What wonder the Gospel is to a lost and doomed humanity!

The Christmas holiday, in almost every way, has been monetized and pimped out to this world’s greed and covetousness. Yet through all the noise and wrapping paper and traffic, the simple and profound beauty of God condescending to earth remains.

No amount of human work could deserve such a gift. No, not the collective entirety of all that humanity has ever produced that could ever be called ‘good’ would ever merit the grace that God has bestowed upon us in the person of Jesus Christ.

[Mic 5:2-5 NASB95] 2 "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, [Too] little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." 3 Therefore He will give them [up] until the time When she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel. 4 And He will arise and shepherd [His flock] In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. 5 This One will be our peace…

In the ‘House of Bread’ (Bethlehem), the Bread of Life was born. The King of the Universe—born homeless amongst the animals and feed and refuse piles of a barn. The Word made flesh, whose face ‘had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, (Dan 10:6)’, began His conquest as a baby. Christ would not come in the glory He enjoyed in the heavens, creation would melt before His very presence. Instead, He cloaked His divinity with humanity and condescended to the lowest, most humble beginnings.

[Isa 9:6 NASB95] 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

[Phl 2:6-8 NASB95] 6 Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

[Isa 53:2-4 NASB95] 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no [stately] form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.

While deserving the worship of all creatures, earthly and divine, Christ chose to enter His own creation to let sin exhaust its assault upon Him. Our perverted minds can hardly justify choosing pain over pleasure for future gain, yet the One in whose image we are patterned after took the greatest and most severe leap of love to secure an eternal inheritance for the very people who crucified Him.

[Isa 53:5-6 NASB95] 5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

It was my sin that crucified my King. My lawlessness cracked the whip and opened His innocent flesh. My anarchy that twisted thorns and mockingly crowned Him. My rebellion that pierced His hands and feet. He was hung in the cursed place between heaven and earth—upon the tree that He gave life to. The Savior finished the work of righteousness required of us (Gal 3:13, Deu 21:23). He became poor, so that we might become rich.

[Heb 10:5-6, 12 NASB95] 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; 6 IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND [sacrifices] FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. ... 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,

[Heb 7:23-25 NASB95] 23 The [former] priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

The bread of life that was cut down, pulverized and swallowed by the grave did not stay there. The Infinite who became infant, had obtained and earned the right to life, and it is His unending and perfect life that He offers as a substitute for ours. It is only because Christ came that humanity has hope; hope in the opportunity to be justified by faith in the person of Jesus Christ. As our eternal High Priest, He stands in our place. When accusations are made and the guilty verdict about to fall, His innocent blood pleads ‘it is finished’ for the faithful.

The beauty and humility of Christ ‘s love towards sinful humanity is an eternal subject worthy of our meditation. If you sent an angel out to measure His kindness and mercy it would never return. This Christmas season—may we rightly consider the price that was paid to purchase us from destruction. May we glorify Christ in our lives, not with mere lip service. May we be broken in humility over our sin that He bore on the Cross, and rejoice in the glory of His resurrection and the certainty of His return.