Matthew 1:18–25 (NLT): 18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
23 “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.’ ”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Sometimes we become so familiar with a story that we don’t feel the impact of the reality that the words are communicating. The story of Jesus’ birth as relayed by Matthew can be that way. But take a moment and think about it.
Sending us truth in the form of written words was one way God could tell us about himself and our desperate need for him. But God did much, much more than that. He chose to come to us as one of us!
I can write a text to a friend or family member with whom I have a broken relationship, but it is much better if I go speak to them in person - face to face, in order to bring reconciliation. Going in person shows how much I really care. That is what God has done for us. That is why 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah the prophet was inspired by God to write the words:
Isaiah 7:14 (NLT): All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
Can you imagine how much Jesus loved his people to leave the throne room of heaven to be born as a helpless baby?
The Eternal Creator became for us “the visible image of the invisible God”
Jesus created everything that was created in the visible and invisible landscapes. And his mission in becoming a human was to reconcile us to himself. Even though, as we saw in Adam’s Plunge, we were the ones who broke relationship with him.
Colossians 1:15–21 (NLT): Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.
Jesus’ sacrifice in order to become Immanuel
When we think of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf we immediately think of his dying on the cross in our place for our rebellions against God, but he also made some very big sacrifices by laying aside his glory as God to become a man and walk with us in our world.
Philippians 2:3–11 (NLT): 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave (servant)
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
God came in the person of Jesus to show us how much he loves us and to make a way for the just penalty of death for our sins to be removed, and he did this without compromising his holiness.
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Thank you, Jesus, for making all the sacrifices necessary for me to be drawn back into relationship with you - including being born in a stable and having a feed trough as your crib! No way can I question your love when I consider what you have done to rescue me!
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