Adventure - Day 5

“And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.”
Luke 2:6-7 NLT

“Some have argued that the supreme miracle of Christianity is not the resurrection of Christ from the dead, but the incarnation.” (Timothy Keller)

What is unique to the Christian faith, is the belief in a God who continued to love His rebellious creation so much that He became one of them, to save them.  It’s the concept of grace, He took on what we deserve in order to give us access to what He deserves.  It truly describes a love that is higher and wider and longer and deeper than anything we can possibly imagine (Ephesians 3), and yet, the Christmas story is our yearly reminder that it happened.

Mary and Joseph, just like Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, didn’t have an option as to what to name this new baby boy.  He wouldn’t have a family name, no grandparents would be honored, no family traditions carried on.  For the angel had told Joseph want to name the baby.

“And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”” Matthew 1:21 NLT

““Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1:23 NLT

The name Jesus simply means, Yahweh (the God of Israel), saves.  The people were longing for their Messiah to come and rescue them.  But notice what Matthew adds to the name Jesus from his story of the angel.  It’s not Yahweh saves, it’s that Yahweh is going to save his people from their sins.  This was our first hint that Jesus wasn’t a warrior Messiah come to liberate Israel from Rome, but a Heavenly Messiah come to save us from ourselves.

But there’s another name given for this baby boy.  Matthew quotes Isaiah’s prophecy that said, “they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.”

We have no record of Jesus ever being called Immanuel, but it seems Matthew’s including this detail in the birth story is intentional.  You see, Jesus was what He came to do, save us from our sins; Immanuel was who He was, God with us.

So God takes on human flesh to save us from our sins, but also, to be as close to us as possible.  He’s not here to take care of a momentary problem, the Romans, but rather an eternal one, our separation from Him.  The miracle of the incarnation of God who took on human flesh is one we may never fully understand, but for those who choose to believe, we can spend an eternity, trying.

JOURNAL

1. What does it mean to you that God was willing to risk all of creation to become like us, to save us?
2. It’s amazing to think of the God of the universe, “wrapped snuggly in strips of cloth” and held by the very hands He created.  What love! What sacrifice!  What is something you’d be willing to sacrifice for Him in return? Time volunteering at church or with a cause that furthers the gospel? Finances to help a ministry you feel drawn to support? Or how about crossing the street to invite that neighbor of yours that you know could use a community to belong to and be a part of?