Based on John 1:14-18 (New King James Version)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’’ And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
One of the greatest miracles that has occurred in history is the way in which God chose to have contact with us, through His only begotten Son Jesus. It’s a miracle because it is very hard to imagine how Someone so great could have been made as lowly as us, because in all reality, we are not worth very much (sorry for having to hurt some folk’s pride, but it’s the truth).
What is man? We are born in one moment. We live a few years (in comparison to God’s eternity and the angels), doing some things during that time which do not last long, nor do they affect the universe. And after that, we die; weak, fragile, and undone. And we cannot take anything with us. And with our last breath, everything ends (that which is human). And this has and will happen to every single person; to the rich and to the poor, to the powerful and to the weak, to the famous and to the unknown; to everyone. And here is where we start understanding the miracle.
To start, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, has always existed. God created everything through Him. But going even further, Jesus (or Jehovah, as He was known in the Old Testament), has been the only one from the divine Godhead that has had contact with man. For example, we read about the great I AM, as it is written: “Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14. The I AM was the Lord. We see a glimpse of this when they came to arrest Him, when John tells us this: “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, ‘Whom are you seeking?’ They answered Him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am He.’ And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, ‘I am He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.” John 18:4-6. Just by mentioning His name, those that came looking for Him fell to the ground. We also see the celestial part of the Lord in this passage: “Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” Matthew 17:1-3. So then, Jesus is Jehovah, and the I AM.
The Lord took a very humble form to show His love and His grace to mankind. Being God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Omnipotent and Almighty, took on our likeness, descending to our level, to finally be the Lamb for the sacrifice that would clean every man from their sin. The problem is that many did not respect Him because He took such a humble form. They despised Him, and of course, they tortured and killed Him. It was not (nor is it) enough for many to see God’s love through the person of Jesus. Unfortunately, there is no way to please many folks. If He was the Lord of Hosts, they didn’t like that because He was supposedly to harsh, inaccessible, or difficult to understand. If He presented Himself as the Lamb of God, meek, humble, and full of God’s grace, it was not pleasing either because He did not demonstrate human power or riches. So, what is the problem?
The problem is man, the sin that is within them, and that they prefer to submit more to their sin than to what truly produces life. And this is what causes disobedience. Finally, if man is lost, they are not lost because God wants for them to be lost, but rather, because of their disobedience to God. No matter what God does, if a person does not want to obey God, there is nothing that will make them understand, neither God’s omnipotence nor His love. We see the following account in the Word: “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’” Luke 16:27-31. Remember that the Lord did not come to do away with the law, but rather, to fulfill it. And also, He was raised from the dead, and many still do not want to believe.
And as part of the law, and now, of grace, this continues to be in effect: “Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:35-40. Learning how to love God through being born again in Christ is the only thing that produces eternal life, and also, this teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. There is no other way.
So then, do you understand that the Lord came as He did not only to fulfill the will of God, but also, to demonstrate His love for us? And, if you understand that, are you learning how to appreciate what God has done for you, by following Him and loving Him as He deserves? Lord bless! John