Last week we talked about unrecognizable Jesus. His coming/birth…His death and resurrection were all prophesied. Yet, many didn’t recognize Him as the Messiah because they didn’t want to acknowledge their sin, nor have their sin exposed. Jesus is unrecognizable to those who choose not to believe. He is undeniable to those who accept and receive Him unto salvation.
John 1:14-18
14 So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
15 John testified about Him when He shouted to the crowds, “This is the One I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for He existed long before me.’”
16 From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.
17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is Himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
Three key verses/truths this morning…
-So the Word became human and made His home among us. Vs. 14
-From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. Vs. 16
-He has revealed God to us. Vs. 18
Jesus didn’t come hidden, nor disguised. He came revealing who He was…revealing God to us…revealing His Father’s glory.
John 1:14a
So the Word became human and made His home among us. …
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…
The “Word” is Jesus. Jesus was made human/flesh. Fully man, fully God.
John 1:14a
So the Word became human and made His home among us. …
Jesus physically came and dwelt among us…
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, equal with God, the second person of the Trinity…the One by Whom all things were made, who reigns with God in Heaven, who sits at the right hand of the Father…chose to live here, among us.
Gabriel spoke to Joseph in a dream letting him know Mary was pregnant, not with his child, but from the Holy Spirit…
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matt. 1:23
Interestingly, Jesus never went by the name Immanuel. But, that’s who He was…and it’s what He did! “God with us”! The King of kings chose to leave His heavenly residence and all that is there, to dwell among us.
Seems like that would be an inconvenience.
We often don’t want to leave our own home just to drive to the store. Now that it gets dark so early, we are often in for the night and it’s only 6 pm!
Jesus never considered leaving Heaven, even with all the suffering He would endure…He never saw that as an inconvenience.
…Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Heb. 12:2
Christ willingly chose to come to earth, live among us, and take on this human body. Why?
Jesus experienced all the things we experience… feelings/emotions, fatigue, hunger, thirst, work, discomfort, pain…if you’ve felt it or experienced it…so did Jesus!
Christ chose to live as man, to experience all that man experiences as our example…
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. Heb 4:15
Why did Jesus come and dwell among us? What purpose does that serve? Be assured, Jesus gets us!
?Some of you worked in the auto shops, or other similar industries. You had engineers in fancy offices telling you how to make their designs work. And, you often wanted to tell them that they didn’t know what they were doing. Imagine engineers out of touch with reality. Same as politicians. Out of touch with the common person. Unable to relate.
Jesus, King of kings, Lord of lords…is never unable to relate! The Creator completely understands His creation!
Philippians 2:7-8
7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form,
8 He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Jesus gets you. Jesus understands you and all you are going through!
Best selling Author, Joann Weaver…“Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World…” states well how Jesus relates and understands…
Jesus knew temptation: “He was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan” (Mark 1:13).
Jesus knew poverty: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20).
Jesus knew frustration: “He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.… ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a market!’” (John 2:15-16).
Jesus knew weariness: “Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well” (John 4:6).
Jesus knew disappointment: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks,…but you were not willing” (Luke 13:34).
Jesus knew rejection: “From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him” (John 6:66).
Jesus knew sorrow: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38).
Jesus knew ridicule: “Again and again they struck Him…and spit on Him. Falling on their knees, they paid [mocking] homage to Him” (Mark 15:19).
https://www.joannaweaverbooks.com/2017/01/11/9-verses-remind-jesus-understands/
There isn’t anything you can go through that Jesus does not understand. Jesus is relatable in every way we think, act and feel…desire and need (without sin)...
Jesus physically dwelt among us/He gets us!
Jesus Spiritually dwells within us…
Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit, lives in you, who believe. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. …Eph. 3:17a
“Many years ago near the royal English residence on the Isle of Wight stood several homes for the poor and aged. A missionary, visiting some of the elderly people one day, asked a lady, "Does Queen Victoria ever call on you here?" "Oh, yes," was the answer, "Her Majesty frequently comes to see us." Then, wondering if the woman was a Christian, the missionary inquired, "Does the King of kings ever visit here?" The lady … smile[d] and replied, "No, sir, He doesn't visit here -- praise God, He lives here. …"
Why does the Holy Spirit live within us?
He proves our identity, that we are His…
Ephesians 1:13b
… when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, Whom He promised long ago.
Colossians 1:27b
… And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing His glory.
Not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in us to identify us, but also to lead/guide us…
John 16:13
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
If you have Christ living in you…and believer you do…does your life look like He is alive in you?!
Galatians 2:20
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Does your body, your actions…how you live, act, walk, talk, think, love, work, interact with others, etc…
Do you look more like you, or more like Jesus who lives in you?
John 1:16
From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
What is that talking about? Layers of grace from His abundance! Grace that just keeps stacking on top of one another!
Ephesians 1:5-8
5 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.
6 So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.
7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.
8 He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
Why has God “showered His kindness on us”?
-He loves us.
“Grace is God’s favor and kindness bestowed on those who do not deserve it and cannot earn it. If God dealt with us only according to truth, none of us would survive; but He deals with us on the basis of grace and truth. Jesus Christ, in His life, death, and resurrection, met all the demands of the Law; now God is free to share fullness of grace with those who trust Christ. Grace without truth would be deceitful, and truth without grace would be condemning.” -Warren Wiersbe
-Through God’s grace and kindness poured out on us…we serve an example to future generations of what God has done, will do…can do…wants to do!
Ephesians 2:7
So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
?“Dr. Edman used to put the point simply in this way. "What happens," he would ask, "if you are carrying a cup of water and you are jostled?" [What happens?] "Well," we would answer, "the water spills."
"Correct," Dr. Edman said. "By the same token, if you are filled with the joy of the Lord and you are jostled, only the joy of the Lord can spill over." -https://www.preceptaustin.org/john_116_commentary
If you're filled with His kindness…if you're filled with His grace…it ought to ooze out of you onto others! You should shower others with the same grace and kindness God has poured out on you!
Lastly, Jesus has revealed God to us.
John 1:18
No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is Himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
…He has declared Him. (Other translation)
“...Jesus Christ explains God to us and interprets Him for us. We simply cannot understand God apart from knowing His Son, Jesus Christ.” -Warren Wiersbe
As another commentator put it… “...You could not see God—God is spirit. He had to become flesh; He had to become one of us in order for us to know Him. We could not go up there to understand Him; He had to come down here and bring God down where we are.” -J.V. McGee
Christ came to declare/reveal the Father.
Matthew 11:27
“My Father has entrusted everything to Me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father!” John 14:9
It is impossible to know God without knowing the Son!
John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
-So the Word became human and made His home among us. Vs. 14
-From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. Vs. 16
-He has revealed God to us. Vs. 18
Message takeaway…
I have a Father and Savior who understands me.
I have a Father and Savior who loves me. (He showers His grace and kindness upon me.)
I have a Father and Savior who wants me to know Him, His Word, His Will, His Ways for me. And He will reveal all that to those who seek Him!
