Jesus wasn’t born into luxury, but poverty. His face wasn’t on the money. He didn’t hold any military power or political office. His parents weren’t important and his hometown was unremarkable. He surrounded himself with uneducated young men and never left his homeland. He did not announce his kingdom like Elizabeth or Caesar. Yet, Jesus said he was the anointed Messiah appointed by God to reconcile humankind to God. In Jesus, God was born as a man.
Incarnation Means God Became Flesh
Christians have a word for this: incarnation. It means ‘in meat’ (ever eaten chilli con carne? Guess which word means meat). We translate it as ‘in the flesh’. This word carries the hope that both the Romans and the Jews were looking for. Moreover, this word holds hope for us too.
Incarnation is God saying to Rome: God has become a man, but that God-man is not Caesar.
Incarnation is God saying to Israel: your king has come, but he has not only come for you.
Incarnation is God saying to us: I am not an inanimate object, idea or an invisible force. I am not a deep spiritual flow coming from within you. I am flesh and blood in real space and time. I am made of the same stuff, yet also completely different to you.
Naturally, this is both inspiring and confusing. Why would the creator of the universe come to this little spec called earth? What kind of God is this? Why? What? How?
God Became An Ordinary Man to Prove He Cares about the Ordinary
I think we pay too much attention to important people, and not all people. Our news is filled with people of interest and significance. We want to know stuff that’s trending, worthwhile or exciting. Compared to the UK and the US, most of the world is poor. There are billions of people that come from places that will never make it on our news, who will never have as much money, impact or bearing on our lives.
Incarnation is God saying to Rome: God has become a man, but that God-man is not Caesar.
Jesus came from such a place. An insignificant, unremarkable place, yet full of significant and remarkable things – people. I believe God sent Jesus as an ordinary man to show that he came for ordinary people, not just the powerful. He came to dine, work, laugh and live alongside the ninety-eight percent, not the top two.
Let’s follow this idea. God became flesh and came for you. Whether you’re a prince or a pauper, God, the king of all kings, came and sat at your table. He had some toast and a cup of tea alongside you and I. We didn’t have to dress up, act or speak a certain way. God came to us, like us and identified as us because he wanted us. It’s humility in its purest form. He didn’t let ceremony, or ritual or our vast gulf of class get in the way, he did what Elizabeth or Caesar would never do. He laid his majesty to one side and became our neighbour.
Now with all of that in your mind, listen to the first line of Mark’s gospel.
‘The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.’
Mark 1:1
Messiah and Son of God. Freedom for God’s people and the Caesar of Caesars. Israel and Rome. Majesty is the word we give to royalty. Humility is the word we use for a king that lays that aside. In Jesus, we have both. Hail the true Son of God.
