Counting the Waves of the Incarnation— Part II.

The revelation of Eternity in Time, the purely spiritual in the distinctly physical, is called the Incarnation, a word literally meaning- ‘in-flesh-ment, em-bodi-ment.’  As the apostle John so eloquently put it, “The Word became flesh and made His Dwelling among us.  And we have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and Truth” {Jn. 1:14}.  The 25^th of December is {not Jesus’ actual birth-date, but} the Day western Christendom has chosen to acknowledge the birth of our Lord.  It’s our celebration of the Incarnation.  C.S. Lewis argued the one grand Miracle of the Faith isn’t the Crucifixion or even the Resurrection, but the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He viewed every other miracle in Scripture as preparing for, illustrative of, or resulting from, the Incarnation.  And I would add the Virgin Conception as an even greater miracle: cause without the young virgin Mary conceiving by means of the Holy Spirit {Lk. 1:35} there is no virgin birth, and thus no Incarnation!

The reality of the Incarnation is simply stunning.  It’s the stuff of myth, of legend, of stories looming larger than life, the very fabric of fairy-tales: a King comes riding in disguise, greatness and glory hide beneath an unattractive exterior, evil masquerades as wisdom and light.  And on and on it goes.  Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, a soul-shattering night of darkness and dread; Jesus tried before rulers whose only power is what He has given them {Jn. 19:10-11}; Jesus beaten and bloodied beyond human recognition, lashed with the whip and showered with spit {Isa. 52:14}; Jesus suspended above the Earth on a cruel Roman cross as He “was pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities,” every sin like a spear-thrust through His soul {Isa. 53:5}.  Every bit of it as real and true as the ground beneath your feet— the sorrow, the anguish, the unmentionable shame {Romans crucified their victims naked}, the separation from His Abba while the sins of all humanity {past, present, and future}, were poured out on the Son.  All of it as real as real can get.

True and sinless humanity.  No falsehood, no arrogance, no outbursts of emotional anger, nothing self-centred or untrue.  True, sinless, and human.  So, the question must be asked, ‘Why in the name of all that’s holy would He willingly lay aside the power and prerogative of Deity to become true humanity?’  In his book titled On the Incarnation, Athanasius of Alexandria said,

Because death and corruption were gaining ever firmer hold on them, the human race was in process of destruction.  Man, who was created in God’s image... was disappearing, and the work of God was being undone.  The Law of Death, which followed from the Transgression, prevailed upon us, and from it there was no escape.  The thing which was happening was in truth both monstrous and unfitting.  He, the Image of the Father, came and dwelt in our midst, in order that He might renew mankind made after Himself.  ...Thus by His own power He restored the whole nature of man!

The reason our Lord embraced our Life, and all that it entails— the pain, the sorrow, the suffering, the loss— is our restoration and redemption.  That here in the midst of all our mess, all our brokenness, all our woundedness, suffering and sin {committed both by us and against us}, He might restore the fallen image of Abba!  Heal our broken hearts and redeem our broken lives, rescuing us from the hand of our enemy.  This and this alone.

He did it all for you ...and He would do it all again.  But praise His holy name, He won’t ever have to {Jn. 19:30}!

HJC	Ric Webb  |  Shepherd Heart’s Journey Community 9621 Tall Timber Blvd. |  Little Rock, AR 72204 t +1.501.455.0296
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