Our December series is entitled Christmas Classics and is developed around several well-known Christmas movies.

The art of capturing "movement in motion" was first developed in the late 1880's. Ten years later in 1898, George Albert Smith created Santa Claus, the oldest surviving Christmas movie. So from the very beginning of cinema, filmmakers have been telling the story of a social cultural Christmas.

Today we're going to use Miracle on 34th Street to provide some insights into the message of Christmas.
The film is one of the most well-known and was released in 1947. Over the years, the original black and white film has been adapted numerous times.

Throughout the movie the "true meaning of Christmas" is emphasized but no one mentions the historical event written about in Matthew 2:1-6.

Here are a few key thoughts in this Bible passage:
v. 1 The birth of Jesus is a historical fact including time and place,
v. 2a the identity of Jesus is that of a king,
v. 2b we learn that Jesus is worthy of worship (something only reserved for deities),
v. 3-4 Jesus is called the Messiah by both religious and secular leadership, which implies He is both Lord and Savior,
v. 5 the birth of Jesus’ is the subject of divine prophecy, and
v. 6 Jesus possesses authority and has been given great responsibility.

The name of the movie, Miracle on 34th Street is associated with Macy's Department store located at 151 W. 34th Street in New York City.
The plot of the movie is relatively simple. Macy’s is sponsoring their famous Thanksgiving Parade in NYC. They have hired someone to play Santa, but the person is a drunk. Doris Walker, the no nonsense special events director, persuades a bearded old man to take his place.
The old guy does a great job and is recruited to be the Macy’s store Santa and proves to be a sensation. He impacts everyone’s life, and his approach of kindness and truthfulness affects all the area stores that are competing with Macy’s.
As the movie goes on, the old man identifies himself as Kris Kringle, aka. Santa. This creates a stir and leads to everyone taking sides --- Is he or isn’t he?
The highlight of the movie is the courtroom scene in which a lawyer attempts to defend Kris against the claims that he is not Santa.
The movie builds to a crescendo when the lawyer must provide evidence from an outside source, some competent authority, to prove who that this old man is indeed, Santa!

Just like the previous movies we've looked at; this movie also provides numerous topics and themes that can be used as launching pads for deeper conversations and serves as an allegory for Christian faith.

The overwhelming theme is identity.

The trees on our stage tie in to the movies we're talking about this month:
1st week, ELF: The first tree is nothing but lights, an ELF hat, and the shape of a tree – but lacks substance. It displays the emptiness of a secular Christmas, void of JESUS.
2nd week, The Polar Express: The second tree is speaking of Belief and how it is critical to understanding the message of a Biblical Christmas and how it brings salvation and meaning to life.
3rd week, Miracle on 34th Street: Our third tree is red, with a Santa hat, and boots. What does that speak of? A secular holiday with Santa as the key figure. But, if you look deeper into the movie, the Bible, and the tree…you will find that there are numerous signs that point to Jesus as the core meaning of Christmas.

A Christian should be able to see the theme of identity here in the movie and relate it to the Bible's presentation of Jesus of Nazareth as God's Son, the Messiah, the Lord and Savior.
The big question of identity presented in this movie is also the big question as we consider the birth and life of Jesus Christ. Who exactly is this child that was born and whose birthday we commemorate each year in December?

We should ask the question, Who is Jesus?
Your answer determines something far more important than whether you are on the nice or naughty list...it determines your eternal destiny!

- The king of Israel in the 1st century, along with the Jewish religious rulers understood the person who was born to be the Messiah.
- The prophets of old, hundreds of years before his birth, predicted the time frame, the region of the country, and the actual city of his birth.
- In our passage last week, we saw the angels of God came to announce the birth of JESUS and that he would be the Son of the Most High.
- As JESUS grew He claimed to be God, His followers worshipped Him as God, and He did the things that only God can do.
- The Jewish leaders attempted to kill JESUS because He claimed to be God, a Roman soldier at the crucifixion admitted that He was God.
- The writers of the New Testament and the eyewitnesses of JESUS’ life repeatedly wrote that HE was God and the resurrection from the dead is proof that Jesus was much more than a nice man with a long, white beard … but the Almighty One.

In the movie, people tried to remove Kris Kringle from their presence, belittle him, and have him committed to a mental hospital. All because he didn't fit into the tiny box of reality located in their mind and heart. The same is true of Jesus in the Bible.
John 1:11

A few chapters later Jesus provided the explanation for why people reject Him. It has nothing to do with lack of evidence, and has everything to do with the condition of a person's heart and their lifestyle choice.
John 3:19

As we look forward to Christmas, we must consider the evidence for the life and purpose of Jesus of Nazareth.

LEGEND - If Jesus didn’t exist at all, but was just a legend made up by a bunch of do-gooding elves, then how do you explain the fact that...
- secular historians document the fact that HE did live and performed wonderous deeds,
- tens of thousands of people throughout history have been martyred for this belief,
- untold millions of people have had their lives changed by His teachings and gone to the grave trusting in His words and promises?

LUNATIC - If Jesus really believed He was the Lord and Savior of the world, but wasn’t, then He would be a lunatic. A crazy man who would have been found out by those closest to him and by those who were his enemies.

LIAR - If Jesus proclaimed that He could forgive sins, heal people, and take people to Heaven when they died, and couldn’t do it, then He would be a liar … perhaps the worst the world has ever seen.

LORD - But what if Jesus was exactly who He said He was? Then that would make Him the Lord.

And because Jesus is the Lord, Christmas is the celebration of the one who loved us so much that He gave His life as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins.
It commemorates the Miracle on 1st Century Street in the little town of Bethlehem.

Application:
This miracle should cause us to:
1. Focus more on the meaning of meaning of Christmas and less on the myth.
2. Live a lifestyle that reflects the goodness and generosity of Christ.
3. Cause us to worship the Lord with a full heart of assurance and not doubt.
4. Motivate us to share the Story --- His and ours with those we encounter.