Day 4 | Dwelling Among Us
Sherrey Frew, author
Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas. Somewhere between a jolly, white-bearded man, and stockings hung by the chimney with care, it’s easy to lose sight of the real miracle in which we rejoice. Christmas is about the gift God gave us over 2,000 years ago— Jesus. With so many competing messages at Christmas, I wonder if sometimes we can lose the awe of the incarnation.
Today, our focus is the incarnation: God remaining God, yet taking on full humanity. We’ve come to the peak of John’s prologue, to the miraculous point when John reflects on Jesus choosing to be conceived by the Spirit, to grow in Mary’s womb, and to be born as a human being.
Read
John 1:14
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Reflect
One important truth is found in this verse is embedded in the phrase: “he made his dwelling among us.” John says this in an unusual way; he writes in Greek that Jesus “tabernacled” among us. John is using this precise language to remind the readers of the Old Testament tabernacle. At one time, this was the place where God was present and dwelt among his people. Exodus 40:34–35 describes an experience of God’s presence: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. God’s unmediated presence would be lethal to sinful human beings — even to Moses whom God called “friend.” But in Christ, God has truly come in the flesh to dwell among his people. As Matthew’s Gospel tells us, he is Immanuel, God with us.
Jesus is God and in every way a human being. Christ-followers everywhere affirm the humanity of Christ, but do we really believe he fully embraced the human experience, even fierce temptation of every kind? Robert Webber wonders this too as he writes: “We carry around a glib portrait of Jesus, I fear. We think of him breezing through life, doing good, teaching truth, dying for us, and rising for us like a divine robot — no feeling, no struggle, hooked up to a divine energy that made his life a breeze.”[1] But the Bible tells us that Jesus participated in this world, in every way you and I do. He had friends, family, and neighbors. He worked hard and had times of leisure. He slept, ate, worshipped, laughed and cried.
Can you imagine, the one who created all life and matter learning to dress himself and put on his shoes? Hebrews 5:8 tells us that although he was God’s Son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered. It’s easy sometimes to minimize Christ’s humanity because he was God. Yet, he fully embodied the human experience, except for sin. Even on good days, life this side of eternity is fraught with troubles, and Jesus knew that full well when he came to earth in order to rescue us.
Do you find yourself emphasizing Christ’s deity or his humanity? Why do you think that is?
What comfort or hope do you find in Christ’s humanity? Reflect on that in prayer today.
[1] Robert E. Webber, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 2006), 174.
