Jesus, The Incarnate One by Larry Sparks

Day Three of the “What Child is This?” Advent Devotional

“The supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us lies not in the Good Friday message 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 became the ‘second man,’ 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.” – J.I. Packer

Does the true meaning of Christmas fully resonate with us? Packer is truly a leading theologian among theologians, so it must cause us to gasp, even just slightly, when we consider what he is writing about the importance of the incarnation. Why so important?

I want to suggest to you that without the incarnation, and without Jesus the Man, Jesus the Lamb would have been a glorious invitation without anything on the other side—this side of heaven. We know that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from sin, and makes it possible for us to live in heaven with Him forever, right? That’s wondrous, and Jesus the Lamb made that possible, but Jesus the Man reveals purpose for humanity on Earth.

What if Christianity wasn’t all about getting to heaven one day? That’s a demanding concept, I know. It’s challenging, but that is what the incarnation does. It upgrades our level of human experience based on the model Jesus set.

Let’s ponder it deeper. Jesus the Man is what Jesus the Lamb makes available. Jesus the Lamb blots out our sins so that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit and live like Jesus the Man did. We’ll look at this later on with greater specificity, but for right now, let us safely conclude that during our stay on Earth, we have purpose.

By the sheer fact that Jesus came as a human being demonstrates that people have God-assigned purpose on Earth. God took on full humanity (while maintaining full divinity). It was not partial humanity; it was complete. 100% He was as much man as He was God, and likewise. Wow.

Packer is not kidding when he writes concerning the Incarnation, “The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets.” That is what I am inviting you to do this season: re-think advent. I believe God wants to renew our minds concerning the humanity of Jesus, for therein lies the key to living the supernatural life. The Incarnation is your invitation to do just that.

Advent Prayer

Holy Spirit, I ask for You to come and bring me into a fresh vision—a fresh encounter with the glory of Christmas.

Open my eyes to the realities that were made possible because of the Cross. Thank You Jesus, for shedding your blood so that I could live with You forever in heaven, and also release some of heaven here, on Earth.