At Christmas, Christians think of the fact that Jesus, though he was God, became man. But John expresses things differently. Rather than saying that God became man, John tells us that THE WORD – in Greek, Logos – became FLESH.
John starts his gospel by talking about ‘Logos’ – the word. John starts as follows: ‘In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ This ‘Word’, this Logos, WAS GOD! The reader doesn’t yet know what or who ‘The Word’ is. But John’s next sentence starts with ‘He’. So, the Word must be a person.
In verse 14, John connects ‘The Word’ to ‘The Flesh.’ He writes: ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’
A few verses further on John tells us that this Word is Jesus.
So, in his opening section, John tells us two very important things about Jesus. Jesus was ‘Logos’, THE WORD. And Jesus BECAME FLESH.
Today is Christmas Day. We want to get home to open presents and have our Christmas lunch. There is a huge amount we could say about Jesus being the Word of God AND about him becoming flesh – but this needs to be a short service. So, I’m going to concentrate on Jesus becoming flesh. But Jesus being the Word of God and Jesus becoming flesh are connected.
What does it mean that Jesus became flesh?
The Bible uses ‘The flesh’ in different ways. If we fail to see this, we’ll get confused.
The Bible often uses ‘The flesh’ to mean something bad. ‘The flesh’ often means sinful human nature. Time is short so I’ll give just one example.
Paul wrote, ‘So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. FOR IF YOU LIVE ACCORDING TO THE FLESH YOU WILL DIE’ [Romans 8:12-13a]. The flesh Paul is talking about here is our sinful nature.
I could give LOTS more examples in the New Testament where ‘The flesh’ means our sinful nature. I think it’s the most common meaning of ‘The flesh’ in the New Testament.
A second way the Bible uses the phrase ‘The flesh’ is to mean something that’s not necessarily bad, but it’s weak. Let’s have just one example of that.
Isaiah says ‘All flesh is grass’ [Isaiah 40:6]. Grass is here one day, gone the next. It’s weak. Flesh is like grass. It doesn’t last long. It’s weak. There are lots of examples of that too.
So, in the Bible, ‘the flesh’ often means something that is either bad or weak. But along comes Jesus – and he becomes flesh! He had a physical nature but he didn’t fall into sin. It means that Jesus’ PHYSICAL nature wasn’t a SINFUL nature. Every part of Jesus was good. The fact that Jesus became flesh must be important or John wouldn’t have made such a big deal about Jesus becoming flesh when he was born.
So, when we see that Jesus became flesh, we have to revisit our idea about ‘the flesh’. In the Bible, the flesh is often something bad or weak. But in Jesus’ case, the flesh is both good and important.
People who are committed to the environment like this idea. It shows, among other things, that the material world is important. Matter matters.
But let’s look at what the Bible has to say about it. Why was Jesus’ physical nature both good and important?
A moment ago, I quoted John 1:14. ‘The Word’ – Logos – ‘became flesh.’ Jesus is the Word of God. It means that Jesus EXPRESSES to us what God is like. How did he do that? He did it be becoming flesh, by becoming one of us.
We know the phrase ‘to flesh something out.’ For example, someone giving a lecture might say, ‘I’ll give you the main ideas first. Then I’ll go over them again and FLESH THEM OUT.’
That is very much what Jesus was about. One of the big reasons Jesus came into our world was to be ‘Logos’ – the word. He came to communicate God to us; to show us what God was like. By taking on flesh Jesus ‘fleshed-out’ what God is like. The best way Jesus could show us what God is like was to literally ‘enflesh’ God.
So, there is our first big, obvious reason why Jesus needed to become flesh – to show us what God is like.
But there’s a second big reason why it was necessary for Jesus to become flesh. Paul wrote: ‘For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down IN HIS FLESH the dividing wall of hostility’ [Ephesians 2:14].
Jesus’ body was broken and his blood was shed to make it possible for us to be reconciled to God. But we are not only reconciled to God; we are also reconciled to one another. Christ could do that because he had a physical body to offer to God as a propitiation for our sins.
Hopefully, by this point we’re seeing that Jesus’ physical body wasn’t a bad thing! Nor was it a weak thing! On the contrary, Jesus’ physical body was both good and important. Jesus’ physical body enabled him to be ‘Logos’ – the word – and show us God. And Jesus’ physical body made it possible for him to suffer for us.
Let’s now apply this to ourselves.
What was true for Jesus is true for us as well. Do you know what the name Christopher means? Christopher comes from the Greek Christos, Christ, and ‘pher’, which comes from ‘pherein’ and means ‘to bear’. So, Christopher means ‘Christ-bearer’.
But all Christians are Christ-bearers! Paul wrote, ‘I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me’ [Galatians 2:19-20]. We should all be called Christopher!
So as Christians we’re all like Jesus: each of us is Jesus wrapped up in human flesh. Just as Jesus took on human flesh, became incarnate, we also have to ‘flesh-out’ Jesus, to incarnate him. Jesus – Logos – the word, became flesh 2000 years ago. Now, we, the church, are his body. Now Jesus, through US, expresses God to the world. If we don’t do the job, it doesn’t happen. We must incarnate Jesus – or the gospel dies.
Becoming flesh was important for Jesus. He had to be Logos, the word. He had to show us what God is like. NOW IT’S OUR TURN. WE HAVE TO DO THAT TOO!
I also said that it was important that Jesus took on flesh because he had to suffer for us. Does that apply to us too? I think it does. Paul wrote: ‘Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church’ [Colossians 1:24]. It looks as though as Christians, we can share in Christ’s sufferings.
Today, Christmas Day, we’re reflecting not only on the fact that God became man but that THE WORD – LOGOS – BECAME FLESH.
How should we respond?
First, let’s thank Jesus that he took on flesh to show us what God is like.
Second, let’s thank Jesus that he took on flesh in order to suffer for our sakes.
And third, let’s also remember that Christ lives in us! WE are Christ-bearers! Let’s strive to use OUR flesh, OUR physical natures, to incarnate Jesus so that people around us see him. It isn’t easy. But it would be a very good goal to take into the New Year.
TALK GIVEN AT ROSEBERY PARK BAPTIST CHURCH, BOURNEMOUTH, UK, CHRISTMAS DAY 2024, 10 A.M. SERVICE
