The Mystery and The Majesty of the Incarnation | Advent 2023: The Light Has Come | John 1:14 | Pastor J.M. Lee
Notes
Transcript
I am excited and honored to be with you this morning, especially on a special day like today! This morning, on Christmas Eve, we gather together as the family of God to celebrate the most defining moment in history and to glorify and worship God, who, through Jesus, made a way for broken sinners to be adopted as children of God!
In two short days....this season of Advent will come to a close …and perhaps this morning is just the first event that is jam-packed into a schedule full of Christmas parties, traditions, and expectations…and if that’s true.....before you run head-on into forced family fun and sugar comas....I want to invite you to pause and consider what exactly it is we are celebrating.
The truth is....the season of Advent is an invitation to slow down and reflect on the long-foretold first coming of the Messiah. In fact.....the word advent means.... the coming or the arrival ......and so.....during this season of Advent.... we join in with the Church, both past and present, and we look back to the long-foretold first coming of the Messiah.... and in turn.....we learn to look forward in anticipation of Christ’s return.
You see.....the Christmas season points us to the gift of Salvation that one receives by grace through Faith in Christ Jesus......and this season also prepares us and teaches us to rest in the truth that …Christ will once again…enter into our brokenness…and restore all who have received Him back to who we were intended to be.
Now…this morning we arrive at the final sermon of our Advent series ......an installment that I’ve entitled, “The Mystery and The Majesty of the Incarnation.”
Over the last three Sundays... we've embarked on an extraordinary journey through the opening verses of the Gospel of John.
In the first three weeks, we delved into the revelation of the eternally preexistent Word. And the Word…He not only lived in perfect communion with God but He was in fact God Himself, and through whom... all things were created.
You see...the Word not only orchestrated the universe into existence but also stepped into human history, bringing revelation that leads to eternal life. Yet.....despite offering proof of His identity.....the Word was neither fully recognized or received.
However.... for those who, by grace through faith, receive and embrace the Word they are given the breathtaking privilege of being adopted as children of God.
This brings us now to our passage for this morning. So…if you would…please open your Bible to John 1. When you find it and if you are able to please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
John 1:14 (CSB)
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This is the Word of the Lord
Let’s pray
We live in a time and space…we live in a society that is focused on the present. As a people…we are absorbed with the here and the now. Our culture is engrossed with living as comfortably as possible, with becoming the most successful, and with experiencing the most exciting life that we can.
This notion is clearly seen in phrases like FOMO, “the fear of missing out” and YOLO, “You only live once”…and these popular sayings speak to a mindset that says, “Do what you want……live it up….avoid what is difficult…and pursue comfort……you only live once so make it as awesome as possible.” The truth is…for many of us…this attitude …whether consciously or subconsciously ….it has infected us like a cancer and it motivates how we plan our days…..it drives how we spend our money…it determines our priorities….and it ultimately reflects our shortsightedness…for this approach to life has left us eternally unfulfilled.
You see......deep within us…there is a longing for something more…there is an ache in our soul that shouts of brokenness…there’s a nagging desire to know the truth…and there’s a hole in our hearts waiting to be filled. And.... If we’re honest… living in the moment, pursuing comfort, and achieving success has never fully satisfied the ache in our soul. Following our heart has never truly fulfilled our longing for truth…and that hole in our heart is still vacant…because there is no amount of good deeds or moral triumphs that can fill it…you see... that hole points to the reality of a fractured relationship with God
Which leads us to an important question: How might our aching soul discover the healing balm of God’s amazing grace? How might our longing for understanding be fulfilled with truth, and our fractured relationship with God be tenderly restored?
Well....our verse this morning points us to the truth ...that.... because the second member of the Trinity, who, in His infinite compassion, stepped into our brokenness and dwelt among us ....we can be reconciled with God and experience rest in the transformative power of God’s grace and truth. And we are going to see this as we consider the Supreme Mystery and Majesty of the gospel.....which the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.
1. The Mystery of the Incarnation
John 1:14 (CSB)
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
This may be the most profound statement in all of Scripture, “The Word became flesh.” Why? Well....remember…who the Word is! The Word is the preexistent, uncreated Son of God..... through whom the entire universe came into existence.......and so…to say that the Word became flesh.....it’s amazing! So amazing that many deem this truth unbelievable.... “How could God become a man?”
As a result…many have propagated the false notion that God simply chose a man and made him his son....but.... this ignores John 1:1 which says,
John 1:1 (CSB)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
You see...the same one who became flesh is also the one who was in the beginning with God, who was with God, and who was God.
Others have falsely suggested that the Word…Jesus Christ…came to dwell in a man….it’s the idea that the Word simply put on an Earth suit ....but .....that would mean that the Word did not himself fully become a man...... BUT…this can’t be true for John says, “The Word became flesh.”
Still....others have suggested that the Word…Jesus Christ....just appeared like a man…that He didn’t actually become a man. He must have been an apparition…he must have been a ghost......because it’s impossible for God who is Spirit to take on bodily form. And while I am sympathetic to the difficulty of understanding how this could happen.....we can with full assurance understand what happened.......which is .....“The Word became flesh.
You see.....in a stinky manger in Bethlehem…the preexistent, uncreated Son of God..... through whom the entire universe came into existence…Jesus Christ Himself became flesh.
The Westminster Confession of Faith is helpful....it says,
The Westminster Confession 8.2
The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father, did, when the fulness of time was come, take upon Him man’s nature, with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin: being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which person is very God, and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man
In other word’s .....Christ’s incarnation means that the Son of God became a human in the fullest sense…and He did so without losing any of his divinity
Consider what the Apostle Paul says in Colossians 2:9.
Colossians 2:9 (CSB)
9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,
In short, Jesus is fully God as well as fully human. He is not 50% one, 50% the other—No!..... Jesus is 100% perfectly and distinctly God and…and...100% perfectly and distinctly human…and He never for a moment ceased to be God nor did He ever cease to be human.
Now…it’s important to note....that when John uses the word “flesh”…he’s not using this term as Paul does…in other words.....John is not referring to our sinful nature but simply our human nature....Jesus gained a human body. ...which leads now....to a question that’s begging to be asked.... Why?!? Why would the eternal....preexistent second person of the Trinity become flesh? Why would God humble Himself and become human and dwell among us?
{Pause}
a. Jesus Became a Man and Dwelt Among us so that He Could be an Example.
First, Jesus became a man and dwelt among Us ...so that ....He could be an example. Consider how Jesus lived a human life in the same world in which we live. He was born and grew up as a boy. He learned a trade in his father’s carpenter shop. He had friends and neighbors; he paid taxes and was subject to the governing authorities....and because he truly lived as we live, Jesus sets an example for us to follow. You see....in every space and place that Jesus lived…He did so in perfect obedience to God and now....as Christians....you and I .....we are to pursue a life that lives like Jesus lived.
b. Jesus Became a Man and Dwelt Among Us so that He could Sympathize with our Weaknesses.
Secondly....Jesus became a man and dwelt among us ...so that ....He could sympathize with our weaknesses.
Consider Hebrews 4:15
Hebrews 4:15 (CSB)
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus became flesh....meaning...He experienced sickness and pain…He also had human mind and heart....meaning.... he felt all of the same emotions that we feel..... including sorrow and joy, weariness and temptation.
You see....Jesus.... having lived as a human being…speaks to the truth that....He can empathize with all of our weaknesses because…well....he experienced all of the same trials and tribulations that we face. And this truth speaks to the fact that God has a deep concern for you…whether you’re hungry, anxious, or weary....God cares.
And His concern is not just some distant sympathy…but Christ’s concern for you extends to the alleviation of your suffering.....meaning that Jesus is pleased to provides for your very need......it means that He is pleased to rescue you from trouble and to guide you away away from temptation and toward paths of righteousness.
Christ's sympathy also means that He can genuinely share in your emotions.....in other words..... He rejoices with you in your celebrations of good and godly things and He mourns with you in times of sorrow and loss. Brothers and sisters.....Jesus became a man ...so that ....He could sympathize with all of your weaknesses.
c. Jesus Became a Man and Dwelt Among Us so that He could Suffer Death for Us.
Thirdly, Jesus became a man ...so that He could Suffer Death for Us....you see....only flesh can die....and so Jesus…fully man…and fully God…lived His life…experiencing every that we have and yet He did not sin....which enabled Him to be the perfect sacrifice for us....and although He lived in perfect obedience to God....Jesus willingly went to the cross and died a sinners death.
Friends....we should never look at Bethlehem without seeing Calvary. We should never contemplate the incarnation without our thoughts drifting to the crucifixion.
J. I. Packer reminds us in His classic book “Knowing God”,
The crucial significance of the cradle at Bethlehem lies in its place in the sequence of steps down that led the Son of God to the cross of Calvary, and we do not understand it till we see it in this context … the taking of manhood by the Son is set before us in a way which shows us how we should ever view it—not simply as a marvel of nature, but rather as a wonder of grace. (J. I. Packer - Knowing God, 58–59)
The incarnation is amazing because of why God became man! The Word became flesh so that…He could live a life of perfect righteousness and set example for us…so that He could sympathize with our weaknesses....and....so that he could die for our sin. Brothers and Sisters....this is the Mystery of the Incarnation.......The Lord Jesus renounced the glory due him, He became poor, so that through his poverty we might become rich!
This leads us now to the second movement of our verse
2. The Majesty to the Incarnation
John 1:14 (CSB)
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Underline or make note of the phrase “dwelt among us” …. in the original language....this phrase is more accurately translated as “tabernacled” …in other words..... “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.”
And...... for John’s Jewish audience ....they would have immediately thought of the Old Testament Tabernacle…which was the portable sanctuary used by the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings. And...the Tabernacle is where God moved in and lived with his people....and the whole point of the tabernacle was to point people forward to the true Tabernacle that was to come…Jesus.
So....with this truth in mind........ we can now look back at the tabernacle with Jesus in mind..... and see that just as the Tabernacle was used in the wilderness…Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted....and just as the Tabernacle was outwardly humble and unattractive…Isaiah 53:2 tells us…that Jesus also
Isaiah 53:2 (CSB)
2.... did not have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him.
The Tabernacle was where God met with men…and in the same way.....Jesus proclaimed in John 14:6.
John 14:6 (CSB)
6 ... “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
It is through Jesus and Jesus alone that we can have access to God. And....Finally, the Tabernacle was where the sacrifices for the sins of God’s people were made but Hebrews 10:12 tells us that Jesus…
Hebrews 10:12 (CSB)
12 .....after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.
You see…thousands of years before Jesus…God purposed that there would be a tabernacle in order that there would be One who would fulfill its meaning and become the true Tabernacle for everyone who would submit to Jesus as their Lord and trust in Jesus as their Savior. Friends....in Jesus....God has tabernacled with us and has made a way for broken sinners to be reconciled to a glorious God! Which is incredible! Especially considering the radiance of God’s glory!!
Look back at verse 14
John 1:14 (CSB)
14 .... We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In the Old Testament the glory of the Lord was the “visible manifestation of the excellence of God’s character” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, 221). In other words, the glory of God was the greatness of God seen visibly. But....when the Jews looked at the tabernacle....they would only see a partial and incomplete display of God’s goodness, greatness, and holiness.
Why? Well…think about God’s glory as the brightest of all lights. And....what do lights do? Well....they illuminate. The brighter the light.....the greater its brilliance and radiance.
And God’s glory isn’t like a Christmas light. Its like the sun. You get too close you burn up and you stare at it straight on, you go blind. Therefore, we only get glimpses of God’s glory
There is this story in Exodus where God promises to be with Moses and the Israelites on their journey and Moses asks for a little more assurance.
Exodus 33:18 (CSB)
18 Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.”
And God says, “Look ....you cant handle my glory!”
Exodus 33:20–22 (CSB)
20 But he added, “You cannot see my face, for humans cannot see me and live.” 21 The Lord said, “Here is a place near me. You are to stand on the rock, 22 and when my glory passes by, I will put you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
In other words… God had to protect Moses from the greatness of His glory…for if Moses saw Him in His fullness He would have died.
You see...... John’s point is this........If you want to know what God is like, then look to Christ! You see....before Jesus…God’s glory was only displayed in part ....but..... when Jesus came ....the glory of God was seen in its fullness. In fact.... Jesus is the full radiance of the glory of God......for.... in Jesus we see the full display of God’s power and God’s character. Friends....this is the beauty of the Gospel.. God became flesh.... so that we can know God.....you see....by taking on human nature, Jesus allows the unimaginable to be possible, so that we could actually know God.
And this truth points us to why we celebrate Christmas……you see……we don’t celebrate because of the physical features of a stable and a manger and a star and a young couple and shepherds and wise men. They all participated in the Christmas story……of course…..But ……….the real story is …The Word …who has always…eternally…. existed…… became flesh….dwelled among us…and He did so without giving up any of His glory....and He perfectly and personally obeyed the Father and revealed the Father…..and He willingly went to the cross and took upon Himself the sins of humanity....redeeming and reconciling humankind!
You see.... although Jesus had the power to create galaxies.....he still subjected himself to human scorn and abuse. He allowed his heart to break as he wept over Jerusalem. He allowed his body to be broken—his hands and feet to be nailed to a cross by the very people he created and came to save!
Mission Church......The Christmas story is a Gospel story……and this gospel story is a rescue story….. and Jesus…He is our rescuer....He is our redeemer....He is the one who that heals our aching souls....He is the one who satisfies our longing for truth…and He is the one who…through His life and death…who tenderly restores us back to God, You see....Christmas is all about Jesus and the grace that he has made available to you.
Let’s pray