“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it….And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:1-5, 14
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” – Romans 5:6
And then there was Jesus! Everything in our story up until now has been getting us ready for this moment. The prophesies have been telling us about Him and His coming. God’s people have been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for Him to arrive. The Messiah…the Savior…the Promised One has come!
John intentionally uses the familiar words that take us back to the start of our story…”In the beginning”. Immediately we are taken back to where it all began and we are reminded of the sweet fellowship we enjoyed with our heavenly Father. Thousands of years of wandering are forgotten in a moment as He bursts onto the scene. God has come to us! He did not send an ambassador to stand in for Him. This was His idea. He took the initiative Himself. He did not send another prophet to teach us more about Him…He came Himself…in the flesh.
In our story…the One Story, it is not only important to know our beginnings and where we came from, but it is even more important that we understand our Hero’s history. John’s preamble makes sure that we understand that Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. Jesus was present in The Beginning…”with God” but, He was not just with God…He was God. Jesus was and is God! On this earth Jesus was God in the flesh. God dwelling “among us”.
Matthew tells us that the birth of Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah about the birth of “Immanuel”…which means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14/Matthew 1:23). He came to be with us in a way that we could even better understand who He is. He “became flesh”. In other words, He got down onto the floor to play with His children. He is the loving Father who could not stand aloof and watch us continue to wander. He revealed Himself in our language…on our level. I have often said that Jesus was God’s “TA-DA!” moment.
This, of course, was just a clearer revelation of things that were already true about our God. We have already seen through our story that God was always with us and pursuing us. So, what was revealed in the written Word (The Old Testament) was now revealed in the flesh. We must recognize that Jesus was not a different God from the Old Testament but an unveiling of the same God who has been with us from the beginning.
We must also understand that Jesus came at just the right moment. Paul says above, “at the right time”. God never does things “half way”. This was all part of the plan that He had spent years preparing us for. Throughout the Old Testament He set the stage for His appearance. He prepared us through the teachings of the Prophets and the practices of the Priests that foreshadowed His coming…His life…His death…and His resurrection!
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.” – 2 Corinthians 8:9.
Yes, the purpose of Christmas…the coming of Jesus…was to bring us back into fellowship with Him…and that plan included His death on the cross for you and me.
As we begin the part of our story called the New Testament, we must remember that this is still the same story about our God who would stop at nothing to show us how much He loves us and wants us to love Him.
This is your story and, in your story…you are deeply loved.