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The Whole Jesus

At this time of year, we are awash in reminders of the birth of the Christ Child who was given the name Jesus because He would “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The angel Gabriel affirmed to Mary: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:32-33). In our mind’s eye, we smile at the Babe in a manger, born in such lowly surroundings of a humble peasant girl. We even “gush” over Him with special carols which give us good feelings and even “goose bumps” while we sing them. We are transported back in time to worship with the angels and the shepherds.

But babies don’t sit on thrones, rebuke the purveyors of empty religion and stare down the devil. Simeon prophesied of Him that “this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed” (Luke 2:34). Crafty old Herod understood that a Babe who was called a King would some day grow up to be a Man who would rule, and so he sought to kill the Child. We all tend to want that Babe in a manger, so cute and loveable, making no demands on us. But how many of us embrace the Child grown to be the Son of Man who has eyes “like a flame of fire,” a voice “like the sound of many waters” and “a sharp two-edged sword” coming out of His mouth?

John presents the coming of Christ Jesus from a different perspective. (see John 1:14)  “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” — not much here about the circumstances of His birth. However, John is concerned about something else: “we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word of God became a man and revealed the Father to us. The glory of God was evident in all of His life, the grace part and the truth part. Both of these are an integral part of our God and thus of Jesus.

We tend to favor the grace part. We want God to be forgiving, merciful, compassionate, patient, kind and to bless us with lots of good in life.

We want Him to be longsuffering toward us (emphasis on the long) and to smile favorably upon us. Some Christians even favor this part of God so much that they even believe that God would not condemn anyone to eternal destruction.

Yet, God is not one dimensional; indeed, He cannot be. As the Sovereign God, He establishes the boundaries of right and wrong, what is sinful and what is righteous. Why would He need to be merciful if there were no reason to show mercy?! Why was the Babe sent as Savior of the world if the human race were not in real danger? Why did Jesus call us to repent if there is really no need to change our lives?

Thus, John also notes that Jesus was full of truth. He taught the truths of God wherever He went.  He told us how we should love God and one another, and He showed us how to do both of those things. He rebuked the self-righteous, self-centered and arrogant. He taught us the importance of knowing and following all of the scriptures, not just the “smooth” parts.

And He pointed out our sins, our failings, our rebellion. He told us of our very real enemy Satan and how much was at stake in our war against evil. Jesus challenged us to live holy lives and to be willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, even to our own families and our own lives. He warned us of the coming judgment  He held nothing back.

Then He said that He was our only hope and that His Father loved us and sent Him to give His life as a ransom for us. He was the resurrection and the life. From His cross He said, “Father, forgive them.” The grace was there — greater than our sin.  But the sin is present and very real.

We need the whole Jesus. He was full of both grace and truth.

The darling little Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes or the mighty King wearing a robe dipped in blood?  We need them both. We absolutely need them both.

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