The Word made flesh

Who is Jesus?

The human person, Jesus of Nazareth, has a beginning that is recorded in the Gospels.

The eternal being, the second person of the Godhead, God the Son, the Word of God, has existed forever.

Come down from heaven John 3:31

Sent by the Father John 8:16

Present as the Word, or Logos, of God at the very beginning John 1:3

“Before Abraham was born, I am” John 8:58

Especially significant because God introduced Himself to Moses in the same way, “I am who I am”

But, the eternal word of God also became a human being who’s life had a beginning, and needs

We know Jesus felt hunger and thirst, they he got tired and needed sleep

He voluntarily set aside some of the advantages of deity and made himself subservient to the needs of a human body and existence 2 Corinthians 8:8-9

Christ did not give up his divine nature, but stopped practicing some divine privilege and added to his nature the full human nature of Jesus of Nazareth and the subordinate role of servant to God.

He is one person with two natures in contrast to the Godhead, or the Trinity, which we often talk about as three persons with one nature

Born of a virgin

Not the only miraculous conception in the Bible, Isaac, Samuel, and John the Baptist were all recorded to have been conceived miraculously, but He is unique as the only birth with only 1 human parent, Mary, fulfilling Isaiah 7:14

However, unlike Greek and Roman mythology where the gods would force themselves physically on human women to bear demigods like Helen of Troy or Perseus from Greek mythology, this was not a physical sexual act, but the Holy Spirit bringing the breathe of life to Mary’s womb, and the Word of God adding His divine nature to that life.

See this is important, because Jesus was Mary’s biological child, and that’s important because he is physically descended from Abraham and David to fulfill God’s promises to them.

Joseph, however, was not Jesus’ biological father, he was only his father/guardian in a legal sense, like an ancient stepfather.

Now, Mary’s obedience to the message of the angel who told her that she would bear a son and name him Jesus was a great example to us, and she truly received a great privilege from God to be the mother of Christ, but she is not the focal point of this story.

Some traditions believe that Mary lived a sinless life, and that’s why she was able to give birth to Jesus, but that just doesn’t mesh with our understanding of sin, and what makes Jesus truly unique in human history. If Mary lived a perfect life, why couldn’t she just make the sacrifice that Jesus did?

What’s really important in the incarnation is that Jesus was born to a virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that He is Immanuel, “God with us”.