Just Like Us – December 26, 2021

Since the children have flesh and blood, Jesus too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Hebrews 2:14,15

Just Like Us

A baby born in Bethlehem. It may have seemed pretty ordinary; mothers had babies all the time. The parents were certainly ordinary enough, a carpenter’s family from Nazareth. And the humble environment was probably not so unusual for many people of that day. But Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells of that birth with such majesty and beauty that it has captured the hearts of millions of people because this really was a birth like none other.

What made the ordinary so extraordinary? God became one of us to rescue all of us. To provide the perfect human life that was demanded to pay the punishment for sin, it required a perfect human being. “For this reason,” the Bible explains, “Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.”

No wonder the angels and shepherds were so excited. This special baby, sent from heaven by God, came to “free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” This baby has changed who we are. We used to be mortal, subject to death. But by dying for us and rising from the dead, Jesus gives us immortality. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 14:25,26).

His was no ordinary birth; it was the most extraordinary birth of all time. God’s Son became a human being to rescue human beings. In him, we are immortal. We will live forever with God! The angels were excited. The shepherds were excited. And so are we.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for becoming one of us and changing us by giving us immortality. Help me live my life with the confidence that in you, I will live forever. Amen.