Research shows that you like new things simply because they are new.  We all prefer new things, not because they are better or more improved, but because the neurons in our brain foster a sense of adventure and fascination when we perceive that something is fresh or new. We are more inclined to buy a seasonal Coke with Santa on the can rather than a regular old Coke. Our brain doesn’t care if it’s the same old product. If it’s in new packaging, the brain assumes it is actually brand new and says, “Hey, you have to get that!” 

Of course, this adds to the exhilaration of Christmas because most people will be giving and getting a lot of new stuff. The latest gadgets, trendiest toys, and most in-style clothes can be found beneath many Christmas trees throughout the world. But much more exhilarating is the truth that on Christmas Day, Jesus brought something new—something far more important than any physical gift: a new creation. 

The Gospel of Matthew begins with a lengthy and seemingly unnecessary genealogy. But, right from the first sentence, it is rich with theological meaning: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:1a). In the first verse, “genealogy” can be translated as “genesis,” which simply means beginning. Matthew is therefore indicating that the coming of Jesus Christ inaugurates a new beginning. God created the world in the beginning, as recounted in the book of Genesis (Genesis 1:1). In the same way, Jesus came to create a new world—to undo the curse of sin and make all things new. 

 It all starts with you. Jesus came to earth to make you a new creation. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” You can be born again and become a new person because of His advent and atoning death. As it is exclaimed in Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Jesus was “born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.”

It ends when Christ returns in glory and judgment to set all things right, and usher in a new heaven and new earth to replace the old (cf. Revelation 21:1-4). That is why God said in Isaiah: “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17).