Matthew 1:23 – Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel which means God with us.
THEME OF THE DAY: HE KNOWS. HE FEELS. HE CARES. The incarnation of the Lord Jesus is a staggering truth. As Christians we affirm that God became a man and lived among us. Without the incarnation, there is no crucifixion; without the crucifixion, there is no resurrection; and without the resurrection, there is no salvation. But it is easy to do two things with Christ’s incarnation. First, we keep it wrapped up in our minds and lives only to be opened at Christmas. This is most apparent when we live day to day without the conscious awareness of Christ in our lives, guiding our lives, and being our lives. Take a little quiz along these lines. Did we start the day thinking on Christ, talking to Him, and asking Him to walk with us throughout the day? Another thing we may easily do with the incarnation of the Lord Jesus is to just let it lie in our heads, or hidden in our “theological closets” as a Biblical truth we believe. The result will be the same as the first thing – a belief in a living Jesus making little impact on our day to day lives.
As we move into this theme, just pause for a moment and consider what it means for Jesus to become a man; for Him to walk among us; to be like us, but without sin. And then think what it means personally for Him to be a man when we need someone to know how we feel; to sympathize with us; and able to come alongside as a Friend of friends to comfort, love, and encourage us. That, my friend, is one of the main reasons for the incarnation of the Lord Jesus. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews states, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). Let the truths of the incarnate Son of God found in these words encourage us today.
First, Jesus is a living High Priest. What is one of the chief functions of the High Priest? He is to intercede to God for God’s people. Friends, Jesus intercedes for you. He prays for you. Some of the most encouraging words we may hear from a brother or sister are, “I am praying for you.” How much more for our God to do that work of intercession for us. Yes, through hard times, easy times, and all times in between, Jesus is praying for us.
Next, Jesus is a living High Priest who knows about human weaknesses. When we hurt, grieve, and encounter sorrow in life, often the best comfort comes from those who went through the very same thing we are experiencing. That is Jesus. He tasted human sorrow. He endured mistreatment and loneliness. He felt the pains of living in a sin-cursed world and sympathizes with us. He knows, feels, and cares about every situation we go through in life and will be our closest companion during times we experience the harshness of life under the sun.
Finally, since Jesus is a sympathizing High Priest, we may come to Him without fear of rejection – “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. This wonderful Lord stands ready to shower us with enabling grace and mercy to face all the difficulties in life. He is the “God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10).
Yes, the angel’s proclamation in today’s scripture is a wonderful truth focused around Christmas, but let’s not keep it wrapped up until then. God with us, in the Person of Jesus, is to be a daily reality that leads us to experiencing more and more the wonders of His grace and mercy
PRAYER: “Father, I so praise You for giving me not only a Savior in Your Son, but a sympathetic High Priest in Your Son.”
QUOTE: “Jesus is not a detached deity. He entered into our world and knows how difficult life is under the sun”.