It’s the Christmas season. And you know what that means?
‘Tis the season when we huddle up on the couch, sip hot cocoa, and watch the same movies over and over again, just like we did last year. My family’s favorite movie is a classic: Home Alone. My son’s middle name is Kevin, and he does a remarkably similar impression of Kevin applying aftershave. We laugh every single time.
As much as we love Home Alone, we all know Hallmark is king when it comes to Christmas movies. You can’t truly embrace the holiday season without watching at least a few of their films. Their popularity during this time of year is undeniable, despite knowing that if you’ve seen one of the films, you’ve seen them all. In fact, I would argue that this consistency and predictability is the key reason for their year-after-year success. Hallmark’s annual “Countdown to Christmas” event attracts more than eighty million viewers, and in 2020, during the uncertain times of COVID, they even saw a remarkable 40 percent growth in viewership!
Why is this?
The short answer is comfort.
You know what’s going to happen even before you start watching. Every single plot will sound a little bit like this:
A big city executive is sent to save her aunt’s Christmas cookie bakery in a New England small town called Garland Pines. There, she clashes with—but then falls for—flannel-clad Jake, while saving the town from a greedy developer. She ends up dumping her former cold, heartless fiancé, and kisses Jake at the festive tree-lighting. She then moves to the small town, marries Jake, and runs the bakery with him and his precious daughter, Noelle.
Predictable? Yes. Will you watch it again next year? Absolutely.
Isn’t this the same kind of predictability that we love in our favorite movies, like Home Alone? We all know that Kevin is going to drop the paint cans and hit Harry and Marv in the face, light Harry’s head on fire, and ultimately call the police to catch the bad guys in the end. We are familiar with these plots and know what will happen even before we start watching.
Many people enjoy “comfort watching,” akin to “comfort food.” These nostalgic films provide warmth and joy, serving as a delightful escape from the chaos and noise.
This is similar to our yearly reflection on the story of Jesus during Advent. We revisit the image of Jesus in the manger and sing “Silent Night,” even though we know how the story ends. We engage with the Christmas narrative from Luke 2 repeatedly, and we do so for the same reason: comfort.
The prophet Isaiah foretells comfort, highlighting the prophecies of Jesus Christ, who brings comfort and joy to the whole earth. One notable prophecy is in chapter 40, which inspires the carol “Comfort, Comfort Now My People”:
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Isaiah 40:1–2 ESV (emphasis mine)
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the LORD’s hand
double for all her sins.
This glorious passage opens up with a double cry for comfort to the people of Israel, who were in despair during their exile in Babylon. Isaiah 40 marks a significant shift in the book of Isaiah’s outlook and tone. God’s voice is that of a loving father speaking tenderly to his beloved child. Though his people are in exile, God will one day bring them back to their homes in Jerusalem. God, in his great mercy and lovingkindness, will make peace once again. The battle is over. Their “warfare is ended” (Isaiah 40:2 ESV).
To understand the significance of God’s comfort in this message, we need to look back at Isaiah 39. In this chapter, Isaiah delivers a sobering prophecy to King Hezekiah about the nation’s impending judgment for its disobedience. He warns, “Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up until this day, shall be carried away to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD” (Isaiah 39:6 ESV). This distressing news was undoubtedly hard for the nation to accept.
However, in Isaiah 40 God offers his exiled people double comfort and blessings. He proclaims joy, peace, and forgiveness, and describes how he will create a highway for salvation to reach them. There will be no more mountains or valleys; instead, there will be a straight path for the glory of God to be revealed (Isaiah 40:3–4). These exact words are later prophesied by John the Baptist concerning the coming of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:4–6).
And is this not the same message we need to hear today?
Jesus, born in a manger and bringing “peace on earth,” represents the true comfort we need (Luke 2:14). The angels proclaim peace at Jesus’s coming at Christmas, and he makes that peace possible by his blood on the cross and his victory over the grave at Easter. Isaiah proclaims our warfare has ended, and Jesus accomplishes that victory. Like Israel, we were once strangers and aliens to the promise, “having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:12–14 ESV). Like the Israelites, we were in exile and disobedient, but when God’s goodness and lovingkindness appeared, he saved us (Titus 3:4–5).
For many of us, this message is not new; it’s the same one we’ve heard time and again, year after year. This is the age-old story we’ve been listening to every December since we were kids. Jesus was born in a manger. Jesus died on a cross. Jesus rose from the grave. Jesus is coming again.
Is this story predictable to us? Yes. Do we need to hear it again and again? Absolutely.
This is what makes it so powerful for those of us who believe. The world is chaotic, and we easily forget the comfort Christ promises to his beloved people. We need to be reminded of what we already believe and know to be true.
This Christmas, don’t take for granted the power of the news of Jesus’s coming. Instead, be reminded of the gospel of comfort and joy through Jesus Christ our Savior:
God rest you merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay!
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day,
to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy! O tidings of comfort and joy!
Photo credit: Lydia Supinger
Jordan Moody is the lead pastor at Hope Fellowship Church in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, and a graduate of Bob Jones University and Liberty Theological Seminary. When he’s not writing or reading, Jordan enjoys cheering on his favorite sports teams, triathlons, hiking, skiing, and coaching soccer. Above all, he treasures quality time with his wife and children.
