Behold the Child Born for You
Texts: John 1:1-14; Luke 2:1-20
"I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.. (Luke 2:10-11 NKJV)." For you, right here, right now, listening to what I tell you. In Jesus' taking on human form, He embraces all of humanity.
That adorable little baby we see in nativity scenes and in art didn't just become A man. He became ALL men. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He took everything we refer to as human into Himself. Those artists have the right idea when they paint Jesus looking like them because Jesus came to bear the sins of all humanity in that newborn body. That includes those artists. And it includes each one of you and every other person on earth that has ever lived, or will ever live, or is alive today. The Christ-child took on human form to be the best human being of all time. Perfect in every way. Sinless.
When we look at Jesus, we see what you and I are supposed to have been, not what we've become because of our sin. Once we are baptized into Christ, our flesh is joined to God because Jesus Christ took on our flesh and bound Himself to us. Heaven and earth are at peace. And as we live each new day in Christ, we are put right with one another. The only peace in this world that can ever last is the peace we have in Jesus, where God's love for the world is revealed. For this reason, we can sing with the angels, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14 NKJV)."
Jesus bore His lowly birth, his modest life, and His humiliating death so that you could be dignified. So you could be exalted. So you might live in His kingdom. He rose from the dead so that you can claim eternal life as your own. That is why that baby was born in a barn. That's precisely what He did. Born in the company of animals so He could die outside with criminals for company. Wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep Him warm, He will trade for linen grave wrappings. The wood of a manager traded for a cross. This is what Jesus was born to do. This is what He has done. All for you. Behold Jesus, born, died, and risen again so you could have the power to be called a child of God.