Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ

by Timothy Keller

Publishers:

Viking; Redeemer

, 2016

Even people who are not practicing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the nativity. Every Christmas displays of baby Jesus resting in a manger decorate lawns and churchyards, and songs about shepherds and angels fill the air. Yet despite the abundance of these Christian references in popular culture, how many of us have examined the hard edges of this biblical story?

In his new book, Timothy Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the surprising background of the nativity. By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’ birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Keller shares, "If you’re my age and you’ve been preaching for 40 years, you’ve talked about Christmas a lot. Every time I get to the Christmas season I realize this is such an important message, and people don’t hear it, they just tune out what the Christian idea of Christmas claims to be… this is a bit of a wake-up call, and a non-sentimental book on Christmas."

Key Features

• Presents a moving and provocative examination of the nativity story
• Delves into the background of the Christmas season and the themes behind it
• Looks at Christmas and its Christian meaning and relevance in modern culture

Contents

• A Light Has Dawned
• The Mothers of Jesus
• The Fathers of Jesus
• Where Is the King?
• Mary’s Faith
• The Shepherds’ Faith
• A Sword in the Soul
• The Doctrine of Christmas

Top Highlights

“Christmas contains many spiritual truths, but it will be hard to grasp the others unless we grasp this one first. That is, that the world is a dark place, and we will never find our way or see reality unless Jesus is our Light.” (Page 6)

“Christmas, like God himself, is both more wondrous and more threatening than we imagine.” (Page 3)

“Second, if Jesus is Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace, you should want to serve him.” (Page 13)

“Christmas is not simply about a birth but about a coming.” (Page 20)

“When you are going through something very difficult, it’s good to talk to someone who has walked the same path, who knows personally what you have been going through. If God has really been born in a manger, then we have something that no other religion even claims to have. It’s a God who truly understands you, from the inside of your experience. There’s no other religion that says God has suffered, that God had to be courageous, that he knows what it is like to be abandoned by friends, to be crushed by injustice, to be tortured and die. Christmas shows he knows what you’re going through. When you talk to him, he understands.” (Pages 13–14)

Endorsements

[A] great gift book . . . Keller achieves his pastoral goal of teaching Christmas’ most important message—‘God alone has the life, truth, and joy that we lack and cannot generate ourselves’—and in doing so, provides solace for those who seek it.

—Publishers Weekly

Keller beautifully displays multiple facets of the gospel within the Christmas story... [He] has established his place as one our most helpful theological and cultural commentators. With Hidden Christmas, he applies his gifts to a subject that’s at once overly familiar and often neglected.

—Scott James, The Gospel Coalition

Product Details

• Title: Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth behind the Birth of Christ
• Author: Timothy Keller
• Publishers: Viking, Redeemer
• Print Publication Date: 2016
• Logos Release Date: 2017
• Pages: 157
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Jesus Christ › Nativity; Christmas; Christianity › Essence, genius, nature; Christian life
• ISBNs: 9780735221659, 9780735222021, 0735221650, 0735222029
• Resource ID: LLS:HIDDENCHRISTMAS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:30:51Z

About Timothy Keller

Timothy Keller (1950-2023) was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989. For over 20 years, he led a diverse congregation of young professionals with a weekly attendance of over 5,000. He was also president of Redeemer City to City, which plants new churches in New York and other cities. For the last decade, the organization has launched over 200 churches in 35 cities. Logos has collected his sermons in the Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (1989–2011) and Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (2012–2013).

Keller wrote multiple New York Times bestselling books, including The Reason for God and The Prodigal God. His recent work included The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, and Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work. He is also wrote his own commentary and study guide series. Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Timothy Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”