Star Breather, Life Giver, King Crowner

Advent is a special season. The word comes from the Latin adventus which means 'arrival'. The arrival of hope, the arrival of love, the arrival of joy, the arrival of peace. Advent is a time to look back at the one who delivered each of those and more. On December 25, we celebrate on the Advent of Christ.

“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.” (John 1:14)

Although Jesus arrived two centuries ago, he is as alive today as he was two million years ago, and two billion years before that, and two trillion years before that. This man named Jesus is not just a man; he is God in the flesh. This is what separates our faith from religions around the world. We recognize that humanity is broken by sin and could never fix ourselves, so God condescended to us and lived among us and died for us.

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5)

Let's take a moment to consider the past. Look back to Christ's birth. When you look inside the manger, what do you see? Purity, humility, royalty? The one who created all things, who holds together all things, whose praise all things are made for; he came into the world in humility. Or look back to Christ's life. When you look at his ministry, what do you see? Integrity, empathy, poverty? The star-breather, the king-crowner, the life-giver; he deserves all to bow to him, yet he came to do the serving, submitting, and sacrificing. Or look back to Christ's death. When you look up to the cross, what do you see? Offering, indignity, sovereignty? The one who commands armies, who destroys nations, who floods worlds, who has legions of angels standing at attention; he died at the hand of men whom he breathed life into, on a wooden cross from a tree which he sprouted life from, on a hill in a world that he created. One of my favorite Bible teachers, the late great R.C. Sproul brilliantly wrote, “Humiliation began in His entrance into the world and ended in His exit from the world.”

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:22-24)

I hope what you're hearing is that Jesus deserves more than one day out of the year; he is worthy of it all.