The Word Made Flesh – Christmas Day

The Word Made Flesh

John 1:1-18 T Christmas Day

(Adapted from CPR – “Became Flesh” by Adam Hensley)

INI

As the old saying goes – “looks can be deceiving”. Or “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Certainly, truer words couldn’t have been said about Jesus at His birth. On the surface, He may appear as just another baby. Yet, Paul tells us that “the fullness of deity dwelt in Him (Col 2:9).” Or as John puts it in our Gospel lesson this morning – “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His Glory.”

Last night, we read from Luke’s classic nativity account, where we recalled the events of Jesus’ birth. Last Sunday, we read from Matthew’s Gospel – recalling the angels announcement of Christ’s birth to Jospeh. And today, we read from John’s Gospel. He doesn’t give the nostalgic details we’ve come to enjoy with the manger scene. He doesn’t give us the “what” or the “how” of Christmas. But He gives us the “Why.”

John interprets the nativity story from a theological perspective. And the truth of Jesus’s birth is this: Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. He is the Word of God that was there present at creation. He participated in the act of Creation with the Father. Everything that exists, is because of Him. And this Word of God that dwelt with the Father, became flesh and dwelt among us. He became SMALL. He started as an embryo – just like you and me. When He was born, He was wrapped in swaddling cloths, like you and me. He grew up, just like you and me.

And when He grew up, He offered Himself up to His Heavenly Father as a sacrifice on your behalf. He atoned for your sins. Through His self-sacrifice, He makes you RIGHT before God. Glory be to God for not counting Himself above us – but humbling Himself to dwell with us bodily.

Now of course, God dwelling with His people was a common occurrence in the Old Testament. He “tabernacled” with His people out in the wilderness after being freed from Egypt. He “tabernacled” with His people in the Temple at Jerusalem. He did this so that He could truly dwell WITH His people, as the sacrifices removed the barrier of sin that separated them from Him. And yet after He had built the Temple for the Lord to dwell in, King Solomon asked a question that many folks still ask themselves today – “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built (1 Kings 8:27)?”

King Solomon was right. What can contain God? What can fully encapsulate the deity? The Early Church had fought against heresies that asked that question too. Can anything here on earth REALLY contain God?

… Only if King Solomon could’ve seen what was accomplished in Bethlehem. For there, the Lord defied all expectations and norms. For the fullness of God dwelt BODILY. God limited Himself to a baby boy to be worshiped and adored by all. The infinite, limitless God took on human flesh. And that’s not something that the tabernacle or Temple could ever claim. Those dwellings were made out of stone or wood or fabric. But the temple of Jesus’ flesh and blood was made without human hands. It was made by the hands of God. And in this Temple, you see the glory of God – full of grace and truth.

We might look at the miracle of God’s incarnation in flesh and blood and think – well isn’t this a downgrade? Isn’t it more impressive for God to dwell in a HUGE Temple, or in at least a beautifully ornate TENT, rather than in a baby?

Well… yes. He degraded Himself to flesh and blood. The same flesh and blood that the prophet Isaiah says “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass (Is 40:6-7).” And it’s true. We’re like grass. We’re here today and gone tomorrow. Death is undefeated against our human race. Because due to our sins and transgressions, we’re estranged from God, who is the source of life. We’ve been corrupted to our core since Adam’s fall into sin, and since our conception.

And yet the Word of God becomes incarnate – as withered grass for you. So yes, God did degrade His lodgings.

But in another sense, no. Because this same flesh that appeared as withered grass fell into the heart of the earth, and rose to new life three days later. His flesh though appeared to be destructible, became indestructible! His mortality gained immortality! Through Him, the flesh of all mortal men became imperishable, and have gained the promise of the resurrection.

And because of this, His flesh and blood became an even stronger dwelling place than the tabernacle and Temple. For the Temple was destroyed. The Tabernacle rotted away. But the presence of the Lord now dwells in this everlasting Temple – which is the body of the risen Jesus.

As usual, God overturns our assumptions about what is truly permanent and what is not. The flesh of Jesus is something that endures forever – lasting more than any other stone carved with hands.

In this word made flesh, John says that “we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” This glory manifested in various ways through the Babe of Bethlehem throughout His life. But perhaps none were greater than at the Transfiguration – when Jesus’ went atop the mountain with Peter, James, and John, and His clothes became white as light and his face shone like lightning!

Peter thought this was the mountain top experience. That experiencing God in such an obviously glorified was the pinnacle of his life with Christ. He wanted to bottle this moment up, asking Jesus if he’d like to set up tents to dwell here. Little did he realize that Jesus’s glory would descend from this mountain top transfiguration experience and go down to dark places – to the suffering of a cross, enduring pain and death.

How often do we want to bottle up these ‘glory-filled mountain-top experiences’ too? Like when things are going well for us. Or when the Lord finally answers our persistent prayer. In those times it can feel as if God is FINALLY with us in a glorified way. But is it that God wasn’t with us or for us before, or are we merely seeking God on our own terms? In those moments, the Father points us to Jesus and says, “Listen to Him!”

But what do we think when we’re in the throes of our own suffering? When our body fails us and shows itself to be withering grass right before our eyes? Or when we’re in places where we feel lonely and unloved? When we feel as if the presence of God is absent from us in our sufferings? In these times, we still listen to the Father, and look to His Son Jesus. For wherever the flesh and blood of Jesus dwells, there God continually comforts our pains, eases our sorrows, and strengthens us through our sufferings.

So don’t be deceived by appearances. Great things come in small packages. Don’t look for God’s glory where the world might prefer to find it – only in strength, success, and ease. Look for His glory where He’s promised to be – in the flesh and blood of Jesus. The small baby boy of Bethlehem comes to you in grace and truth this day to speak His forgiveness into your ears, to place His body and blood into your mouths, and even in this seemingly insignificant and small package, the fullness of God dwells for you.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston