University and the author of such technical and scholarly works as A Compendious Lexicon of the Hebrew Language (2 volumes) and Observations upon Certain Passages in Mr. Jefferson’s Notes on Virginia Which Appear to Have a Tendency to Subvert Religion and Establish a False Philosophy, the lightness of this poem seems completely out of character for Moore. Other scholars think Major Henry Livingston, a New York surveyor who wrote light verse as a hobby, especially in the anapest poetry rhythm (dot, dot, dash), wrote it. The latter most decidedly fits this poem’s style. “’Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house. . .”

Did Moore write it, or did Livingston? As far as we are concerned, who cares?

We are just saying that Santa Claus is a relatively modern Christmas innovation. So is the Christmas tree. The latter apparently originated in Germany, and Martin Luther himself is credited with decorating the very first tree. The Christmas card is another newcomer to Christmas. The first ones were mailed out in England in 1846.

Still another Christmas custom of modern date relates to the Christmas pie, although there is not much attention to it in our America today. That pie was not a pie as we know it and, to illustrate our point, here are the ingredients of a pie ordered by a London nobleman in 1770: 2 bushels of flour, 20 pounds of butter, 40 fowl – including geese, turkeys, ducks, pigeons, woodcocks, partridges, and blackbirds – 2 beef tongues and 2 rabbits. The pie was an immense thing, 9 feet across, and had to be wheeled into the dining room for serving.

Yes, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, Christmas cards and even Christmas pies are modern innovations. It’s worth repeating: an old-fashioned Christmas simply exalted Christ!

We determined, for this message, to search through our records and see if we could come up with the oldest “old fashioned Christmas.” We have thousands of volumes in our library and we have more than 25 huge steel filed drawers literally loaded with clippings, statistics and other information.

The most authoritative, accurate, oldest account we discovered of the old-fashioned Christmas was this one:

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

“(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

“And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David;)

“To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for him in the inn.

“And there were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

“And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid.

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

“And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

“And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

“And all they had heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

“But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was gold unto them” (Luke 2:1-20 emphasis added).

By examining and studying this sacred record, we discover that an old-fashioned Christmas had

I. SHEPHERDS

Verse 8 tells us there were “… shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night,” when the angel of the Lord appeared and announced the birth of the Redeemer. On the basis of this good news, they left their flocks and hastened to Bethlehem to see for themselves and then returned glorifying and praising God. The first Christmas had shepherds.

Who were the shepherds? They were busy people. They were doing their job. They were faithful, dedicated; not lazy or slothful.

Who were the shepherds? They were holy people. God would not have made the announcement of the Savior’s birth to them otherwise. Someone has said that it was most fitting and logical for the announcement of the Lamb of God to be made to shepherds.

While this is true, there were other shepherds who did not receive any announcement of His birth. These shepherds were selected because they were holy men. An advance announcement was made to Mary because she was a holy woman, chosen to be the instrument of His birth. An advance announcement was made to Joseph because he was a holy man. And these shepherds were holy men, so God gave them the announcement of His Son’s birth.

Further evidence of their holiness is seen in the fact that they believed the message of God through His angels. They went to see for themselves this wonderful event. Their act of faith and obedience was instantaneous. They responded immediately. And they returned “glorifying and praising God.”

Not only did the old fashioned Christmas have shepherds, it also had

II. ANGELS!

Verse 9 tells us, “the angel of the Lord came upon them.” Then verse 13 adds that he was joined with “a multitude of the heavenly host.” The word angel simply means messenger. Angels are God’s messengers!

Because of this, many understand the angels of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 as simply being the pastors of those churches. When it says “the angel of the church at Ephesus (2:1); “the angel of the church in Smyrna” (2:8); the angel of the church of Pergamos (2:12); “the angel of the church in Thyatira” (2:18); “the angel of the church in Sardis” (3:1); the angel of the church in Philadelphia (3:7); and the angel of the church of the Laodiceans” (3:14), it is simply addressing the messages to the seven churches in care of the overseers of those seven churches, the God-called pastors.

At any rate, the first Christmas had angels. Initially there was the appearance of a single angel (Vss.  9, 10), then he was joined by an innumerable host of angels (Vs. 13). The word host is literally army. There was an entire army of angels making the glad announcement to the shepherds of the birth of the Son of God.

The third ingredient of that first Christmas was

III. LIGHT!

Verse 9 describes it, “And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.” That dark Judean night was suddenly illuminated with a light above the brightness of the midday sun as God’s brilliant glory totally encompassed them.

Eight days later, at the time of the infant’s circumcising, when Mary and Joseph took the infant to the Temple to present Him to the Lord and offer sacrifices according to the law of Moses, Simeon described him as “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Vs. 32). Thank God, when He came, “The people that walked in darkness [saw]a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2).

Years ago, in the late Dallas Billington’s church paper, he told of a baby born in New York City hospital who lived a mere two hours. When the attending physician came out and told the father that, in spite of everything he and his team could do, the child had died, the parent immediately requested that, if at all possible, the baby’s eyes be donated for corneal transplants.

The following day the Red Cross delivered one cornea to one hospital and the other to another. One was given to a working man with a large family and the other was given to a mother. As a result of this one infant living only two hours, two blind human beings were able to see.

As wonderful as that story is, our text tells of something far greater. Here we have the record of the birth of a baby who lived 33 years, and billions upon billions have received sight. Theirs was not a mere physical matter, but a spiritual seeing, a spiritual light.

Again, our old-fashioned Christmas had

IV. SINGING

Verse 10 tells us, “and the angel said unto them. . .” And verse 13 adds, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying…”

Some nitpicker will immediately point out that the record doesn’t say “singing”; it merely offers “said,” and “saying.”

True! But could any angel say anything without making it sound melodious? Probably not. I think an angel who shouted, “The house is on fire!” or who calmly announced, “I am going to the newsstand to buy a paper” would make it sound musical. In short, it would be singing.

At any rate, an old-fashioned Christmas surely has singing. Today we have our “Silent Night,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Away in a Manger,” “Joy to the World,” and other songs.

By the way, we call them Christmas carols; it does have “songs of the nativity.”

Again, an old-fashioned Christmas has   

V. JOY!

Verse 10 tells us, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

It was not just joy, but “great joy.” Just as when Philip went down to the city of Samaria to preach Christ, and Acts 8:8 tells us “there was great joy in that city.”

It is like the “joy unspeakable and full of glory” which Peter wrote of in I Peter 1:8 and the “exceeding joy” of I Peter 4:13. The joy of the first Christmas was also the “fullness of joy” about which both the Apostle John and the Apostle Paul wrote.

Again, our old-fashioned Christmas had

VI. GIFTS!

This was the only mark of the old-fashioned Christmas we do not find specifically in Luke 2. It is in the nativity account of Matthew where we find wise men coming to worship the infant Christ and giving gifts of “gold, and frankincense, and myrrh” (2:11). Thus the giving of gifts was a part of that old-fashioned Christmas. But the wise men gave the gifts to the Lord Jesus Christ, not to each other!

We heard of one gentleman who left his house on Christmas morning and, spotting a friend across the way, cheerfully cried, “Merry Christmas, neighbor!” He was startled to hear him surly respond, “What’s ‘merry’ about it?”

He sounded so troubled, so upset, so distraught that the first man said, “What’s wrong, my friend? Can I help you in any way?”

And the old sourpuss replied, “I’ll tell you what’s wrong. My brother sent me a $500 check for Christmas, and it should have been at least $1,000.”

Ah, but that ingrate did not even deserve $500.

While the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are not mentioned in Luke’s account, an even greater gift is described: the love gift of God represented in His sending His son! To put it in the words of 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.” No one ever received a greater gift on any occasion.

The late J. Frank Norris, controversial fundamentalist and fiery pastor, told of his boyhood poverty in Alabama. When he was 13 years of age, his mother encouraged him to attend the Community Christmas Tree. He didn’t want to go because he feared there would be no gift for him, but she pleaded so passionately that he finally agreed.

He slipped in and sat on the back row. Down front was the huge Community Christmas tree and stacked under and around it were hundreds of presents. At the proper moment the fake Santa Claus arrived and started distributing the gifts. He would call a name, the child would respond by raising his hand and shouting, “Here!” Then one of Santa’s helpers would hasten  back to the boy or girl with the gift.

Young Norris sat in the back watching the huge pile of gifts evaporate and noting the enthusiasm of the children as they responded to the calling of their names. When the gifts were almost gone, Santa picked up a small package, noted the card, and called Norris’ name. The latter said he did not respond because he had a cousin with the same name and he thought surely that the gift must be for the other boy. But Santa kept calling the name and finally someone said, “He’s on the back row,” and an usher brought the package and placed it in his lap.

 Soon all the gifts were distributed, a signal was given, and the children enthusiastically launched into the task of ripping paper off their presents. Norris sat with his one little package on his lap while many others had gifts stacked up to their chins or piled on the floor around them.

Deciding he had suffered all he could endure, he slipped out the door and ran home. Going into the house he knelt by his mother’s chair, laying his head in her lap, and she gently stroked his hair. After he had sobbed a little bit, his mother said, “Son, why don’t you open your gift?”

Eventually he stopped crying and opened the package. It was a little black Bible, and when he opened to the flyleaf, he read the words, “To my dear son, from Mother. May you preach this book around the world!!”

Norris, in telling a friend about it during his sunset years, laid his gnarled hand upon the other’s knee and said, “Tom, apart from the gift of salvation in Christ Jesus, that Bible was the greatest gift I ever received in my entire life.” We are sure it was.

Again, an old-fashioned Christmas had

VII. PRAISE

Verse 13 speaks of “the heavenly host praising God,” and verse 20 tells us the shepherds “glorifying and praising God.” There are numerous words in the New Testament translated “praise,” but this one is one reserved exclusively in biblical usage for praise to God. And that is exactly what they were doing here on this first Christmas!

First of all, the angels praised God (V. 13). Then the men, the shepherds, praised Him (V. 20).

Surely this is one thing we must do if we are to have an old-fashioned Christmas: we must praise God! How our voices and our hearts should be lifted high in noble praise to Him for all He has done for us, for His coming into this sin-cursed world and His atoning death at Calvary. Praise His holy, wonderful name!

Again, our old-fashioned Christmas had

VIII. A MESSAGE!

Verse 10 of the text describes it as “good tidings.” The angel said, “Fear not for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” This was not merely tidings, but “good tidings.”

Ah, it was good tidings, indeed! It was a message of redemption, a message of forgiveness of sin, a message of eternal life, a message whereby man could become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Surely no greater message, no more glorious tidings were ever announced to mankind.

And this message was for everyone! The angel said, “I bring you good tidings of great joy to all people!” No one is left out. There have been numerous community Christmas trees like the one described in Norris’ boyhood when poor children were left out, but no one is left out here. This is good tidings for everyone who will listen. It is a story of redemption for anyone who will accept it. Yes, this is good tidings for “all people.”

But we have saved the best till last. The ninth ingredient of an old-fashioned Christmas that we will mention is this,

IX. A SAVIOR!

Listen to the wonderful tidings of verse 11, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

The word Christ is the word “anointed,” the word Messiah. He was the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. Dr. R. S. Beal put it like this:

“Of the thirty-nine books comprising the Old Testament, thirty-five of them make direct reference to the nativity narratives of the New Testament. This cannot be said of any other single historic event recorded in the New Testament save the redemptive work of Christ Jesus. The Old Testament appears upon the pages of the New in a preponderating way controlling the thoughts of the speakers and guiding the feet of the seekers to the very side of the manger in Bethlehem.” How true.

Beyond any question of a doubt, this is the greatest thing about the old-fashioned Christmas: the Savior! Is He your Savior? Do you know Him? How foolish to try to have Christmas without a personal relationship to the Christ of Christmas!

Conclusion

 Let’s have an old-fashioned Christmas this year! We can have everything mentioned in this message but the angels. And even they will be around us, the invisible friends, the unseen protectors sent by God.

The poem written by either Moore or Livingston has found many imitators, probably because the rhythm in which it is written makes it simple to duplicate. Of all the imitations, our favorite is this one, written by an unknown author:

“’Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the dark

Not a candle was glowing,

Not even a spark.

As the world lay in sorrow,

Sickness and grief,

It was longing for someone

To bring it relief;

And the hearts that were weary,

Sin sick and sore,

Cried out for deliverance,

Long promised before!

When, lo! on the mountain,

A wonderful light,

Shone out through the darkness

And scattered the night!

When, hark! From the heavens

A wonderful song

Brought peace to hearts

That had waited so long!

And this the glad tidings

That greet the new morn,

‘Unto you, unto you

A great Savior is born!’

“’Twas the night before Christmas,

And my heart was dark.

There was no light within

Not even a spark!

Then I heard of a Savior

Who cleanses from sin,

And I opened my heart

And prayed Him come in.

Then the darkness was past,

And into my heart

There came Christmas at last!

Came the gladness and peace,

Came the radiance fair!

For Christmas is always

When Jesus is there.”