14 Because
God's children are human beings -- made of flesh and blood -- Jesus also became
flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he
die, and only by dying could he break the power of the Devil, who had the power
of death. 15 Only in
this way could he deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the
fear of dying. 16 We all know
that Jesus came to help the descendants of Abraham, not to help the angels. 17 Therefore,
it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and
sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God.
He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he
himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when
we are being tempted.
It’s too easy for us to
overlook the significance that Jesus was born in a barn and laid in a manger,
because there was no room for him in the inn. That’s the unvarnished truth of Christmas.
Dirt, manure, terrible smells, these aren’t the things we usually associate with the Presence of God. But Christmas announces to us that this is the kind of God we have. It’s the dirt of Christmas that helps us understand just how great God is!!!
The author of Hebrews reminds us, “In bringing many [children] to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Dirt, manure, terrible smells, these aren’t the things we usually associate with the Presence of God. But Christmas announces to us that this is the kind of God we have. It’s the dirt of Christmas that helps us understand just how great God is!!!
The author of Hebrews reminds us, “In bringing many [children] to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.”
Christmas is about pain. A
woman gave birth that night. Christmas is
about God leaving heaven and coming down to be with us in the midst of our
dirt!
Who of us would set aside our power and privilege and enter this world in the midst of the dirt and stench of a barn?
But God did.
And that is Good News!!! That is the best news imaginable!!!
For with this knowledge we can know that we have a God Who loves us beyond comprehension.
Jesus suffered for our salvation! Wow!
God “shared in” our “humanity”…Jesus was “made” like us “in every way”, and
“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who
are being temped.”
In Christ’s all too ordinary birth in Bethlehem we meet God, not in some terrible and frightening holiness that makes us sinners shake in our boots but in His loving and merciful holiness, which is God’s true holiness!!!
In Christ’s all too ordinary birth in Bethlehem we meet God, not in some terrible and frightening holiness that makes us sinners shake in our boots but in His loving and merciful holiness, which is God’s true holiness!!!
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