Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ
Digital Logos Edition
Please Note: Due to licensing restrictions, this product is only available for purchase in the United States and Canada.
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."
- 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
- 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)
[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
Timothy Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia; associate professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
Timothy Keller is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and his three young sons. For over 20 years, he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals with a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
He is also president of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. Over the past 10 years, the organization has helped launch over 200 churches in 35 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over one million copies and been translated into 15 languages.
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.”
Reviews
5 ratings
Ryan Whitaker
2/4/2025
Luke Cobrae
12/16/2022
Great work from Tim Keller that sheds light on the story of Christmas, and some of the not so known aspects of the narrative. Loved reading it.
Chad Ethridge
4/24/2018
Hugo
12/27/2017
Glenn Crouch
12/6/2017
This is a marvellous, easy-to-read book that does emphasis well the Joy of the Incarnation. If you are wondering what Christmas is all about from a historical Christian viewpoint and whether it has value for the modern person, then this book is for you. It is also good for those of us who celebrate the birth of our Lord every year, as there are many aspects that we either forget, or just take for granted - and this book strong emphasis on Grace is welcomed, and renews the Joy and Peace of that birth so long ago. Highly recommended!
