Why did You do It?

There is a popular television proper called Undercover Boss where “business leaders from large corporations spend several days working alongside lower-level employees” in an attempt to try and identify with the struggles that his or her employees face. Most of the episodes include your typical Undercover Boss fare—bumbling executive, dedicated workers, tear-jerker employee recognitions. However, after a few days, the business leader who has now revealed their true identity returns to their role of leading their business. They return to their cushy offices, chauffeured limousines, private jets, and the other luxuries that successful CEOs enjoy because of their position.

Jesus, the creator and ruler of the universe decided to go undercover and rub shoulders with his creation. However, unlike the CEOs from Undercover Boss he did not spend a few days with humanity, but thirty-three and a half years! He did so to experientially grasp our pain, suffering, and struggles, and more importantly to elevate us from being “lower level employees” to co-rulers with Him throughout eternity. Yes, Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:18–23

18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

It’s that time again. It’s the season where family and friends (barring COVID restrictions) will gather together to eat lots good food, watch Christmas re-runs such as It’s a Wonder life or the Grinch who stole Christmas. Some will gather to sing hymns and carols, and simply enjoy one another’s company… and of course we cannot forget what the children look forward to most of all… opening and exchanging gifts.

Although many have forgotten or simply ignore the reason for the season—Jesus, even though he was not born on December 25, without Him there would be no Christmas. Without Him there would be no gifts, no family, no snow, no New Year. The majority of the Christians around the world get to celebrate Christmas because of Jesus.

The Christmas story largely revoles around the birth of Christ in a manger, yet without it would all be meaningless without Calvary.

Why did Jesus do it, why did he come down to this dismal, dark world? There is a classic song that begs the same question… I don’t know why Jesus loves me...

In order to address this question of Why did Jesus do it, we will entertain three points that I pray will help of to better appreciate and understand the purpose of incarnation of God as a helpless baby.

The Cost of the Incarnation

Philippians 2:5–8

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

What was the cost of Jesus coming to this earth? First, according to the text we understand that Jesus, although equal with God the Father in every way, relinquished his title as God. It is easy for a leader of a fortune 500 company to assume the position of one of his employees for a few days, however, Jesus didn’t assume a lower position. He became a low level employee. He didn’t come as an undercover boss, no he came as the lowest worker in the corporation.

But the price that Jesus paid for our redemption didn’t stop at the wonderful incarnation, which of itself is astounding, but he chose to become stand in the shoes of the worst employee, the most dishonest employee, the most unfaithful employee, and suffer what they deserve so that the unfaithful could have what he deserved. Think about it, he accepted to be branded as an unproductive, lazy, murmuring and complaining employee so that the unproductive, lazy… could be considered and accepted as the employee of the year. You and I deserve the cross, you and I deserve to suffer eternal death, but he went to the cross, he tasted death so that we might live.

What was the cost of the incarnation, the precious blood of Jesus!

Let us now entertain the...

The Necessity of the Incarnation

Romans 5:17–19

17 If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Was the incarnation necessary? Was there any other way that God could do it? Was there any other way that he could save us? Well, Paul tells us that as a result of Adam’s sin, death reigned over the entire human race. It was a man who doomed the human race to eternal loss, and thus it must be a man who would have the redeem humanity for eternal death.

Hebrews 2:17

17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

That was the only way. Furthermore...

Psalm 119:160

160 The entirety of your word is truth, each of your righteous judgments endures forever.

The Psalmist tells us that God’s judgment, God’s law is eternal. Thus, man sinned against God’s eternal law. As a result of this unestimable blunder, only an eternal currency could pay the price for man’s sin against God’s eternal law. Only the blood of God could pay the price for sin against the law of God!

The Fruit of the Incarnation

2 Corinthians 5:17–20

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Jesus made the way for the development of a new humanity. Old humanity was doomed because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Old humantiy was doomed to be enslaved forever to sin and degradation if God permitted Adam and Eve to live forever as sinners as the devil hoped.

1 Corinthians 15:22

22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:45

45 So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

As a result of the last Adam Jesus, Paul tells us

2 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

If we accept and rejoice about our position in Christ, in the last Adam, then we become a part of new humanty… new creatures in Christ. As new humans we are entrusted with being embassadors for Jesus. We get to tell the world about why he came, why he died, and that he is risen and is coming again to justify the expensive cost of the incarnation. As embassadors we can tell the world that we have been reconciled to the God who became a man, and we can invite the world to be reconciled to one who does identify himself as our boss, but our friend and brother.

(John Birch tells the story) There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.

One snowy eve, his wife was taking their children to a service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about Jesus' birth. She asked him to come, but he refused. "That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!"

So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet.

When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm.

So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. "Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn--and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!" Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese--blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us.

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm.