For the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at Jesus’s incarnation through the words of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. The third verse of this carol describes why Jesus came: He was born to rescue us from sin and death and give us salvation that leads to everlasting life. 

“Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings, risen with healing in his wings.

Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die,

born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. 

Hark! the herald angels sing, ‘Glory to the newborn King.’”

God’s presence with man was a gift—God with us, Immanuel, was the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to be with His people. But the impact of Jesus’s incarnation didn’t stop there. Jesus was born to die. We sinned against God and needed a Savior. Jesus was the Lamb of God who came to take away our sin and give us forgiveness and eternal life (John 1:29). 

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

Jesus didn’t take on flesh and dwell among us so we’d have a cute story to tell at Christmas. He came to suffer betrayal, false accusations, and an unjust trial. He came to hear the cries of “Crucify Him!” from those who had praised Him just days before. He came to hang on a cross next to criminals and provide an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He came to save sinners like you and me. 

No matter what you face this week, celebrate Jesus, who was born to die for the forgiveness of your sins. 

If you missed the earlier posts in this series, you can read them here and here.

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How do you respond when someone walks in the door of your home? Your response will vary depending on who it is. If it’s your spouse or roommate, you might look up from your phone and ask how their day went. If it’s a grown child who’s returning home for the holidays, that moment will be much more significant and joyful. If it’s a stranger in a ski mask, the experience would be terrifying. 

We celebrate Christmas because of who Jesus is. The One whose arrival we celebrate is the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, the everlasting Lord veiled in human flesh, as we see in verse 2 of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”: 

“Christ, by highest heaven adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord,

Late in time behold him come, offspring of the Virgin’s womb.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate Deity,

Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel.

Hark! the herald angels sing, ‘Glory to the newborn King.’”

Take a moment to wonder at this truth: the One who was adored in heaven as the everlasting Lord took on flesh in the womb of a young virgin and was born in a stable. Babies are born every second of every day—but this baby was God incarnate. 

The incarnation of Jesus refers to God the Son taking on human flesh so that He was fully human and fully God. We see this truth expressed in John’s gospel: 

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Because Jesus was fully God and fully man, His birth was unlike any other birth in the history of the world. As the Nicene Creed states, Jesus was “begotten of the Father . . .begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father . . .” The One who took on flesh was God, and therefore He is worthy of our worship and praise. His birth in a stable—His coming to a world that desperately needed a Savior—gives us reason to sing, “Glory to the newborn King!” 

No matter what you face this week, celebrate Jesus Christ, the everlasting Lord who took on flesh and dwelt among us. 

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