The Incarnation of
Jesus
Advent is upon us! A time of anticipation, eagerly awaiting
the Savior’s birth. For four weeks leading up to Christmas, we will be
celebrating advent, celebrating a period of suspense, a time devoted to ramping
up our expectations for the coming of our Lord.
But what really are we awaiting? All this eager
anticipation… for what? For many, this season is pure chaos—running from shop
to shop, unrealistic family expectations, a busyness that undercuts whatever
joy might be present. It is sometimes very hard to connect this season with
something “spiritual.”
Advent is a time of waiting… for the fulfillment of God’s
promises, for the salvation the Old Testament describes, for the frustration of
sin to be removed. Advent is waiting… waiting for God.
This is why we often speak of the Christmas miracle as “God
coming down to earth.” In order to fulfill His plan of salvation, God left His
sinless heaven and came to our broken earth, where sin dominates our lives. As
a ministry principle, this is a marvelous insight. We are in need, desperate in
our sin, and God came to us in our inability to get to Him. This ministry
insight is something we should follow in our own outreach to others—‘reaching
out’ often means ‘going out’ to where those in need are.
But, there is more to the Christmas miracle than just the
amazing movement of God coming to earth. Part of the beauty of Christmas is how
He determined to do that. God did not come down in His divine glory; He did not
appear in power and majesty. We are not overwhelmed by deity, by all the
“God-ish-ness.” Instead, the Christmas miracle includes the miracle of the
incarnation.
“Incarnation,” in its technical sense, is the process
whereby the divine is en-fleshed, where the deity is wrapped in humanity, where
God becomes man. Incarnation thus is something that only God can do—take on the
human nature. You can’t have the incarnation without the divine; Jesus is the
incarnate God, the Divine One. You also can’t have the incarnation without
humanity; Jesus is God-made-flesh, the God-man.
And, think of all that entails! The infinite God, wrapped in
finite humanity. The omnipresent Lord of the universe, limited in one place.
The all-knowing Sovereign, susceptible as all humanity and growing in
knowledge. The Creator of all things becomes the creation. Reality beyond our
understanding or grasp. That is the miracle of the incarnation.
Advent: awaiting Christmas. Christmas: the celebration of
the birth of Christ. The Birth of Christ: God has come to earth! And even more
amazing, God has come to earth as a human
being. Over this Advent season, we will see the importance of recognizing
Christmas as the miracle of the incarnation. With Scripture our guide, we will
see why it is such a celebration that God became Man, and all that means for
our salvation, for the life of the Church, and for the glory of God.
For this week, Read Hebrews 2:14-18.
1. In verse 14, the author links Jesus’ humanity with the
fact that we have “flesh and blood.” Can you recap his argument here? Why
should Jesus be human according to verse 14?
2. “The children” in verse 14 is a reference to the
quotations in verses 12-13. What are the author’s reasons for including these
quotations?
3. The devil is said to “have the power of death.” In what
ways does Satan hold the power of death?
4. Verse 15 describes all humanity as fearing death and
being subject to slavery. If all humanity is in mind here, what “slavery” is
intended?
5. Why does the author bring up “angels” in verse 16? Jesus
took on human nature because He was saving humans. If He was saving angels,
what nature would He have taken on?
6. In verse 17, Jesus was made like us “in every respect.”
What “respect” or “aspect” of humanity would Jesus need to have taken up? Why
according to the author must this happen?
7. What is the predominate reason we can trust in the caring hand of God in verse 18? How does this comfort you? Or, how SHOULD this comfort us?
