“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.”
Into the Text
It is truly amazing to think of the conditions Jesus was born in. Poor Joseph couldn’t find a better place to stay for the night, so Mary had to give birth in a dirty stable. Imagine a young woman going through labor in the midst of the smell of animals and hay having nothing but a cow’s feeding troth to place her baby in. There was not the slightest sign of glory or majesty when God’s Son entered this world.
The second part of the nativity story talks about the shepherds in the field. This is where we would expect poverty, roughness, and the smell of animals – certainly nothing awesome. And yet, it is here that we find glory, a bright light from heaven and a great choir of angels singing. We learn something very important in this “reversal of events.” Through the birth of Jesus, our human poverty fell on Him while His eternal glory came to us.
Before being born on this earth, Jesus was in God’s eternal world, where there was no pain, sickness, fear, or crying. It was a world where there was only light, peace, and joy. But then He entered our world where He would experience hunger, tiredness, rejection, and unbelievable suffering. He took on a human body, which could be beaten and spat on. He experienced a body with sensitive nerve endings and pain, especially the excruciating pain of being whipped and nail-pierced, as well as a body which could enter into the darkness of death.
Why was He willing to do it? It is proclaimed by the angel. Jesus wanted to enter into our fear and hardship, so we don’t have to be afraid anymore. He came into our sadness in order to give us His joy. He became a humble servant in order to make us children of the King. He became poor in order to make us rich. He gave up heaven in order to give us heaven. What a wonderful Savior!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, you left heaven in order to give me yourself. Help me understand your love for me in a deeper way. Amen.