The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish. John 1:14 MSG
Different translations of John 1 use the most creative language the translators could conjure to express how close God came to us through Jesus when He came to the world as a human, born as all humans are. One translation says He “pitched His tent among us.” My favorite is The Message, which says Jesus moved into the neighborhood to show the exact face, heart, and relentless grace of God. He proved that God is not distant, but intimately close to our pain and joy.
When we say Jesus is the incarnate God, it means He is God is the flesh. God is no longer a stranger. We don’t have to guess what God is like because Jesus showed us His heart and character, up close and personal. God didn’t keep His distance. Instead of shouting directions and commands from heaven, God through Jesus entered our world.
Because Jesus moved into our neighborhood, living in a human body, experiencing life in every way as a man, we have a God who truly gets us. He knows what it is to be exhausted. We see Him throughout the gospel accounts needing to pull away and get rest because He was so weary. He knows what it is to experience deep sorrow. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus and experienced the broken heart that comes from rejection and betrayal. He understands temptation. Hebrews 4:15 tells us He was tempted in every way just like we are, but He never gave in to sin. He sympathizes with our weaknesses. He understands the struggle of surrender, as He even asked God in the Garden of Gethsemane if there was any other way to take the cup of separation from His Father away from Him. He understands us.
Why did He do it? We could never climb up to a holy God, so Jesus came down to rescue us. He became our substitute and paid the debt of our sin. When He conquered death in a physical body, He made victory over death our eternal reality. He moved into our neighborhood so we could be His forgiven and forever family in His forever home.
- Can you imagine what Jesus willingly gave up to move into our neighborhood and enable us to live with Him in His? Think about it and thank Him.