“Why God Became Man” (Part One)

Maybe every Sunday should be Christmas and Easter at once.  We celebrate the central theme of the Bible, that God our creator chases us and comes down to us in the prophesied Messiah and Son, Jesus Christ, to live among us, to be ravaged for our sins, and to conquer not only that sin by His life, but death’s punishment by His resurrection.

Let the celebration begin every week and every day!

But it certainly is true that the attraction of the Christmas season, with all of the extras piled on it by business owners who hope we will have the spirit of the season, still makes it a time to celebrate and think through the purposes of that coming.

And one reason is so that we won’t just think about gifts and human tradition.

The Bible is specifically clear as to the reasons that God the eternal Son became Jesus, the new God-man and mediator-savior.

First reason, not in any priority order:

1. Identification:  To understand our life. (Hebrews 2:9, 10, 17, 18; 4:14-16)

While God is omnipotent, and created the worlds with the word of His power, we still could say that to understand life here, or to help us know that He really does, He had to be here himself.  Is it true that the only way to have experience is to have experience, even for God?  Let’s not put any limitations on Him, but this does make sense.

He wanted to be a high priest who understood everything we go through, so He could not only represent us before the Father, but also have sympathy with all of our needs.

It’s a staggering thought that the God of the universe loves us this much.  And it should be celebrated daily, or regularly, but big time at Christmas.

God knows what it is like to be a human being.  Maybe even more than we do!

So Jesus went through everything that we do, felt the emotions that we do, never is surprised when we ask a favor or some strength; and all this because He wants to save us and rescue us.  He loves us.

One time in a message I mentioned this identification with human beings and said that Jesus the Christ even understood absolutely every test or temptation that makes us struggle.  I included the word “sexual” and got some protest emails.  Just several, who could not handle or believe – let’s not use a patronizing word like “handle” – that Jesus, their savior and friend, was tempted related to lust or sexuality.

While I did not recant the statement, I did urge them to think through what these verses mean about full identification with us and understanding all of our tests and possibilities for sin.

He really did.  He has been here.  So none of us can say that He has not, as the Indian wise man said, walked in our moccasins.  He has.

2. Revelation:  To reveal God to us. (John 1:18; 14:9; I John 1:1-3)

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelled among us… and we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-14).

This is great theology but also a huge issue of our understanding of God.  Look at Christ Jesus!

Do you want to see God angry?  Watch Him in the temple, driving out the people who were cheating their comrades.

Want to see how God thinks about children?  Watch them run to sit on His lap.  He calls them.  He loves them.

Want to see how He loves losers like the lepers and me?  Notice where He spends his time.  He went to the house of Zacchaeus for tea and ended up at mine!

You want to know what God is like?  Look at Jesus Christ.

In another beautiful passage his best friend John said that he had touched Him and been around Him and seen Him and heard Him.  He was with Jesus at the campfires in the evening.  He watched him respond to the hypocritical teachers and doctors of theology who thought they knew so much.  He watched him tenderly care for the needy.

And he ended up loving him more and more and more.

Jesus Christ reveals what God is like, as much as we need to know for now, apparently.  We simply need to pay attention.

While I would agree with those who say we should preach the gospel to ourselves at least once a day, I would also suggest that we need to read a chapter from the gospels at least a few times every week, being reminded of how good and gracious and powerful and loving and approachable this Jesus is.  And therefore we can conclude that God is that way.  For Jesus is fully God.

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

He said that the words that He was speaking were the words of the Father (John 14:10).

To reveal all this, in the best way possible, God must become a human being.  So we see Him in our villages.  So He walks on our streets.  So He’s in the same situation that we are in.

And He has been in the worst of circumstances.  He grew up in poverty.  He had few comforts that we know.  He shows us what God is like in the roughest of times.

Happy Christmas!

3. Imitation:  To be our example. (Hebrews 3:1; I Peter 2:12)

This one is very closely related to the first, and needs to be preached just as clearly.  And it staggers us as much as the first one.

He clearly and specifically showed us how it – life! – should be done.  He modeled how we should love, repair relationships, treat enemies, respond to tests, and honor our Father.  He not only taught on holiness – He was forever showing us what He meant.

Perhaps those in the Old Testament can get our sympathy in their weak obedience at times – they simply had the words from above, the commands, and they had no indwelling, abiding Holy Spirit.  Now we have the guidelines, the strength of God’s Spirit, and the recorded example of God the Son in our clothing, in our flesh.

There are three specific reasons it was necessary for God the eternal to become a human being.  To start here on earth as a baby.  To be one of us.

Flesh and blood.

The good news “wrapped in swaddling clothes” as a baby; in the dress of a small boy and then a teen, a day and a year at a time; in the leather of a carpenter; and then in the adult wardrobe of His day as He went from place to place with His teaching; and finally to have His clothing ripped off of Him as He takes on the vicious death of the crucifixion for us.

To change our lives.  To clothe us with His righteousness (Romans 3:21; 5:17).

To make our Christmas mean everything!