There’s mystery surrounding Christmas. No matter what age you are, there are things that just can’t be explained through logic.
When we are little we want to know how Santa gets presents to all the kids in the world in one night. As we grow older we sing about joy and yearn for peace on earth, especially at Christmas. But how can there be peace when the world is so broken?
But there is a mystery that trumps them all because it. changes. everything.
Jesus, fully God and fully man.
The words feel a bit abstract even as we sing about it.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing… (O Come All Ye Faithful)
So wrap our injured flesh around You, Breathe our air and walk our sod Rob our sin and make us holy, Perfect Son of God (Welcome to Our World)
But it is a mystery worth exploring.
In the first chapter of John, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”
John calls Jesus the Word made flesh.
The Word of God has a very specific job and an all- encompassing reach.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:22)
In his commentary on Hebrews, John Calvin says “This means that it [the Word] tests the whole soul of a man. It inquires into his thoughts and it searches his will and all his desires. It means that there is nothing so hard or firm in a man, nothing so deeply hidden that the efficacy of the Word does not penetrate through to it.”
God has given His Word the task of penetrating to the most secret thoughts of the heart.
In His interactions with people Jesus, the Word made flesh, did exactly that. He brought the thoughts from the innermost recesses of people’s hearts out into the light.
He was gentle with those who were struggling, with those who didn’t even know they needed Him until He spoke to them.
He challenged the thoughts of those who thought they had God figured out.
The Word was God and the Word became flesh. God became flesh.
Colossians also speaks of this mystery.
In Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. (Colossians1:19) He is the exact image of the invisible God. (Colossians1:15)
Jesus reveals the Father to us. Through Jesus we see the invisible God.
And at the same time that Jesus is fully God, He is also fully human.
My mind cannot wrap around this. How is this even possible?
How does the infinite fit inside the finite? How does the limitless dwell inside the limited without overpowering or replacing it?
How did He who upholds the universe by the word of His power come as an infant who could only cry to make His needs known?
The how is a mind boggling. The why is a life-changer.
Why would He do this? Why would He leave the perfection of Heaven to wrap our flesh around Him and walk through life in this messy, broken world?
“Christ has put on our feelings along with our flesh, not only to show Himself to be truly man, but to be taught by that very experience how to help our miseries; and that, not because as Son of God He needed such instruction, but because only thus could we grasp the concern He has for our salvation. Whenever we are laboring under the infirmities of our flesh, let us bear in mind that the Son of God has experienced them too, to encourage us by His power in case we are overwhelmed by them.” (Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, Hebrews and 1&2 Peter)
He did this to show us the depth of His love, grace, and mercy toward us.
This love, grace, and mercy is described in Hebrews 4:12-16.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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.”
He fought the battles we face – each one of us – and he WON! – not to gloat over us, but to say “I know the battle. Come closer and find your strength in Me. Come, and receive forgiveness. Take my hand and I will fill you with hope. Come to the throne of grace in your time of need, with confidence, to find help.”
I don’t know about you, but when I am struggling, when I give in to temptation, I want to hide, especially from God. Adam and Eve hid. We hide. But God has made a way for us to come to Him. We don’t have to hide.
I love the language of this verse.
“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.”
We have weaknesses, and God is not surprised by this at all. Even as we struggle in those weaknesses, we can come to Him and find mercy and grace.
Mercy addresses our need for forgiveness. Grace is the power He gives to sustain us in the midst of temptation.
The why of this mystery is found right here.
Jesus is with us, so we are not alone. He gives us power to fight temptation, so we can say no to sin. He offers forgiveness when we do fail and gives us strength to get back up on our feet.
None of this was possible before Jesus came. And none of this would have been possible if Jesus was not 100% God and 100% man.
Before Jesus came there was a distance between God and His people, even in worship. God addresses our sin and bridges this distance through the person of Jesus.
So what difference does Jesus make? What difference does it make that He was fully God and fully man?
The difference between distance and embrace, the difference between our weakness and His grace.
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This post is part of my December Facebook Live series, “What Difference Does Jesus Make?” Please join me on my writer’s Facebook page, Erin Ulerich, on Wednesdays in December. I’ll be live at 6:00 a.m. CST, but the video will be available to watch whenever you can. I am looking forward to connecting with you in these few moments of sanity during December.
I am giving away this spunky little mug through a drawing. To be the lucky recipient of this mug, all you have to do is comment on the Wednesday videos. Let me know what you found encouraging or challenging during the video. Each week that you comment I will put your name in the drawing.