Visit the bustling capital of Spain at Christmastime, and you’re sure to encounter two unusual lines.
In one line, groups of friends joyfully gather, cash in hand, to buy a booklet of tickets for Spain’s national lottery, the largest in the world and the second-longest running. Tickets cost 200 euros, but they’re sold in booklets so that people can pool their funds and share the winnings. Then, a few days before Christmas, they gather again for churros and hot chocolate to watch the draw, anticipating sharing in El Gordo, “the big one.”
Just down the street, families and tourists form another queue outside Madrid’s City Hall to see an enormous Belén, the Spanish word for Bethlehem. Intricate and historically accurate nativity scenes are a much-loved cultural tradition in Spain, and during December they appear everywhere: in public squares, shop windows, and family homes. The one in Madrid is composed of over 200 pieces and features scenes from biblical Bethlehem, including Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus taking shelter near the animals, as well as three magi traveling by camel to worship the baby—an essential part of the story in a country where children receive gifts on Three Kings Day.
As a Christmas decoration enthusiast who decorates with crèche sets from all over the world, I enjoy the visible reminder that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. But while the nativities are ubiquitous, devotion to Jesus is almost nonexistent in secular Spain. Church attendance and biblical literacy are at an all-time low, and even among people who hold more traditional Catholic values, Bible stories are usually viewed as myths or fables.
Both the worldly custom of gambling and the empty religious traditions of Christmas are stark reminders of the spiritual darkness in which so many Spaniards live. Sadly, the line for the lottery often seems to hold more hope for Spaniards than the display announcing the greatest hope the world has ever known. Many look to the lottery to bring joy and security, waiting together like worshipers of fortune, even while gazing upon the representation of the Christ child set up in their homes or towns. My heart breaks over this misplaced hope because I know that only through faith in Jesus can lasting joy, peace, and security be found.
The prophet Isaiah saw this same emptiness in his generation. Israel had turned away from God and was stumbling in spiritual darkness, searching for peace in politics and prosperity. Yet into that despair, Isaiah proclaimed God’s promise:
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress . . . the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:1–2 NIV)
Each Christmas, I meditate on these familiar verses and on all the ways that Jesus fulfills the human longings we try to fill in the wrong places. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come in the form of a child, bringing lasting peace and security to all people:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
(Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV)
Hundreds of years later, when Jesus was born, Israel was still far from God, stumbling in spiritual darkness and longing for peace and prosperity. Yet knowing their deepest need, Jesus took on flesh to provide for their salvation and offer the greatest hope of all. An angel announced the arrival of the Savior of the world to some of the most humble and needy among them: shepherds.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11)
Then God used these humble people to spread this good news throughout Bethlehem:
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. (Luke 2:16–18)
I think of Spain’s nativities: they tell the true story of Christmas, but their message proclaiming the hope of the gospel is not received. Instead, people follow their sinful human nature. They look for fulfillment and joy in traditions without believing the true message behind them, and they search for prosperity and security in money. Sometimes I am tempted to lose hope because the gospel still has so far to reach in Spain, so much to overcome.
But this was familiar to Isaiah as well:
And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men[.”] (Isaiah 29:13)
Even though their hearts are far from God, even though worldly temptations lure them away from the truth, and even though they reject the Savior, I know that God still reaches people. He made his promise to a people living in darkness, and then he sent his son Jesus to be born into that darkness, live a perfect life, and die to pay the price of sin. Then he rose from the dead, conquering sin and death forever and illuminating the hope we can have through him.
That’s what Christmas is all about, and that’s what the Great Commission is all about.
So, I will go about the Lord’s work in Spain, pointing out the emptiness of spending money on the lottery and proclaiming the truth of the Christmas story to Spaniards, because I am filled with this hope. I trust God to bring more people to eternal life with him, as he promised through the prophet Isaiah: “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:7).
Editor’s Note: This is the first article in our 2025 Advent devotional series, “Hope of the Nations.” Join us each week as we explore Christ’s birth through the lens of frontline global ministry.
