Two Blogs in One today ... Holy Land number 2 and Bible Study Chapter 5
Whilst in the Holy Land, directly after the Garden of Gethsemane we boarded the bus and headed to Bethlehem to visit the church of the Nativity.
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’ Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
O God, our gracious heavenly Father, Creator and Sustainer, and yet our Father, we thank you on this wonderful day for that little child who would make us all your children. As we remember his lowly, humble birth, take away our pride. as we remember his pure life, take away our sins, as we remember how he came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, help us to serve more unselfishly, give more generously, and love more devotedly. For his sake. Amen (adapted from Leslie Weatherhead)
The Incarnation has huge implications for our lives and ministry ... A dark cave, in a far away land. The Son of God was born.
In our Bible Study this evening we are looking at what the Incarnation means to us.
JI Packer on Page 62 looks at 7 things which the prologue to Johns Gospels says about this child born in a manger
IN THE BEGINNING WAS the word
And the word was WITH God
And the word WAS God
THROUGH HIM ALL THINGS WERE MADE
In him was LIFE
and that life was the LIGHT OF MEN
The word BECAME FLESH
These few verses when we analyse them speak so much of what we believe as Christians about Jesus.
He has always been, He is in a relationship with the Father and He is God, he became one of us and he is the Life and Light for us all.
There are loads of ways to understand what Jesus did in becoming Fully Human whilst also reamining fully God. Packer in our Bible Study reminds us that he emptied himself (Kenosis) means laying aside his Glory - He voluntarily restrained his power; and acceptance of hardship, isolation and eventually death on the cross.
So what does this mean for us ?
The incarnation speaks of God's love for each and every one of us. It Speaks of God identifying with his world, it reminds us that he identified with all our failings and faults. It means that God know what it is to be tempted, humiliated .... and the rest.
He knows what it is like to mourn at funerals, to rejoice at weddings
What if God was one of us? ... actually he was!
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