God With Us - Part 2
In my previous post (God With Us - Part 1) I described how God wants has made His desire to spend time with us clear from the very beginning. In this post I will study how the birth of Jesus reinforces the Bible’s teaching that God desires to be with us.
““Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””
The Word Became Flesh
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 it.
14 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 1:1-5, 14 NKJV
The incarnation is a profound mystery that I believe we will study and marvel at for all eternity. I will avoid speculating on details the Bible does not reveal and will instead focus on what the Bible does tell me.
Jesus as Israel
The trajectory of Jesus’ earthly ministry mirrors the experience of the children of Israel. I had not noticed this until a friend of mine pointed it out to me. But once I saw it it was so obvious I was surprised I had never noticed it before.
Jesus comes from Abraham (and David) (Matthew 1:1), and the Israelites are the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 46:2-3; Deuteronomy 1:8).
Joseph had dreams (Genesis 37:6-7, 9) and Joseph was told in a vision to marry Mary (Matthew 1:19-20), to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13), and to come back to Israel (Matthew 2:19-20).
Israel goes to Egypt (Genesis 47:27) and Jesus went to Egypt (Matthew 2:14-15).
Israel was baptized and then went into the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus was baptized and went into the wilderness for 40 days. (1 Corinthians 10:1-4; Exodus 14; Numbers 14:33-34; Matthew 3:13-4:2)
God gave Israel the ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) Jesus expounded on the ten commandments (Matthew 5:21-32)
Jesus is Israel, but He succeeded where they failed.
Jesus is also all of us, but successful where we fail.
Jesus understands
Do you ever wonder about the different reasons that caused Jesus to want to come to earth as a human baby?
1 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
- Isaiah 53:1-5 NKJV
Do you ever wonder why Jesus chose to come and live as one of us and to suffer as a human being?
17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
- Hebrews 2:17-18 NKJV (bold mine)14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
- Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV (bold mine)
What does it mean to you that Jesus suffered so He can identify with you?
Let’s review some of the things Jesus experienced when He chose to set aside His divinity to walk on earth as one of us.
Born of an unwed mother (Luke 2:5-7)
Had no earthly father (Matthew 1:18-20)
Was a refugee (Matthew 2:13-15)
Struggled to surrender His will to the will of the Father (Matthew 26:39)
Abandoned by those closest to Him (Matthew 26:56)
Betrayed by a kiss, (Matthew 26:47-50)
Sold for the price of a slave (Matthew 26:14-16)
Stripped naked, physically, verbally, and mentally abused by men in power over Him who should have been protecting Him and supporting Him.(Matthew 27:27-31; 26:57-68)
Shamed, humiliated, and embarrassed by those same people.
TEMPTED to numb His pain when His situation seemed to be hopeless and useless. (Matthew 27:34 See footnote 1)
Difficulty breathing (assumed based on what we know about crucifixion see footnote 2)
Crying out “My God, My God, WHY have You forsaken ME?” (Matthew 27:46)
Being unfairly, unjustly accused, arrested, convicted, and murdered (Matthew 26:55; 59-60; 27:15-26, 35)
Suffering and dying for our sin, shame, guilt, and regret (1 Peter 2:24; 3:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:5)
A Man of grief and sorrow (Isaiah 53:3)
The Heart of God
What is God like?
You are probably tempted to answer in philosophical and theological terms. Aristotle referred to God not as the gods of Greek mythology but rather as an unmoved mover.
Both Christians and non-Christians have approached God through philosophical reasoning. This approach develops a definition of God, often abstract and vague, which is focused on his transcendence (“an inscrutable power”), perfection (“the highest of all beings”), or absoluteness (cf. Anselm). In extreme instances these descriptions of the divine may stand in hostility against revelation, or only tolerate the biblical God with the greatest difficulty.
- Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987), 424.
What if instead of philosophical and theological definitions and fancy terms we look at Jesus?
What do we learn about God by observing how Jesus lived while here on earth?
I am not downplaying the philosophical definitions necessarily, but sometimes the idea of God can live in our heads and fail to impact our lives. I like tangible things, practical, and implementable.
Consider this
12 “How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
- Isaiah 14:12-15 NKJV
Lucifer wanted to make himself great, he wanted to exalt his throne above the stars of God, to sit on the farthest sides of the north. Lucifer wished to ascend above the rights of the clouds, he wanted to be like the Most High. Lucifer saw God as high and lifted up (Isaiah 57:15) and desired to be like God, he wanted to be above everyone else. When we think about God we think of infinite power, immortal, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. Yet God chose to reveal Himself by being born as a baby in a manger.
While Lucifer wanted to climb up to be like God. God freely chose to come down to reveal Himself to His creatures, to serve and to die for His creatures.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV (bold mine)
Lucifer, wanting to make himself God wanted more power, wanted to climb up. Jesus, being God, freely chose to set aside His power, to come down, to minister to His rebellious creation, us. To serve, heal, teach and save us.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Romans 5:8 NKJV
When we strive for power and control over others it is not the example of God we are following. Power and leadership are fine if the goal is to serve those you lead, and to minister to those in your sphere of influence. But if what you are seeking is simply power for the sake of power, climbing because you want more, you need to re-evaluate your motives.
The birth of Jesus reveals to us the heart of God. God desires to save. Yes God is powerful, more powerful than anything that exists. Our minds can’t grasp who God is, so God freely chose to humble Himself so that we might catch a glimpse of His character.
Jesus was born as a baby and went through life as one of us, with our human limitations, experiencing our emotions, so that He could be our advocate. He died for us so that He could be our Savior. He loved us, so that we could love Him back and love one another, and experience a foretaste of what His kingdom is like.
When I think about God, along with all the philosophical and theological definitions I also add His great desire to save us. Jesus is also called Emanuel which means God with us.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
- 1 Tim 3:16 NKJV
Jesus is worthy of all our worship and praise not only because He is our God and our Creator but also because of His great love for us and for His sacrifice for us.
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
- Revelation 5 NKJV
And that is the God we worship!
Now I ask this question:
Is Jesus worthy of your love? Of your devotion? Of your obedience?
What else could He have done for you? Can there be any doubt of God’s great desire to be with you? The only question that remains is whether or not you wish to be with God.
Do you? Do you want to invite Jesus into your heart? Or maybe renew your commitment to Him?
Don’t let anything keep you from fully surrendering to Jesus. Do it now. Just pray to Him and invite Him into your heart.
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Footnotes:
1- Wine mixed with gall was probably a pain-killing narcotic (b. Sanh. 43a), though just possibly a poison. Either way, the potion was probably intended to ease Jesus’ misery, though some have seen it as additional torture. But Jesus refuses to decrease his suffering or to lose consciousness of his surroundings (v. 34). (Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 416.)
2 - Normally, to breathe in, the diaphragm (the large muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity) must move down. This enlarges the chest cavity and air automatically moves into the lungs (inhalation). To exhale, the diaphragm rises up, which compresses the air in the lungs and forces the air out (exhalation). As Jesus hangs on the cross, the weight of His body pulls down on the diaphragm and the air moves into His lungs and remains there. Jesus must push up on His nailed feet (causing more pain) to exhale.
In order to speak, air must pass over the vocal cords during exhalation. The Gospels note that Jesus spoke seven times from the cross. It is amazing that despite His pain, He pushes up to say “Forgive them” (Luke 23:34).
The difficulty surrounding exhalation leads to a slow form of suffocation. Carbon dioxide builds up in the blood, resulting in a high level of carbonic acid in the blood. The body responds instinctively, triggering the desire to breathe. At the same time, the heart beats faster to circulate available oxygen. The decreased oxygen (due to the difficulty in exhaling) causes damage to the tissues and the capillaries begin leaking watery fluid from the blood into the tissues. This results in a build-up of fluid around the heart (pericardial effusion) and lungs (pleural effusion). The collapsing lungs, failing heart, dehydration, and the inability to get sufficient oxygen to the tissues essentially suffocate the victim.5 The decreased oxygen also damages the heart itself (myocardial infarction) which leads to cardiac arrest. In severe cases of cardiac stress, the heart can even burst, a process known as cardiac rupture.6 Jesus most likely died of a heart attack. (https://www.apu.edu/articles/the-science-of-the-crucifixion/)
