Christmas is a time to reflect on the incarnation and what it means that Jesus is fully human. He took on a human mind to save your mind. He took on a human will to save your broken will. Jesus became man in the fullest so that he might save you in the fullest. What a wonderful reason to be merry this Christmas!
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Hey, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada, and here we are into the Christmas season!
And I have been quietly celebrating Christmas in my heart by reading David Mathis’ book “The Christmas We Didn’t Expect.” The title says it all; there are so many things about Christmas that should surprise us. Like, I don’t think we ever expected that Jesus would be so – so human. Yet it says in Colossians 2:9 that “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Friend, that is a stunning claim!
When Jesus was born, and as he grew and started his public ministry, no one questioned his humanity. The shepherds and the wise men, and later on the disciples and the crowds, all of them saw and heard for themselves. They touched Jesus; they walked with him. They ate meals with him. It was a given that he was human. But that changed by the second generation of Christians. As David Mathis says in his book, by then it was a given that Jesus was divine. After all, Jesus was being worshipped. And as time went by, within the church at least, the truth about Jesus’ humanity was soon neglected and even denied.
David Mathis goes on to say that we must avoid the same mistake. He says, “[Christmas] is a ripe opportunity for reflecting on not just the easy parts of the incarnation, but also the uncomfortable parts of what it means that our Lord is fully human. For not only did the Son of God have – and still has – a fully human body, [he also has] a fully human mind, heart, and will.”
Now think about that. Throughout the gospels, Jesus had deep emotions. He was sorrowful; he was deeply moved, greatly troubled; he even prays with loud cries and tears. We also know that Jesus was exceedingly joyful. As John Calvin once said, Christ put on our feelings along with our flesh. This Jesus we celebrate also has a human mind. Scripture says that he increased in wisdom. I mean, Jesus didn’t even know the day of his own return – only the Father knows that. Jesus also has an infinite, divine mind, and a finite, human mind. That’s a paradox because the Bible affirms that Jesus both knows all things as God and yet doesn’t know all things as man. Now that’s not a contradiction, as David Mathis explains. It’s a particular glory of this God-man, Jesus.
But probably the most difficult thing to grasp is that Jesus has a human will. There in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prays to his Father, “Not as I will, but as you will.” Now that’s a mystery. Yes, this wonderful Jesus whom we celebrate is like us in every way – body, heart, mind, and will. Jesus is like us in every respect except when it comes to sin. So he took on our humanity not only at the first Christmas, but he took it all the way to the cross. And then, he took it into heaven as our pioneer, right into the presence of God. Again, I'm grateful to David Mathis and his book “The Christmas We Didn’t Expect.” And I’m happy to tell you we have a limited supply to offer. So go to joniradio.org for your free copy of this amazing book while supplies last. And this Christmas, be thankful that Jesus took on a human body to save our bodies. He took on a human mind to save our minds. And he took on a human will so that he might save our broken will that is so prone to wander. Jesus became man in the fullest so that he might save us in the fullest. And that’s a great reason to be very merry this Christmas.
© Joni and Friends