Have you ever wondered why Jesus came the way he did? Why did he not just show up triumphantly with angels declaring his glory and his majesty for all the world to see? Instead, he showed up in a small, insignificant town as an infant child born to a young woman who had never been with a man. Everything about his birth seemed to be opposite of who he was. He was God almighty, the creator of all things. Yet, he showed up as a small baby.
Obviously, the purpose of his birth was not to gather a lot of attention. God just wanted the attention of a few select people. One thing about God is that when he wants to get your attention, he will do it in a way that is hard to miss.
Today, we will look at these questions: Why did Jesus come as an infant?; Why did he come to Earth?; and What does the purpose of his birth have to do with us?
Jesus had to be born as a man so that his sacrifice would be worth all mankind. In Hebrews 9:22 it says, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” Jesus had to become flesh and blood so that he could give his innocent blood for our sins. There is no other way to become flesh and blood than to be born like all men have been born, as a child.
There is no doubt that God’s purpose in the birth of Jesus contains Jesus’ planned death. Jesus came to die. Jesus was born as an infant so that he could be the perfect sacrifice for all the sins of the world.
Also, Jesus came as an infant so that we would know that he feels everything we have felt. Every pain we have ever felt, he also has felt. In Hebrews 4:15 it says, “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.” God wants us to know that he hurts as much as we do at the suffering of the innocent. Every time there is a tragic loss, God hurts. He came as an infant so we could know he feels every pain we have felt. Also, we must remember that God uses adversity to help us find our destiny. All through the Bible, people were led to their destiny through a loss or a tragic event in their lives.
Jesus went through every temptation, every feeling, every emotion and every heartache we have been through. Jesus wanted us to know that he understands how we feel. He has been there and felt what we feel. He was rejected, alone, humiliated, tortured, tempted and underappreciated. If Jesus had shown up as a grown man, he would never have known what it was like to grow up in this world. He came as an infant because he cares about us. He wants us to know he cares.
Jesus came to redeem us and reconcile us back to God. We were lost in our sins, slaves to our old, sinful nature. We needed redemption. Jesus is our redeemer. Our sin separates us from God and sends us on a pathway to eternal death called hell. God cared so much about us that he was not willing just to sit back and let us go to hell. God sent his son to Earth to redeem us back to himself. There was no other way.
Hebrews 10:10-14 says, “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
Now that the price has been paid for our redemption, our response is required. Let us suppose someone gives us a $1,000 check as a Christmas gift. For us to cash the check made out to us, our signature is required. The reason a signature is required is so that the giver of the check can be sure that we have been willing to receive the gift. The same is true of the gift of salvation.
We must sign the check. We must receive the gift of salvation. It is made out to us. When we confess Jesus as the Lord of our life, we are saying that we are willing by faith to receive him as our Lord. Our confession of him as Lord is our willingness to receive his free gift of salvation. His birth is the beginning of our life. The choice is ours. Will you sign the check?
Brother Rene’ Monette is pastor at Living Word Church in Houma. He can be reached at 851-6915.
