Jesus: All The Way Down To The Bottom
Text: John 1:1-18
In the
name of Jesus: Amen.
There
was an old professor that once wrote today’s Gospel reading on a dusty old blackboard. He wrote:
“And the Word [Jesus] became
flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory.”
Once
he got done writing John chapter one, verse 14, he paused and underlined the
words, “the Word became flesh.” But then
he paused again and said, “No, that isn’t right.” So, he erased the blackboard and walked away
from the front toward the students in the classroom. He walked between the desks to the middle of
the classroom and got down on his hands and knees with his chalk. Taking the chalk, he wrote on the floor, “The
Word became flesh.” Yes, you heard that right; he wrote, “The Word became
flesh,” on the floor by the student's feet.
Once he got done writing, he dusted his hands off, got up, and said, “That
is much better.”
The
professor then looked at the students while pointing to the floor, saying,
“The
Word [Jesus] became what’s sitting in your chair [- He became a man]. Jesus came all the way down to where you are
[by being born]. There is no distance
for you to go to get to Him. No ladders
for you to travel up. He's at the bottom
with you.”
Dear friends, this is what John means when he
says, “The Word [Jesus] became flesh.” This is what Christmas is all about. Christmas is about Jesus coming to the bottom
to be with you and me.[1] The Son of God put on human flesh to place
Himself right alongside you and me.
Now,
we must be careful at this point to understand that when Jesus put on human
flesh to come to the bottom to be with us that He did not somehow lose His
Majesty. To get to the bottom to be with
humanity, Jesus did not have to empty Himself of what is called His divine
nature. He did not have to strip off his
divinity to put on humanity. He did not
have to become ‘less’ God to become ‘more’ human. No, Jesus is fully God; however, when He put
on human flesh in the womb of Mary and was born in Bethlehem, He had to become
humble. Yes, humble.
If you
think about it, Jesus putting on human flesh and being born in Bethlehem is the
exact opposite of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.
Adam
and Eve, they wanted to be like God so they turned inward to their desires and
their wisdom. Adam and Eve looked inward to their greatness and upward because
they wanted to be as wise as God.
However, Christ is the exact opposite. He turned away from His divine heavenly majesty
and turned outward to humanity by putting on human flesh to come down to the
bottom to be with us.
Dear
friends, pride turns humanity – you and me – inward to our so-called greatness
and causes us to want to climb to the heights of power and prestige. The
humility of Christ does the opposite.
His humility turned Him outward in love to you and me and caused Him to
descend to the depths of the weakness of our sin to be with us.
And
so, we must never forget that there in Bethlehem’s cave was no hopeless babe
but the humble hope of the world. There
in Israel was no dim light, but the humble radiant dawn over a humanity
shrouded in the darkness of sin. There in that manger was humble salvation and
victory for sinners – hope and future for sinners. Yes, in that dark cave was the God-Man Jesus
Christ with all of His majestic powers, but powers He abstained from using due
to His humility.
So,
what this means is that no matter your circumstances and no matter how low and
dark you are in your sins, you have the Son of God right there with you. Even if you are experiencing grief or are
sick or are lonely and depressed – if you feel like your stain of sin is too
much – do not despair. Do not despair
but give glory to God. Give glory
because the message of Christmas is that the Son of God came and put Himself
right into the depths of this messed up world to be your Savior to bear your
sin. The Lord Jesus Christ – the Word –
became flesh so that He might be a brother to you so that you might approach
Him without fear, but approach Him in faith.
Yes, He is not only your Creator and Redeemer
but a brother to you – like you in flesh and blood.
Dear
Baptized Saints, Jesus is the exact kind of Savior that you need. If Jesus did not have His divine nature, you
would be stuck in your sins because only God can forgive sins. And if Jesus did
not put on human flesh with humility, well, he would be an apathetic God and we
would be stuck in our sins.
Jesus
came in humility so that He might not terrify us but show mercy by nestling in
a manger. This God-Man – Jesus Christ - is not our enemy. He is flesh and blood
like you and me. He absorbs our sin and suffers and dies on the cross for you
and me. He is God with us in our sin and shame.
.
This
is the Good News of Christmas. Christ
did not come to be too high and lofty for sinners. Christ also did not lose His
divine Majesty in putting on human flesh. But He came in humility to sink so
low that none of your sins could escape His humble life and humble death on the
cross for you. There is no distance between
Him and you.
Merry
Christmas, the Word became flesh to come all the way down to you.
In the
name of Jesus. Amen.
[1]
This story is about Norman Nagel. It is
indebted to William Weedon’s sermon on John 1:1-14.
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