God With Us
The Context
In a very brief and oversimplified manner, I would like to attempt to set the stage for the birth of Jesus. If someone who listens or reads this happens to know more about the intertestamental period or about the Greco-Roman world in which Jesus lived I would welcome your input. So I will not be giving an exhaustive description of the context for the birth of Jesus but hopefully enough of a context to help us appreciate what the birth of Jesus means.
In the Old Testament, after Solomon dies, we see Israel go from bad to worse. Solomon’s son is not a good king, and 900 years before the birth of Jesus the kingdom is divided. Jerusalem becomes the capital of Judah, the southern Kingdom, which is led by Rehoboam. Its inhabitants are the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon (and some Levi). Simeon and Judah later merge.
Jeroboam leads a revolt of the northern tribes to form the Kingdom of Israel. The nine tribes that make up Israel are Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Menasseh, Ephraim, Reuben, and Gad (and some Levi). The capital of Israel is Samaria. (source)
Occasionally there is a good king who brings the people closer to God but the majority of the kings of both Judah and Israel turn their backs on God. As god’s children rebel and place themselves outside God’s protection they are overthrown by enemies.
Israel falls to the Assyrians in 721 BCE; Judah falls to the Babylonians in 597 BCE. (ibid)
Much happens during these 400 years. Among them, the Jews go from worshiping false gods to creating new laws and adding them to God’s laws. These were the traditions of men. Well-intentioned men, who wanted to keep the people from turning away from God like they had in the past.
The Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands, and 248 positive laws. (source)
For example, in the Mosaic Law, one of the commandments is to keep the Sabbath holy, which means that Jews were not supposed to work on Saturdays. But to clarify this, the Jewish scholars created thirty-nine separate categories of what “work” means, and within those thirty-nine categories there are many sub-categories. So to follow the rule of not working on the Sabbath, there are literally thousands of sub-rules to follow, including how many steps you can take, and how many letters you can write on the Sabbath.
(source)
So the religious leaders “succeeded” in keeping the Jews from worshiping other gods, but in the process, they also managed to obscure the character of God. By this, I mean that if God were to show up in the flesh and walk among them they would not recognize Him. They misunderstood the inspired writings, the law, and the prophets, the word of God. So if the word of God, all those laws and prophecies and guidelines and directions were to be made flesh, to be lived out completely and perfectly they would not recognize it.
Meanwhile, the non-Jews, the gentiles, the people who inhabited the Greco-Roman world of the time, are turning to philosophy searching for guidance and meaning in life. The pagan religions and mythology failed to provide the people with any kind of morals and humanity was hungering for guidance and searching for a meaningful life.
The Greek gods who were essentially the same as the Roman gods were just as morally corrupt as humans. In many cases, the gods behaved in even worse ways than humans, perhaps because they could get away with it. After all, who would hold a god accountable?
The point I wish to highlight form this is that the gods and pagan religions at the time failed to provide the people with moral guidelines. Greek and Roman philosophers took upon themselves to discover the answer to life’s big questions. The problem was clear to all, death and suffering, the problem was figuring out the cause and more importantly the solution to this problem.
Looking at this from a spiritual point of view, we can see that the earth was dark due to misunderstanding God. The only way for the gloomy shadows to be dispersed, for the world to be brought back to God, was to break Satan’s deceptive power. But God would not do this by force.
I love this quote from the book The Desire of Ages.
The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened.
- The Desire of Ages p22
I believe we can all agree that to know God is to love Him. When we rightly understand who God is we can’t help but love Him with all our hearts. The best way to understand the character of God is to have it manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. However, this work could only be done by one Being in the universe. Only Jesus who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known.
The only way
I realize it is not politically correct to say this but the Bible is clear that Jesus is the only way for the salvation of the whole world. Look at what Paul says in Hebrews 10.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”
- Hebrews 10:4-7 NKJV
In John 14:6 we read
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- John 14:6 NKJV
And Acts 4 records the following statement.
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
- Acts 4:12 NKJV
Keeping the law was never a means of salvation. Even the Pharisees with all their rules and interpretations and regulations could never hope to be saved by their disciplined obedience. Though the Jews had the temple and the sacrificial system, it was never a means to salvation. The temple and the sacrificial system served a pedagogical role, to teach everyone about sin and salvation. The sacrificial system made it clear that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that for us to live someone would have to die in our place. Someone as innocent as a lamb. There’s a lot more we can learn from the sanctuary/tabernacle/temple and its service but the main point I wish to highlight is that it all pointed to Jesus. What or better who really saves us is Jesus.
For example, the Bible is great! It is the inspired word of God. But it does not save us. It serves a very important role, it points us to Jesus. The law of God, it serves a very important role, it reveals the character of God and what sin is. Once we become aware of our sin, we also realize our need for a Savior. So everything in the Bible and God’s law and the prophecies and the narratives all help us better understand God, His great love for us, His will for us, and our desperate need of Him.
The more we know God the more we fall in love with Him and our love for Him compels us to live lives that bring honor and glory to His name. Not in order to receive anything, but rather because we have received everything. As John puts it
We love Him because He first loved us.
- 1 John4:19 NKJV
Jesus’ decision to come to earth was a voluntary sacrifice. Jesus could very well have remained in heaven, at the Father’s side. He might have continued to enjoy the splendor of heaven, and the worship of the angels. But Jesus to step down from the throne of the universe, that He might bring light to the benighted, and life to the perishing.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (or overcome) it.
- John 1:1-5
If Jesus had appeared with the glory that was His with the Father before the world was, we could not have endured the light of His presence. Jesus’ glory would have destroyed us. In order to be with us without destroying us, the manifestation of His glory was shrouded. Jesus’ divinity was veiled with humanity,—the invisible glory in the visible human form. God with us.
Call to Action
If Jesus was willing to leave infinite glory and honor and power in order to be with us, to reveal to us the love and character of the Father, are we willing to reveal to others the love and character of God? Are we willing to be uncomfortable in order to care for someone?
I am not just talking about giving money to someone at a street corner. I am talking about being willing to be there for someone you know when they are going through a rough time. Are you willing to sit and listen? Are you willing to invest time and attention?
Are you willing to put down the phone and connect with your family members? Put down your phone and talk to grandma? Turn off the TV and intentionally engage your baby cousin?
Are you willing to be present and connect with those around you? To connect in a meaningful way?
“Only by love is love awakened.” (The Desire of Ages p22)
You don’t need to have a lot of money in order to love. The first step in sharing the gospel is to love the person you wish to share the gospel with. You don’t have to go on a mission trip, though mission trips can be great! You can begin with your family, your neighbors, classmate, and co-workers.
Jesus came and revealed the Father. Many people around you will not open a Bible anytime soon. Their interactions with you will be the best opportunity they have to come to know God. What is the image of God we portray to those around us? You don’t need to give lengthy theological expositions. Most people are not interested in those, at least not at first. First and foremost people need to know that God loves them, then they will become interested in what God wants for them.
So my challenge for you is to reveal God to those around you. Do it as Jesus did. Jesus managed to keep the commandments and live a faithful life, and He made it attractive. I have seen people trying to live a faithful life of obedience and devotion to God and many of those people make it seem extremely unattractive. Obedience to God’s will, done right, looks a lot like Jesus. So be like Jesus, be a light shining in the dark. Reveal to others the joy of living in a close and personal relationship with Jesus.
