This Holy Week, like many others, I’ve been reflecting on the mystery and weight of the death of Christ on the cross and His glorious resurrection. But as I scrolled through social media, I kept seeing one quote that left me unsettled—not because it denies the resurrection, but because of what it overlooks.
“This is our greatest festival.
Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms you lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else.
Take Easter away, and you don’t have a New Testament; you don’t have a Christianity.”
— N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope
This quote was cited a few years ago in General Conference by Elder Quentin L. Cook, an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it seems to have struck a chord with many Latter-day Saints.
At first glance, it appears to capture a powerful truth: Easter is the heart of Christian hope. Without the resurrection, our faith is empty (1 Corinthians 15:17).
But the more I reflect on this quote, the more I believe it inadvertently downplays a miracle no less central to the gospel—the incarnation of Christ.
I’m not arguing against the resurrection’s centrality. But this post is intended as a reminder that the empty tomb only matters because of the Person who walked out of it: the eternal Son of God, made flesh.
To say that losing the incarnation would cost us “only two chapters” is to miss just how deeply the miracle of Christmas is woven into the fabric of Scripture—and into the heart of the gospel itself.
If You Lose Christmas, You Lose…
- The miracle of the eternal Word becoming flesh (John 1:14)
- The fulfillment of prophecies about the virgin birth and the Davidic line
- The theological foundation for substitutionary atonement—only the God-man could atone for sin
- The mystery of Immanuel—God with us—not just dying for us, but dwelling among us
Without the incarnation, there is no sinless life, no atoning death, and ultimately, no resurrection. As Hebrews 2:17 says:
“He had to be made like his brothers in every respect… to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
To act as if losing the incarnation would be a minor textual loss (“two chapters”) rather than a theological catastrophe risks undercutting the very basis on which Easter matters.
Why This Resonates with Latter-day Saints
I think the attraction that Latter-day Saints have to this quote also reveals a significant theological divide between Latter-day Saints and Biblical Christianity.
Ultimately, I believe the quote resonates with Latter-day Saints because, under their theology, the birth of Jesus really isn’t the miracle. It’s just one step in a process.
The Miracle of the Incarnation
In Christian theology, the incarnation is a once-for-all cosmic miracle—an infinite condescension in which the eternal Son of God took on human flesh.
What makes this so staggering is that Jesus is the creator of everything that exists—the eternal God who makes and sustains everything in heaven and on earth—condescended to become a human being. The infinite God entered into His creation to live among His creatures and to die for them.
Christian thinkers throughout the centuries have captured the awe-inspiring nature of the incarnation:
“He, through whom time was made, was made in time; and He, older by eternity than the world itself, was younger in age than many of His servants in the world; He, who made man, was made man; He was given existence by a mother whom He brought into existence; He was carried in hands which He formed; He nursed at breasts which He filled; He cried like a babe in the manger in speechless infancy — this Word without which human eloquence is speechless!”
— Augustine of Hippo
“Infinite, and an infant. Eternal, and yet born of a woman. Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast. Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms. King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph. Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son.”
— Charles Spurgeon
This is an extraordinary and incomparable miracle. J.I. Packer said it beautifully:
“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.”
And what makes the incarnation even more meaningful is that Jesus did not become incarnate for His own sake, but entirely for ours. He had no need to “progress.” As Philippians 2 teaches, He already existed in the “form of God” and willingly “emptied himself” by taking on the form of a servant. This was not a stepping stone toward exaltation—it was an act of divine humility and love.
The miracle is not just that Christ rose from the grave—it’s that God came down in the first place. Without the birth of the God-man, there is no death for sin and no resurrection to life.
The LDS View: A Necessary Step on the Path to Godhood
In contrast, Latter-day Saint theology presents the incarnation as expected and inevitable. Jesus needed to be born—not simply to redeem us, but to fulfill requirements for His own exaltation. His birth, life, death, and resurrection are steps in an eternal progression shared by all divine beings. Every god, in this view, must eventually be born, prove faithful, die, and rise.
LDS apostle Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
“Christ himself, the Firstborn, had to work out his salvation by gaining knowledge and experience, and by obeying the laws and ordinances of the gospel…”
(Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., p. 742)
And President Nelson explained that Jesus’s “eternal perfection would follow His resurrection and receipt of ‘all power … in heaven and in earth.’” (Perfection Pending, October 1995 General Conference)
Similarly, the LDS Gospel Principles manual teaches:
“God became God by obedience to eternal laws. Jesus Christ followed this same path to godhood…”
(Gospel Principles, 2009 ed., Chapter 47: “Exaltation”)
As God expresses in the LDS temple film, this pattern of fall and redemption is the “same as has been done on other worlds.” It’s not an earth-shaking and unrepeatable miracle. It’s simply what gods do.
Why This Difference Matters
This difference isn’t just theological hair-splitting—it gets to the heart of the gospel.
In Christianity, the incarnation reveals the gracious, self-giving love of a God who stoops to save by entering into our world. In Mormonism, it’s one step up an eternal ladder.
One view exalts the glory of Christ as unique and eternal. The other sees His story as archetypal—a pattern we might follow.
The Cradle Exalts the Cross
When we lose the incarnation’s miracle, we lose sight of God’s mercy, God’s condescension, and God’s glory. The cradle and the cross belong together.
This is why N.T. Wright’s quote—especially when echoed by someone like Elder Cook—should give us pause.
The miracle of Christmas cannot be dismissed as “two chapters.”
It is the moment when the eternal intersected with the temporal, when the infinite became an infant and lay helpless in a manger. It is the moment the Author stepped into His story as the suffering servant who would write salvation in His own blood.
That is not just poetic imagery—it’s a mind-bending miracle.
The incarnation reveals the very nature of God’s mercy and glory.
Christmas is not just a prelude to Easter. It is the first note in the symphony of our redemption.