The Word Became Flesh.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14. To put it simply Christmas is about the Word becoming flesh. The event that had been prophesied for hundreds of years came about in the most humble of circumstances. The prophets foretold it, the world awaited it, and Jesus fulfilled it. There are so many things about the birth of Jesus that should leave us in amazement. From the virgin birth to angles appearing to shepherds. However, amongst all the nativity sets and “Little Drummer Boy” songs this Christmas season do we loose grasp on who that baby really was lying in the manger?  

The book of John begins this way, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The Word had become flesh. This baby lying in the manger was fully God and fully human. He who would later speak to storms and the storms stopped would have to learn how to talk. He who had to be nursed and fed by his mother would later feed five thousand with a few loaves and fish. He who would fall over and over again learning to walk would go on to walk on water. He who watched his father nailing tables together would thirty-three years later have his hands nailed to a cross. The long awaited Emmanuel had come.

John continues, “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”  Mary and Joseph’s frantic middle of the night escape to Egypt was only the beginning of the hostility that awaited our Savior. He would be eventually betrayed by one of his close friends. They rejected the one who had come to save them. But that is not the end of the story because John goes on and this is why we celebrate. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” He was born so we could be born again. 

The story of Jesus birth is not a “cute” kids story, but a radical, earth shattering event that forever changed history. Jesus became a man and lived a human life. As Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” When we remember the gospel we find forgiveness at the cross, but we also find comfort in the life of Jesus Christ. We can fail because He did not. We can fall short because He paid it all. We will live eternally because He died and rose again. That is worth celebrating more than 25 days each year.  I love the song “Born to Die” by Bebo Norman because it beautifully describes why we celebrate. Take a moment to read through the lyrics and give thanks for who that baby was lying in a manger over two thousand years ago. Merry Christmas!

They never knew a dark night

always had the Son's light

on their face

Perfect in glory

Broken by the story

of untold grace...

come that day

Majesty had come down 

Glory had succumed now 

to flesh and bone

In the arms of a manger

In the hands of strangers

that could not know

Just who they hold

And the angels filled the sky 

All of heaven wondered why

Why their King would choose to be 

Be a baby born to die

And all fell silent 

For the cry of an infant,

the voice of God

Was dividing history

For those with eyes to see,

the Son would shine

From earth that night

To break the chains

Of guilt and sin

To find us here 

To pull us in 

So we can join in Heaven's song

And with one voice around the throne

All the Angels filled the sky

And I can't help but wonder why 

Why this King would choose to be

Be a baby born for me

Be a baby born 

Be a baby born to die

It is Finished

“It is finished.” ...... Mankind has never heard better words. Jesus Christ as he hung on the cross spoke these words as He breathed His last. The price had been paid. He had suffered the full wrath of a Holy God. No longer would anyone have to offer sacrifices, because the ultimate sacrifice had been made. The beautiful passage in Colossians 2 describes Christ’s work on the cross. “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

It is hard for me to grasp what life was like for the Israelites before Christ. They were under the Mosaic Law. It was a list of do’s and don’ts to live by, and if these were broken then a sacrifice had to be made. Whenever I read through the old testament I am always grateful that I am not under the old covenant. We are no longer the law, and we are no longer required to make sacrifices. However, I think many Christians today still live under a law. It may not be the same do’s and don’t of the Mosaic Law, but there are still the rules to live by. If one of the laws/rules is broken they feel the need to make a “sacrifice”- a good work, to cover their mistake. This is legalism and moralism at their core. The mindset that in order to maintain a good standing before God we must make sure our good works outnumber the sin in our lives. The gospel frees us from thinking this way. When we can fully embrace the gospel we realize that nothing we can do will make God love us more, and nothing we can do will make God love us less. Think about that. 

Tullian Tchividjian in his great book “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” writes about how the  Gospel frees us from legalism and points us to Christ’s finished work on the cross. He writes, “Paul isn’t saying that our performance leads to our rescue; he’s saying that genuine rescue leads to our performance. Our improvement comes from God’s approval; God’s approval doesn’t come from our improvement.” If we truly understand God’s grace and what He did for us, it will lead to a life full of obedience out of love.” Jesus had harsh words for the Pharisees because their obedience to the law was not with the right motives. They kept the law as perfectly as any human could. However, it was not out of love for God, but rather their love of attention from others. A few pages later Tullian goes on to say, “As we continue working out our life of obedience in light of Christ’s obedience, one thing is clear: the issue is never whether or not to obey. We know the Bible has plenty to say about keeping God’s commands. That’s indisputable. But what motivates our obedience, what animates our obedience, and what prompts us to obey? Is it fear or faith? Is it guilt or gratitude?”

It was Paul’s prayer for the different churches he wrote to that they would be able to grasp that. To know the love of God. I believe one of the reasons many people struggle with legalism is because they translate how humans love each other to how God loves us. No one can love another person perfectly. If someone does something extremely hurtful to you, it is nearly impossible not to love them less. Christ’s love is unconditional and not based on how we did last week. In Ephesians 3:17-19 Paul writes, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” I encourage you to pray that not only for yourself but for your brothers and sisters in Christ. One final passage from Tullian’s book. “Most of us become guilty of this Christless Christianity because we look at the Bible and we see all of the imperatives without being washed by the indicatives. We spend more time asking what would Jesus do instead of what did Jesus do. We have to keep reminding ourselves of the difference between moralism and the gospel. We have to keep remembering that the reason Christ came was first of all not to make bad people good but to make dead people alive. If we forget that, our Christianity will turn out to be Christless.” 

“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” - John 17:26