Merry Christmas

God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

Hebrews 1:1-4

Introduction

At Christmas time we sing some really edifying carols. I am not talking about the secular ones like Santa Claus is Coming to Town or Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. But songs like O Little Town of Bethlehem or Away in a Manger remind us of “the reason for the season,” namely: to celebrate the birth of Jesus. These songs seem to gloss over the most important and impressive aspect of the holiday, though. We do not celebrate because some angels appeared to a group of shepherds or because a remarkable child was born in the midst of animals.

How often do we contemplate the fact that this moment was a monumental paradigm shift in all of creation? After all, Numbers 23 teaches us “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.” Lying and the need for repentance are bound up in what it means to be human. So is it possible that a man could be who does not lie and has no need for repentance? Or even more outrageous: is it possible for God to be a man?

The Epistle to the Hebrews was written to a people who knew this verse in Numbers deep in their hearts. That verse was taught and expounded upon endlessly, with the vast majority of commentators concluding it means God is so entirely separate from us that the chasm cannot be filled. But the writer of Hebrews drove home the fact that it was vital for the savior to be both God and man, because no one but God could satisfy the requirements of the Law, and no one but man could pay the debt man owed.

The Son or angels?

And so we find ourselves at the opening of this great epistle. Up until the time of the New Testament, the only way people heard from God was through His prophets (and sometimes His angels by means of His prophets). A prophet is one who hears word from God and relays that to the people. Often his word was verified by means of a sign, typically some prediction of future events (Deuteronomy 18), followed by a call to repentance. The prophet Moses gave us Genesis through Deuteronomy. Then, in accord with Deuteronomy 18:15, Joshua was given and thus the book of Joshua. And so on until the book of Malachi when God ceased to send prophets to His people Israel.

400 years passed before the arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ. In contrast to God’s previous way of communicating, at the advent of Christ, He spoke to us directly “face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). Rather than relying on a prophet to relay His message, He spoke it plainly for all to hear. And instead of using flawed men to call His people to repentance, He lived the perfect life to perfect His people.

God as man

The great Church Father Irenaes spoke at length about Jesus’ ability to redeem all men because He represents all men. He condescended, “becoming an infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are of this age, being at the same time made to them an example of piety, righteousness, and submission; a youth for youths, becoming an example to youths, and thus sanctifying them for the Lord” (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 2.22.4). In all ways, Jesus was a man. But unlike you and I, He lived perfectly as an example of piety, righteousness, and submission to the Father. Our salvation is only possible because Jesus was both divine and human. The God of all creation knew we were fragile and hopeless to help ourselves. And because of that, He put on flesh and descended to earth with the intention of dying a sinner’s death so that you and I might have life.

This is the meaning of Christmas: that we celebrate the unprecedented and incredible event which took place when God became man so that man might become like God (Romans 8:13; Athanasius, On the Incarnation). The first lie in the garden was that God did not want His children to be like Him, and so we had to steal that from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But the fact is that God does want us to be like Him, and He sent His perfect Son to be our example. Not stopping there, He sent His Holy Spirit to perfect us (Romans 8:29).

So Merry Christmas to all of you. And remember this day His incarnation and condescension, making possible your salvation.

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.