In the days before Christ, it was common to sacrifice a lamb in hopes of appeasing God and atone for sins — but that all changed with Jesus, who offered himself up as the ultimate sacrificial lamb.
The end of the story is hinted at in carols that celebrate the beginning:
“Remember Christ the Savior was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray” — “born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give us second birth.”
The joy of the Christmas story is informed by the agony and ultimate triumph of the Easter story.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
