Discovering Jesus: Understanding the Incarnation

John 1:1–14 NASB95

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

INTRO: If someone were to ask you to tell them the Christmas Story, where would you begin?

With Mary & Joseph?

With the Angelic proclamations?

With the Shepherds and the Magi?

Last night, we went with some of the youth to see the “Journey to Bethlehem” experience, which is kind of an expanded nativity. We heard about the census and the star, the Inn and the stable. It was a good way to pique the interest of unbelievers and believers about the story of Christmas.

And all of these are significant pieces of the Christmas story. They need to be shared, and we’ll get to many of those elements as we walk through this special Christmas sermon series. But that is not where we are going begin.

Today, we are going to set our eyes on the big idea of Christmas. We want to understand the significance of this event so that we do not fall into the trap of mistakenly trivializing Jesus or what we affectionately call Jesus’ birthday.

ILL: Let’s get real for a minute: What is the first thought that your unsaved friends or family think when they hear “Christmas”?

Gifts, trees, decorations?

Family gatherings, seasonal music, fruitcake?

In so much of the world, the Christmas message of peace on earth has gotten lost. In fact, even some who give credence to Jesus only do so out of tradition… it’s similar to the stories of Santa Claus, Jack Frost, and Rudolph. Our post-modern culture has cast aside the nativities and embraced the secular symbols without so much as a blink. Go to Lowe’s and look at the decorations; drive down the street and see what people proudly display.

However, we must begin where the Gospel of John begins: The who, what, and why of Christmas. The proper theological term for Christmas is “INCARNATION”

Incarnation refers to the event when God took on humanity - when He stepped into His creation by becoming a man while retaining His Godness.

We will explore what this means as we walk through this passage together. Now look, I am not supposing that you’ve never heard this before. No, I imagine most of you are familiar with the terms and you know, intellectually, exactly what Christmas is about. But if you are visiting or you don’t have a good grasp on why this is such a big deal, then I pray today you will get a little clarity and a lot of joy as we walk through our passage.

My aim is to help frame the incarnation for us in such a way that no matter what your background is, you will see Christmas in a fresh light. At the end of our time, I will ask you to respond to the Good News of Jesus Christ based upon what you have heard.

The message is entitled “Discovering Jesus: Understanding the Incarnation.” If you picked up a bulletin, I encourage you to use the sermon guide to follow along as we learn together.

In order for us to understand the incarnation, we must first understand:

Jesus’ Identity (1-5)

The Gospel of John begins as a parallel to Genesis 1. Let me read the first 5 verses and see if you pick up on it. (READ 1-5)

Do you see the similarities? Johns point- the reason for his writing is to express the identity of Jesus.

The biggest question that we can answer is this: WHO IS JESUS?

Let’s walk through these verses:

In the beginning was the Word. - Before time, before Bethlehem, before Mary and Joseph, before the manger and the angels, was the Word. The Word here is referring to Jesus. You can see this explicitly in v. 14 - “The Word became flesh...”

But let’s look closer at this description. “The Word” - Why would John use this phrase? I believe he is helping us to see that the connection between God the Father and God the Son. Human language will always fall short in describing God, but let’s examine this a bit.

“and the Word was with God and the Word was God”

When we give our word or when we give a command, it is connected to us- we own it- it is our integrity, our promise. At the same time, it is a separate expression from us, accomplishing our purpose.

Jesus remarked that His purpose was to do the will of the Father. (John 6:38-39)

“He was in the beginning with God”

God has always existed, and so has His Word and will. John is helping the reader understand that Jesus is both with God and part of God. This might sound heady, so don’t let me lose you…

We understand that God exists in 3 persons - each distinct, yet one God. We call the the Trinity. Like I said, human language and comprehension fall short in properly explaining this.

Jesus was there at creation (3) and is the agent by which God’s creation came into existence. When we read of God saying “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3) we must acknowledge that His Word accomplishing this was in fact Jesus. Col. 1:15 , Col. 2:9

He is the source of life (John 14:6) and this life is the Light of men. Verse 5 helps us grasp this a little more: (READ v.4-5)

The Light (Jesus who is God in flesh) shines into the darkness- just like at creation when God shone a light into the darkness to bring about life. And the good news is that darkness cannot overtake light.

ILL: Do you know how you can make a room bright? Add light. But you cannot make a room dark by adding darkness, you must take away light. Light cannot be darkened by darkness, light dispels darkness!

To really grasp the incarnation, we must grasp that Jesus is not simply a prophet or a teacher, though he held both of these roles. Jesus’ identity is Immanuel, God with us. He is God in human flesh, the Son of God!

He has always existed and what we celebrate on Christmas is not the beginning of Jesus, but rather a promise fulfilled that the God who created all things has entered into His creation. Church, must not compromise Jesus’ identity. He’s not a created being. He’s not a man who ascended into Godness. He’s not God pretending to be man or an angel who looked like man.

The wonder and mystery surrounding the incarnation might be more than we can fully explain or understand. But God gives us what we need to accept this truth- His Word and His Spirit testify to Jesus as God.

When we understand Jesus’ identity, then we can better celebrate the meaning of Christmas. It’s a pretty big deal! But we must look a little further because Jesus did not come simply to make a visit. There was a purpose we must grasp.

To understand the incarnation, we must know:

Jesus Intention(6-13)

(READ)

John shifts for a bit to the witness of John the Baptist. John the Baptist had a purpose, and that was to declare the coming of Jesus, the promised Messiah and King.

John’s witness was that Jesus came for a specific intent- to give light to every man (9) and give them the right or privilege to become children of God (12).

Let’s look at this a little closer. Jesus’ very entrance into His creation gives hope for every person. (9) Just as He created mankind perfect in His image in Gen. 1 with all the rights and privileges of knowing God, communing with Him, and enjoying Him, so too Jesus stepped into His creation which was corrupted by sin in order to bring hope of a restored communion - Light into the darkness.

This is a concept that I think we need to hover on for a second:

He is the King- all things created by Him and for Him and thus the King came in order to restore His Kingdom- to make all things new. But this would require more than some teaching. It would require more than some earthly government. Jesus came with the full intention of absorbing the detrimental debt of sin in His body so that humanity could, through faith in Him, be made pure.

ILL: One cannot look at the birth of Christ and ignore the Cross of Calvary. Had Jesus come with no intent, the cross would have been a tragic story of men’s rejection of their Creator God.

But Jesus came, intending to die for the sake of redemption. He came, intending not to create a holiday so that we could trade presents, but to give the life-changing gift of His mercy and love! His sacrifice was on purpose and for a purpose!

The incarnation marks the point in which our God looked upon the darkness of fallen humanity, and at just the right moment, He intervened. No one else could do this! No effort of man could restore the broken relationship. No sacrifice of man was enough and no man is righteous in himself. Jesus Christ alone is light, in Him is no darkness at all. He came to push back the darkness of sin and death, and bring forth life. The curse of Adam was reversed…

His intention was to make a way for all men, regardless of their heritage or their sinfulness to be brought in as children of God. (13)

If we are to understand the Incarnation, we must understand Jesus’ identity as God in flesh, and His intention to redeem and restore His Kingdom. God is intentional.

Like I said earlier, Christmas is often flooded with activity and if we’re not careful, we lose Jesus amid all the festivities. So, I want to spend the rest of our time this morning understanding the incarnation by exploring its:

Implication for You and Me (14)

(READ)

When we discover Jesus as He is- God in flesh, then we are forced to reckon with with reality.

What does it mean that Jesus is God?

What does it mean that He came for a purpose?

John said that they saw His glory, full of grace and truth. I believe that John had in his mind the image Isaiah described in Isaiah 6. [Explain] God’s glory is so overwhelming and when we see it- even a glimpse of it, we realize that we are sinners who cannot stand in the presence of such a holy, righteous God.

But Jesus came, humbly shrouded in humanity. He came, not in a chariot or parade, but in a lowly manger to normal, everyday people. Full of grace, for no one deserved such an intervention. Full of grace because the very best we could bring condemns us to Hell.

And full of truth: There is only one way to enter the Kingdom of God, and that is through faith in Jesus. Trusting in His salvation, walking in the right and privilege of being a child of God.

Read John 14:6

Do you know the rights and privileges of being a child of God?

You are afforded a relationship with God as His beloved. (Oh what joy! John called himself the one Jesus loved… do you?)

You are given all the riches of the kingdom to enjoy! (Things money cannot buy. Infinite in supply and value!)

You are confident in your identity, for you bear a name that cannot be taken from you. (Nobody can steal your identity! Or rob you of your salvation!

You are a representative of your Father- your life testifies of His grace and the transforming power of His Spirit living in you.

As we prepare to celebrate the Christmas season, I want to clarify the primary implication of the incarnation for you and me. To do this, I am going to point us ahead to the whole reason John recorded this Gospel:

John 20:31

John 20:31 NASB95

31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

Our Creator demonstrated His love and desire for you and me. We have been given life through his light. Today, we have discovered Jesus in the incarnation.

You have heard it, now you have to choose what to do with it. If you are here, then you have heard the Gospel and have no excuse.

Will you respond as so many did, rejecting Him as God and Lord? (Read 11-12) Or will you receive Him?

Will you allow Him as the Light of the World to overtake you? To shine forth in the darkness of your life and give you life?

Friend, I plead with you- step into God’s family by trusting in Jesus as Savior and Lord. I’d love to talk to you about it.

[PRAY]

Discuss: How does the incarnation demonstrate God’s love?

Discuss: Why is the incarnation so important?

Discuss: What does it mean to have life through Jesus?