To answer the question, “Why do we have Christmas?” we actually are asking what the purpose was of Jesus being born in Bethlehem at what we now call Christmas. Why did He come? The answer is simple, understandable by even the very young. It was not so that we could have loads of presents and spectacular Christmas parties, shows, and decorations. He came “to seek and to save what was lost.”

Years later, after Jesus had grown up and was engaged in His earthly ministry, He met up with Zacchaeus, a tax collector and member of one of the most despised professions in Israel. No one liked Rome’s oppression and certainly didn’t enjoy being heavily taxed so that the likes of Zacchaeus could cheat his own people by skimming money off the top!

When Jesus warmly and kindly approached Zacchaeus, it completely contradicted what the general public deemed right. Why would Jesus associate with a traitor? Jesus made it clear that claiming to come for the lost meant any lost soul, no matter how sinful or depraved. Thankfully, that includes you and me!