the mystery and beauty of the incarnation “but in fact the real difficulty, the supreme mystery...

The Mystery and Beauty of the Incarnation


“But in fact the real difficulty, the supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us, does not lie here at all. It lies not in the Good Friday messages of atonement, nor in the Easter message

of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of Incarnation. The really

staggering Christian claim is that Jesus of Nazareth was God made man — that

thesecond person of the Godhead became the ’second man’ (I Cor. 15:47), determining human destiny, the second representative head of the race, and that He took humanity without loss of deity, so that Jesus of Nazareth was as truly and fully divine as He was human.


Here are two mysteries for the price of one — the plurality of persons within the unity

of God, and the union of Godhead and manhood in the person of Jesus. It is here,

in the thing that happened at the first Christmas, that the profoundest and most

unfathomable depths of the Christian revelation lie. ‘The Word was made flesh’ (John 1:14); God became man; the divine

Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on

earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. And there was no illusion or deception in this: the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the incarnation.”~ J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993 edition), p. 57.


Four B.Q.s!


Four B.Q.s!

Who?


Four B.Q.s!

Who?How?


Four B.Q.s!

Who?How?What?


Four B.Q.s!

Who?How?What?Why?

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

ANGUIER, Michel, Nativity 1665-68 Marble, height 160 cm St Roch, Paris

B.Q. #1 - Who is this baby born in a manger?





Answer #1a - That Baby was God Himself!


John 1:1-4, 9-141In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the

beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was

life, and that life was the light of men.


John 1:1-4, 9-149The true light that gives light to every man was coming

into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own

did not receive him.


John 1:1-4, 9-1412Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his

name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human

decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came

from the Father, full of grace and truth.





Answer #1b - That Baby was Fully Human!

Answer #1b - That Baby was Fully Human!

Hebrews 2:14-1814Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and

free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17For this reason he had to be

made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in

service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered

when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.





“Let earth and heaven combined, Angels and men agree,To praise in songs divine the incarnate deity,

Our God contracted to a span,Incomprehensibly made man.”

~ Charles Wesley Let Heaven and Earth Combine



B.Q. #2 - How do you do that?




Answer #2 - Jesus followed the Father’s will and humbled himself




Answer #2 - Jesus followed the Father’s will and humbled himself

Philippians 2:5-115Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who,

being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”




Does “kenosis” (emptied himself or made himself nothing) imply that Jesus lost divine attributes?



1. His pre-incarnate glory was veiled: that is, the glory that He had before He came to earth was veiled by His human form. One time, Jesus went up on a mountain with three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John. While they were there, Jesus suddenly changed His appearance. Mark 9:23 says, “and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” In a passage in Matthew describing the same event, we read that “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (17:2). In another passage, after Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary and Mary Magdalene went to the grave where He had been buried. “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow” (Matthew 28:2-3).

Now, this was not Jesus; it was an angel. But from these and other passages, it appears that “standard issue” bodies in heaven appear as though they have been carved out of a lightning bolt or a piece of the noon-day sun. For obvious reasons, Jesus did not walk around like that during His earthly ministry. He veiled the glory of His true self.



2. He voluntarily did not use some of His divine attributes some of the time (Matthew 24:36). Nonuse does not mean subtraction. Just because He didn’t use them doesn’t mean He didn’t have them, or could not have used them if He had chosen.

That is what “kenosis” means. That is what it means when it says “He emptied Himself.” He voluntarily veiled His divine glory, and He did not use some of His attributes some of the time. Instead, He took on human form, humbled Himself to the plan of God the Father, and died on the Cross for our sins.

What a beautiful person He is! What kindness! What sacrifice! What unfathomable love!

~ Max Anders, Jesus, Knowing Our Savior, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publ., 1995), pp. 25-26



BAROCCI, Federico Fiori The Nativity 1597 Oil on canvas,134 x 105 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid

B.Q. #3 - What happened as a result?





Answer #3 - The Beauty of the Incarnation!





Answer #3 - The Beauty of the Incarnation!

2 Corinthians 8:99For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for

your sakes he became poor, so that you through his

poverty might become rich.



CARAVAGGIO Adoration of the Shepherds, 1609Oil on canvas, 314 x 211 cmMuseo Nazionale, Messina

B.Q. #4 - Why would Christ do such a thing?

Answer #4 - Love and Glory

John 3:16-1816For God so loved the world that he

gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the

world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.



CARAVAGGIO Adoration of the Shepherds, 1609Oil on canvas, 314 x 211 cmMuseo Nazionale, Messina

B.Q. #4 - Why would Christ do such a thing?

Answer #4 - Love and Glory

John 17:1-51After Jesus said this, he looked

towards heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all

people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know

you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have

brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in

your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

What does this mean for our Christmas Experience?


1. Fall on your knees at the mystery and beauty of the Incarnation



2. Take Jesus this Christmas as yours




3. Live the Christmas “spirit” all year long by living INCARNATIONALLY!




3. Live the Christmas “spirit” all year long by living INCARNATIONALLY!

John 20:2121Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

the mystery and beauty of the incarnation “but in fact the real difficulty, the supreme mystery...

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