Psst: Be sure to check out the link to CAMEL BELLS at the end of the Blog) 

Some believe that he is really a she.  Why?  If Santa was really a man, the reindeer would not be pulling the sled, they would be field dressed and strapped to it.  And Santa delivers gifts on Christmas Eve, whereas, most men don’t start their shopping until then.  Unlike Santa, most men can’t pack a bag.  Plus, men don’t read or answer their mail.  Maybe the burly – Ho, Ho, Ho is actually a girly – Hee, Hee, Hee!

But who cares about Santa – what I want to know is, “Was Jesus really a man?” 

The answer is yes and no.  Christ is God incarnate – One person with two distinct natures one divine the other very human, forever fused into one awesomely unique individual.   The Scripture clearly portrays Jesus as being fully God and yet also as being fully man. 

Can we explain it?  Not really, but that’s OK!  To try to explain God would be to presume to fully understand Him.  If we were to fully understand Him, He would not be much of a God, certainly not worthy of our worship.

I have shared several good reasons already why the Incarnation of Christ was necessary, but this may be the most important one.

According to God’s reckoning, all of us are sinners, and sin carries the death penalty.   (Romans 3:32)   And “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)    Bad news for sure.  But our Lord volunteered Himself to stand in and bear the consequences of our sin.

Excellent because redemption required a perfect sacrifice of eternal value – great enough to cleanse the sins of billions of people who have spanned thousands of years.   And the value of the sacrifice must endure throughout the ages.  Such a sacrifice could only be made by God. 

But here is the catch – eternal God cannot die!

What was needed was a unique God/man – one person – a fusion of perfect humanity with undiminished deity to become a suitable sacrifice for us.  Jesus became a man that He might die.

There is no other person who qualifies to stand in for us except Christ because he was perfect humanity.  He had never compromised or sinned. And because He was and is eternal God, His sacrifice carried eternal merit. 

One theologian put it this way, “Both natures are necessary for redemption.   As a man, Christ could represent man and die for man; as God the death of Christ could have infinite value sufficient to provide redemption for the sins of the world.”  (Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, pg. 228)

Once He did the job, it was done forever.   Hebrews 1:3a says, “The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word…”  Clearly, the author speaks of the deity of Christ here and then goes on to say.

“…and so, when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”   (Hebrews 1:3b) When Christ had paid the price for sin.  His offering was more than enough.  So much so, He could sit down.  His work was complete. 

How great that Christ became incarnate for us. 

I have a road atlas that aggravates me.  It has one small segment on each page.  When a road runs into the margin on page 19, I must go to page 34 to pick it up again unless I am headed west on the road and then I go to page 3.  Sometimes I get lost and end up on page 81.  What I prefer is one page with the whole map on it.

That’s what we get with Jesus.  Before Him, what we knew of God was segmented and limited.  Jesus, however, gave us a fullest most wonderful picture of God. 

Celebrate Him well this Season

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How About Some Christmas Fun?   Check out this YouTube that my wife and I put together.  It’s a fun look at the camels of the magi.  A whole bunch of people love this – You will too! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFktK6UpZMM

All Bible references from the NET Bible ®