29. What Jesus Took On

LONNIE: Welcome to Exploring the Word. This is your opportunity to dig deeper into the wealth of wisdom in the Bible.

JEANNIE: Thanks for joining us. Today we’re going to look at the Incarnation, God becoming a man. And we’re going to try to figure out exactly what Jesus took on when He took on human nature.

LONNIE: That’s a subject people have been wrestling with a long time. But today we’re going to explore it from a practical point of view: What does this mean for how I live my life every day? In what way can it make me a stronger, healthier person?

JEANNIE: Today you’re going to discover why Jesus really is such a unique Savior, why He can lay claim on the lives of all kinds of people all over the world.

LONNIE: Did the God of the Universe really somehow condense Himself into that little baby in a Bethlehem manger? And if so, what does that mean exactly?

JEANNIE: It’s a question that a lot of people have because there are so many ideas about who Jesus was floating around out there.

LONNIE: Who was Jesus Christ? What does it mean for God to become a man? We could just make up our ideas, of course. A lot of people have.

But let’s try to get some facts from the source documents, from the eye witnesses, from those present at the Incarnation. Let’s see how they described this extraordinary event—and what it can mean for us.

By the way, have you heard the story of the invisible man who married the invisible woman?

Well, their kids were nothing to look at either.

The Bible tells us the story of the Almighty, invisible, glorious God whom no human being can approach. But God’s Son, we learn, is something to look at. He’s something to look at very closely, “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). His very nature, the way He was put together, if you please, has some wonderful things to tell us about God, about forgiveness, and about personal power.

Let’s try to get a close up look at the Incarnation, at what it really involved. And let’s open up the first-hand accounts in the New Testament. We’ll start with Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Chapter two. That was our homework assignment. I hope you were able to study that beautiful picture of what Jesus really “took on.”
Today we’re going to look at a series of dramatic contrasts. They will help us grasp the length and breadth of the Incarnation.

Here we go. Philippians 2:5-7:

“Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God . . . made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men.”

Now this is the first fact this apostle spotlights. When God Almighty became a man, He didn’t come down to occupy the White House, or rule the United Nations. He didn’t make Himself king. He took the form of a SERVANT.

God didn’t just become human; He became a certain kind of human, a servant. That’s what we see in Jesus Christ. God caring for the sick; God comforting the sorrowful; God encouraging the weak. God washing the feet of His disciples.

Jesus Christ didn’t come to be served, but to serve.

Now for the contrast. This is striking. Look at Hebrews 1:3. The first two verses of Hebrews one talk about God speaking to us through His Son. His Son,

“. . . being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person . . .” Hebrews 1:3

Jesus Christ, the writer tells us, was the brightness of God’s GLORY. What a contrast! He takes on the form of a servant. And yet becomes the brightness of God’s glory.

And there’s the beauty of the incarnation. Jesus became glorious precisely because He was such a wonderful servant. It was in His gracious touch, His tender care, that He shows us the glory of the Almighty!

And what does that mean for us? What is the result? Each one of us, as human beings can KNOW GOD. Absolutely. God the Father has come close. His glory is near. He appears in acts of service, in moments of grace, in the sweep of providence.

Do you realize what good news this is! The invisible, the unknowable, the Father in Heaven, is the Servant on Earth.

We can know God as our Father. That’s the first thing the Incarnation does for us. Now let’s move to the second. We’re going to look at another set of contrasts. Look at Galatians 3:13. Here’s another glimpse of what God becoming a man involved.

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’)”

He became a CURSE for us. Christ didn’t just become a man. He didn’t just become a servant. He took on a curse, the curse of someone condemned to hang on a tree. The messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53 pictures this dramatically. He was despised and rejected. He was regarded as stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Hanging on the cross, He was as low as a human being can get.

But now for the contrast. Look at another picture of that same event. The Apostle Peter writes that we are redeemed:

“. . . with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:19

A lamb without BLEMISH. That was Jesus hanging on the cross. He took on a terrible curse. He was crushed by the guilt of the world. But He also hung there as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who redeems us from the curse, a Lamb without spot or blemish.

That’s the length and breadth of the Incarnation. The height and depth. Cursed and without blemish.

What does this mean? What is the result? We can be JUSTIFIED! All who accept Christ are also regarded as spotless, without blemish by a holy God. Our guilt is removed. Our sins are washed away.

People all over the world have indeed come to see that this Jesus can deal with our guilt problem. He is both the one cursed and the one without blemish.

Now let’s move to our final contrast that shows us what Jesus really took on. Paul tells us that God sent:

“. . . His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin . . .” Romans 8:3

In the likeness of SINFUL flesh. Now, theologians conduct intense debates about what that means precisely. But here’s the bottom line. Jesus understands human weakness. He understands our trials and temptations. In fact Hebrews 2:18 tells us Jesus was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Jesus took on our human struggles. But here’s the contrast. It’s in the verse from Romans we just read. Romans 8:3. Paul says Jesus took on “the likeness of sinful flesh. But:
“He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us . . .” Romans 8:3, 4

Jesus Christ condemned sin in the FLESH. That is, He didn’t just sit up in an ivory tower and point out how we can avoid our human mistakes. He came down to the dust and the mud, the blood, sweat and tears. He came down and showed us how we can start fulfilling “the righteous requirements of the law” even as weak, sinful human beings.

Jesus demonstrated that we can overcome TEMPTATION. We don’t have to remain victims. We’re not helpless. We’re not the prisoners of our destructive impulses.

Here’s how to live a better life. Follow Me! That’s what God becoming a man means. That’s the result of Christ taking on the likeness of sinful flesh and still condemning sin in the flesh. We can live as overcomers. Christ’s Spirit inside us can give us brand new impulses.

Well, there you have it friends, the length and breadth of the Incarnation. It’s a wonderful truth we can all cherish. And it can make a real difference once we grasp it.

Jesus shows us the glory of God—as a servant. And because of that, our Heavenly Father comes close.

Jesus becomes the spotless Lamb of God without blemish–precisely because He took on our human curse. The result is our justification before a holy God.

Jesus took on our weaknesses, “the likeness of sinful flesh,” in order to condemn sin in the flesh, in order to show us that we can overcome our weaknesses; we can be empowered to live a better life.

That’s why God becoming a man is such good news for all of us.

JEANNIE: Lonnie, when I read the Gospels, what really strikes me is that Jesus was a very real Person. He endured the same kind of pain, went through the same struggles, heard the same hurtful words that we do. God really did become a human being.

And then to think of what Jesus endured on the cross. I can’t imagine what it was like to bear the world’s guilt on His shoulders.

Jesus didn’t have to save us; He chose to save us. That means a lot to me. He came to this world to rescue God’s children. It’s difficult to comprehend that kind of selfless love–Jesus leaving all the “glories” of heaven to come down to the muck and mire of our little planet. There He is in Bethlehem, the One honored by all the angels, an infant, totally helpless, vulnerable. God-in-the-flesh really is an amazing gift.
LONNIE: It is. And what impresses me is that Christ came to offer Himself so completely. He’s the One willing to wash our feet, as a servant. He’s the Healer. He’s the Encourager.

And He’s the One who offers Himself as the Lamb of God, the sacrifice to take away our guilt.

And He’s the One who says, “I can make you an overcomer.”

JEANNIE: The point is, this is a wonderful Friend to have. Jesus is someone worth getting to know. He’s worth investing our time. He’s worth opening up our hearts.

LONNIE: And so Jeannie and I would like you to seriously consider a relationship with this God who became one of us. Please consider taking this step, especially if you’ve had a rather casual acquaintance before. Especially if you’ve only nodded His way in church.

Isn’t it time to take the claims of Christ seriously? Isn’t it time to find out just what He can mean in your life?

JEANNIE: We can look back in our lives and see so many good things that have come from this one relationship, this one investment. It would be such a shame to lose out on that.

LONNIE: So please say a prayer with us just now. Please give Jesus some room to grow inside you. Please start to trust in what He can do for you as Savior and Lord.

Dear Father, thank You for the wonder of God Almighty coming to be born in Bethlehem. Thank You that Your glory has walked among us in the person of Your Son.

JEANNIE: Help us to be able to invest ourselves in a real relationship with the one and only Son. Please help us to be able to truly know our Heavenly Father has come so close.

LONNIE: We place our faith in Jesus the Spotless Lamb of God, and His forgiveness. We give all our problems and frustrations and failures into the hands of Jesus the Overcomer. And we choose to place our lives in the care of Jesus, the glorious Servant.

JEANNIE: Thank you for accepting us so graciously as Your children.

LONNIE: We make this commitment today in the Name of Jesus, amen.

JEANNIE: As our homework assignment for next week we’d like you to look at a series of short prophecies which Lonnie will be talking about in our next program.

LONNIE: These are prophecies that fit together in the most amazing picture of God’s providence through history. Write these down, OK? Genesis 15:13,14; Jeremiah 25:11,12; Daniel 9:25 and Daniel 8:14.
JEANNIE: These are four predictions made in the Bible, and you’re going to see how they were each fulfilled with incredible accuracy. So remember, Genesis 15:13,14; Jeremiah 25:11,12; Daniel 9:25 and Daniel 8:14.

LONNIE: Until next week, God bless you. Never stop Exploring the Word. And remember, God really does love you.