Why Jesus Came
Today we celebrate the birth of Christ. During the past few weeks we’ve drawn from the Christmas story as told by Luke and Matthew. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the Christmas story as told by John. In John 1:1-3 we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” In verse 14 John continues, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This is how John describes the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary in Bethlehem.
On this Christmas Day, it will be good to stop and ponder John’s account. “In the beginning…” That means before the mountains rose, before the oceans roared, before the stars were spread across the sky, before our planet teemed with life, or even existed—"in the beginning was the Word. He lives from everlasting to everlasting. Next John adds, “And the Word was with God…” He lives in eternal fellowship with the Father. But there’s more. John continues, "the Word was God”! The “Word” himself is Maker of all things and giver of all life. And only when we remember that can we appreciate how seemingly absurd the statement of verse 14 really is. There John writes, “And the Word became flesh… Stop. Think about that. The Word who is God entered fully into our world. He became human like we are human. The infinite, sovereign, omniscient, omnipresent God was born a baby—wholly dependent and helpless. In Christ, God walked where we walk. In Christ, God felt like we feel. In Christ, God got tempted like we get tempted—although without sin. And most unfathomably, in Christ, God died a physical death like we die.
Which leads to the obvious question—so what? It’s a nice story, but what difference does the “Word become flesh” make for you? For me? For our world? Why do we bother celebrating the physical birth of God in Christ? The fact that the Word became flesh means nothing until we understand why the Word became flesh! Why did our Creator become creaturely? Why did the King of Kings leave heaven, where He is continually worshiped, and come to earth where He is continually despised? Nowhere is that question more clearly answered than in 1 Timothy 1:15. There Paul writes simply, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world—that is, the Word became flesh—to save sinners…”
This is the good news of Christmas. John further explains, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (the atonement) for our sins.
Have you made the good news of Christmas good news for you? Have you let “the Word become flesh” save you from your sin? By his grace have you acknowledged your sin and repented by entrusting yourself to Jesus as Lord and Savior? If so, rejoice! If not, why not make this Christmas Day the day of your salvation?