John 1:14
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth," John 1:14. Obviously there are many things we could teach on today since this is the Sunday before Christmas. We could look at the angels announcing to the shepherds the birth of Christ. We could look at the shepherds whose peaceful cool night was interrupted by the angel's announcement; and then how they went and worshipped Christ and told others. We could look at Herod, the crazy king who would stop at nothing to make sure no one would take his kingdom from him. We could look at Joseph and Mary who suffered much for believing and obeying what the angels had told them. We could look at the wise men and the caravan that was with them. There is much that we could look at in regards to Christ coming into this world. Lord willing when we go through those books verse by verse we will study those things. But for today we will look at John 1:14.
"And the Word." "Word" in this verse stands for the preexistent nature of Christ. Preexistent in that He already existed before He came into this world. We know this by going back to John 1:1-2. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He has always been the eternal Son of God. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one," I John 5:7. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Turn to Matthew 1:18-25.
"Was made flesh." Christ became what He had never been before. He took on Himself a new form. This form was flesh. "Flesh" in this verse simply means Christ became a man. He did not come from heaven as a mighty king conquering His foes, no, He came as a babe. He did not come as a babe to a king or queen, He came as a babe to a very poor family. Christ humbled Himself. Turn to Philippians 2:5-11. Why would the eternal Son of God become flesh? Let us turn to Hebrews 2:14-18, and Hebrews 4:14-16. Christ is our faithful High Priest. Look at Hebrews 5:1-10, and Hebrews 7:22-28. Now let us turn to Hebrews 9:11-10:18.
This may seem like a lot to take in, and on one hand it is, but it is important that we understand these things. Christ did not come into this world so we could have a break for a couple of weeks. He did not come into this world so that we could set a day aside in hopes of getting that which we have wanted all year. Christ came to do the Father's will. "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice," John 18:37. Christ came to die an appointed death at the appointed time for the appointed purpose. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons," Galatians 4:4-5.
When we really begin to grasp these things Christmas takes on a different meaning for us. The Scriptures shed light on what Christmas is really about. We see these nativity scenes and we see the cross. I am not putting down on nativity scenes, they are much better than the devil in a red suit. When we see the cross we see God's hatred of sin; and we also see God's love. When we read about Christ coming as a babe we should see the same thing. The eternal Son of God left heaven, became a man, and dwelt among us. Look back at John 1:10-11. "He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not," Isaiah 53:3.
Christmas is a joyous time of year, and it should be. But there is a biblical reason it is a joyous time of year. Turn to Luke 2:8-14. Christ came to die, and Christ everliveth to intercede for us. This should cause us to be joyous. In Christ becoming flesh we see God's love toward us. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," Romans 5:8. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," John 15:13. "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren," I John 3:16. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins," I John 4:9-10. "We love him, because he first loved us," I John 4:19.
We see a result of this love in Romans 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," II Corinthians 5:21. The greatest gift that God has given to us is eternal life in and through His Son Jesus Christ. We should be excited about Christmas, but we should be excited about every day. We do not worship a day, we worship the One who made the days. Do you have peace with God? Has the Lord saved your soul? Does your life show it?
Merry Christmas. To God be the glory.
