Christmas John 1_14_18 The Incarnation

JOHN 1:14-18 THE INCARNATION OF JESUS

INTRO: A father told his son that he would send him to sleep in the attic, with only bread and water for his supper, if he disobeyed once more. The child disobeyed again and was send to the attic: The father could not eat. He had the boy on his mind and his heart. His wife said: “I know what you are thinking. But you must not bring the boy from the attic. It would cause him to disobey again. He would have no respect for your word. You must not cheapen your relation as his father by failing to keep your promise.”To which her husband replied: “You are right. I will not break my word. To do so would cause my son to lose his respect for my word. But he is so lonely up there.” He kissed his wife good-night, entered the attic, ate bread and water with the boy, and when the child went to sleep on the hard boards, his father’s arm was his pillow.

The most stunning thing about the incarnation is that God saw me in my wretched condition and loved me enough to change places.

The revelation of God’s Glory in the person of Jesus14-15

Christmas is the time we celebrate Jesus’ birth into this world, no one knows the exact date or even year but the Bible tells us for certain all we need to know about the time line,

NB) 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. Gal. 4:4

The Birth of Jesus into this world is both miraculous and marvelous; it shows the heart of God…. When the time was just right He stepped into our world to live with us, to experience all that we experience from birth to death, and ultimately take our place as God’s righteously judged the sin of the world. This is did not spontaneously happen but was carefully devised before the foundation of the world. In this text we see the timeless truth of God’s plan as we recognize its allusion to Old Testament Scriptures.

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: But the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. Is. 60:1-2

At the fall darkness certainly covered the earth and God no longer openly walked among man as He did in the garden, however, the Lord had not written off His greatest creation but promised to return. The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the light of the world, a light shinning in the darkness exposing evil and revealing the Glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. At His birth in Bethlehem, Is. 60:1-2 was been fulfilled and I want to take a moment to try to explain the grandness of this most marvelous event.

John tells us the Word was made flesh! Word or logos means message of God it is a title that John uses for Christ, we find its use in verse 1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Our English doesn’t do this concept justice, in the Greek the closing section of verse 1 reads and God was the Word! It is a true statement… Jesus is God who was made flesh. In other words who took on humanity, in Bethlehem He became a real person like you and I but with one difference, He was still God! Was made, it is the Greek verb ginomai which means to come and experience a state. Note… man did not become God but God became man. God experienced for Himself firsthand what it was like to walk in your shoes man did not experience what it was like to walk in God’s shoes, because God shares His glory with no man! In His person He experienced birth, hunger, thirst, sorrow, pain, weariness, loneliness, and death! God came to earth to experience firsthand the consequences sin had on earth.

He was made flesh and dwelt among us!

Dwelt is the Greek Verb skēnoo which means to pitch a tent or to take up residence. This is the Greek word for Tabernacle… a temporary place of residence… like in the wilderness, like in shalom, like in Jerusalem before the fall of Judah God dwelt among His people in the center as the place of worship. This temporary dwelling is vastly important because it shows us the purpose of His coming… his departure… death.

John said “We beheld” it is the Greek verb… theaomai which means to look at with astonishment…

ILL: I have always struggled with Science but once in the 11th grade I received a report card with a 100 in science, I stared at it with astonishment, I could not believe it but I held it in my hands as proof.

John is speaking of the truthfulness of the incarnation of Jesus…. The Gospel of John is an eyewitness account of God coming into the world in the person of Jesus to save man from sin, however in biblical times a testimony was received as being true by the corrborating witness of two or more people. John said “We SAW” it, this verb is plural and indicates that he and the other apostles witnessed the Glory of God as Jesus lived on earth! But he goes on to name seven eyewitnesses who testified to this truth.

First there was John the Baptist who at first sight of Jesus proclaimed “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (1:29). Then there is Nathaniel who proclaimed, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; you are king of Israel: (John 1:49). Then there is Peter, who wisely spoke “You are the Holy One of God”(John 6:69). The unnamed blind man who was healed inchapter 9, when asked if he believed in the Son of Man answered “Lord, I believe (John 9:35–38). Martha, the sister of Lazarus who was raised from the dead professed “You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world (John 11:27). There is Thomas who once doubted but when He saw the resurrected Jesus cried out “My Lord and my God (John 20:28)! Then there is Jesus, who plainly say to the Jews, “I am the Son of God (John 5:25; 10:36). IT IS TRUE!!!!

John said we saw His Glory of God. Glory is the Greek Noun doxa which means splendor, they witnessed His greatness as He interacted with man, doing things that only God can do. But I believe this is a testament to the hilltop experience that Peter, James, and John had with Jesus as they saw Him in His true form, as the Shekinah of God….. His garments became radiant white and discussed His approaching departure with Moses and Elijah; Peter, James, and John heard the voice of God the Father announce this is My beloved Son, listen to Him!

Jesus though God is the Only Begotten of God, this adjective is monogenēs which means unique and only one of its kind, it is to say my one and only Son… John tells us that when He came to earth He came in grace and truth! Isn’t it wonderful that God deals with mankind in grace and truth! If God dealt with mankind only on the basis of truth none of us would survive but He grants us favor and kindness through His Only Begotten Jesus!

APP: Isaiah prophesized …. the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. Nearly 800 years later, John states we have seen His glory and we are astonished and I share my eyewitness account with you so that you may believe and experience His grace and truth receiving eternal life through Him by faith!

The revelation of God’s Grace in the Person of Jesus16-17

The revelation of God in the Person of Jesus

APP: Christmas is the dearest of timem one that we wait for all year but let us not forget that Jesus is the one that the world had been waiting for since the fall of man and in the fullness of time God blessed earth with His visitation in the Peron of His Only Begotten Son Jesus,