Wednesday, December 21, 2022

           We might not expect to find much about Christmas or the Christmas story in 2 John but we actually do.  There is an important truth to be gleaned from this small, one- chapter book near the end of the Bible.  In his gospel, John introduces us to the reality that Jesus is eternal.  His birth in Bethlehem was only the beginning of His earthly existence.  Jesus is eternal and everlasting—the Ancient of Days and the Word of God.  He has always existed.  In Revelation, John depicts Jesus as the Victor and the worthy Lamb of God who will come again one day.  In 2 John 7 we find another glimpse of Jesus.  John wrote, “I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7).  John made it clear that Jesus came in the flesh.  The Son of God was born as the Son of Mary.  Do not be deceived by those who might deny the human or fleshy side of Jesus.  He had a real, physical body with bones, organs and muscles that function just like yours or mine.  John wrote that if we deny the humanity of Jesus we are “antichrist.”
            To say that Jesus came in the flesh is an important article of faith.  We are to acknowledge that God became man in the person of Jesus.  We call this the incarnation where God took human form in the fullness of the Son.  John wrote in his gospel, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Because Jesus came in the flesh, He could live the perfect and righteous life that we have not lived and cannot live.  By coming in the flesh, Jesus became the perfect and innocent sacrifice—the sinless Lamb of God who gave His life for the sins of the world.  It is important to acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh—vitally so.
            Early Christianity often had to contend with opponents and heretics that wanted to deny or dismiss the reality of Jesus being God in the flesh.  But the Church insisted that Jesus was and is fully God and fully man—not one or the other but both.  So, what does this mean for us?  Since He came into the world as a man and was tempted in every way that we are He can provide us with help and strength to resist temptation.  We are never tempted beyond what we can bear and withstand with His help.  Also, once more, Jesus lived the life we have not lived.  Our lives are wrecked by and wretched with sin.  Saturated by sin and deeply stained with sin.  But Christ was perfect.  His righteousness is credited to us as we surrender our sins to Him and His cross.
            As a perfectly lived life in the flesh, Jesus could be the Lamb of God who removed the sins of the world.  Indeed, John wrote, “The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29).  There had to be a perfect sacrifice to cover the sins of humanity.  Jesus paid a debt that He never incurred and died a death that He did not deserve to die to satisfy the justice of God and to remove the consequences of sin.  To say that Jesus came in the flesh was and is a big deal.  And this reality of His coming in the flesh is at the heart of the Christmas message.  The first cry uttered by Jesus at His birth was a most welcomed sound to a lost and dying earth.  Hope had come at last and this home had come in the form of a baby named Jesus who grew to be a man and took His place on a cross to die as a man for all who believe in Him.  Give thanks for what God has done and for the many places in the Bible where we find the Christmas message.  Have a great Wednesday!