Why Did Jesus Christ Come as a Baby?

In those first speechless moments, new parents (and grandparents) gaze with fascination. They lovingly examine every inch of their newborn child's face.

No matter how we prepare ourselves, the reality of new birth astounds us. Here, nestled in our arms, is a brand-new member of the human race. Here is the future in flesh; our legacy to the world. We check eyes, mouth, ears for telltale family resemblances; we marvel at the delicate pink skin. Most of all, we silently thank the Lord over and over for a gift so unimaginably wonderful.

Can you imagine how intently Joseph and Mary must have studied the Child who came to them in Bethlehem? His coming had been foretold not by doctors but by angels. If those angels were right - and how could they not be? - here in that winter night was born a Messiah who had been the subject of poems, songs, and dreams for a thousand years. Messiah: Perhaps the couple stammered when they tried to speak the M-word aloud. It was just so hard to imagine such a magnificent personification when they looked at the sleeping infant.

After all, everyone knew (or thought they knew) that the Messiah would be the ultimate military commander. He would come storming in on horseback, with sword held high, crying out for vengeance and redemption in the name of the Lord and his favored nation. The Chosen One would have the wisdom of Solomon, the charisma of David, the godliness of Moses, and the military genius of Joshua.

Yet here He was coming into the world as - just a baby. Joseph and Mary had to admit that here was a baby who seemed, at first glance, like any other newborn child. He cried in the middle of the night. He hungered for milk. He needed fresh "swaddling clothes" every now and then. If this was just an ordinary child like cousin Elizabeth's new addition, how could he be the one foretold by all the prophets? How could an infant be the Son of God?

Or for that matter, why would the Son of God be an infant? The need of crumbling, dying Israel was urgent. First the Greek and now the Roman influence was wiping away a bit more of the legacy of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each day. They needed someone to come in like a hurricane to wipe out all this “outside” influence. But no, he came in softly and quietly, like a falling snow at night. Like we had last night! But Praise God, He lasted longer, like forever!

Why, indeed? Why did Jesus come as a child?

Jesus is the One like no other, for he was fully human and fully God – at the same time. Nothing about his humanity could detract from his godliness; nothing about his godliness could detract from his humanity. Only because this is true can he reconcile the Father in heaven with his children on earth. He is the Man of both worlds; he is the bridge by which God comes to earth and people come to heaven.

In that regard, we have seen that the Virgin Birth is the sign of his divinity. He comes to the earth from outside, pure and clean, and he is in no way a product of this world. Now we see that, in the same way, the infancy of the Child is the sign of his humanity. He is one of us in every way. He arrives from heaven with perfection and godliness of which no man or woman is capable - yet he takes the full human journey, which even God in heaven had not taken. How could we follow his footsteps as a man if we hadn't seen him crawl as a child? How could we believe he had undergone all the temptation we have faced if he had bypassed the most difficult years in which we struggle to earn our adulthood?

To make the full sacrifice on our behalf, Jesus had to make the full commitment. It would have meant very little to us if he had sprung from heaven fully formed, bathed in heavenly glory, saying, "Here are my hands and my feet - place me upon the cross, for I am willing to die."

Instead, we see him as a child in a manger. We see him at the Temple as a boy on the verge of maturity, already about his Father's business. We see Mary and Joseph wondering at him, trying to understand, as he grew "in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people" (Luke 2:52).

Finally, we see him as a young man, quietly beginning a ministry that will change all of human history. We overhear the whispers from his neighbors: "He's just a carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers - James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us" (Matthew 13:55-56).

We see him in the desert, wrestling with temptation and the matter of his destiny, and we know he is fully human. We see his love for children, and we can believe it because he, too, has been a child. And then, when those crude spikes are driven through his wrists and his ankles, we know he feels the pain that any man would feel. We know the price of our sins is on the table, being paid in full with no credit plans or easy payment schedules, but by every last drop of blood and every brutal slash of the whip. We are bought with a price that could never have been paid without Jesus accepting the role as being fully human.

If he had been God only, his sacrifice would not have been very convincing. After all God wouldn’t feel pain and suffering like we would! If he had been man only, his sacrifice would have had no power; he would have been a martyr like ten thousand others before Him.

But he was man and he was God, and therefore he was all in all. He came as a child to confront and conquer every challenge and every temptation common to humanity. We trust him with our lives because he was God. We love him with our hearts because we know that once he was, “a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:12b


I heard this song by Audrey Assad for the first time at the Chris Tomlin concert. Check it out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy29mQfiavg

Winter Snow

Could've come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could've come like a forest fire
With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

You could've swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we've scarred

But You came like a winter snow
(Yes, You did)
You were quiet You were soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night

Oh, no, Your voice wasn't in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind
It was still It was small
It was hidden To the earth below

You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Falling
(Oh, yeah)
To the earth below
You came falling
From the sky in the night To the earth below