The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. (Isa. 9:2 ESV)

The first Christmas was war.

“Hold it,” you say! “Christmas is a time of light and joy and happiness, not war!”

Certainly, you are right. But we are living in the time after the great war. If we look closely at the birth of Jesus Christ, there are unmistakable signs of battle. And they tell us why he came.

Think of the verse from Isaiah above, used most often during the first week of Advent. It speaks of a time of darkness, slavery, and oppression by an enemy and the dawning of a new day in which a Savior will deliver them. The word translated deep darkness in Isaiah 9:2 is the same word David used in Psalm 23 for the shadow of death. Jesus came to deliver his people from darkest death. That meant battle. That meant war.

In John’s Gospel, we read more about the themes of light and darkness–and battle.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (Jn. 1:5 ESV)

The word translated overcome also can mean seize with hostile intent or conquer. And so the verse may be understood as a summary view of Christ’s time on earth. It was all war all the time.

Do you recall Jesus’ first act after his baptism? The Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness to do battle with the devil. He did. And he was victorious. Following that was an unrelenting chain of confrontations between Christ and demons, between Christ and evil men, and finally between Christ and the devil.

John, in his first letter, summarizes Christ’s ministry this way:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 Jn. 3:8 ESV)

So think anew about Christ’s time on earth—from incarnation to ascension—as God bringing the battle to the devil. So much in the Gospels will make more sense!