The Arrival: God In the Flesh

Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land. (Proverbs 25:25)

God sent the angel Gabriel to speak to a woman named Mary. Gabriel told Mary that she was to give birth to a son, and that she was to name Him Jesus. Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:26–38).

Mary conceived as promised, and in due time gave birth to her first son. She wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger (Luke 2:1–7). In that region there were some shepherds watching their flocks that night. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared before them and said: “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God (Luke 2:8–14).

This was good news because God had sent the One who would, “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). This was the fulfillment of many prophesies about Jesus. One prophecy was that a virgin would give birth to a son and would call Him Immanuel, which means, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14–15; Matthew 1:22–23). God’s plan to redeem His chosen people was to be carried out through this human being, a human who was also God in the flesh (Luke 2:25–38; Philippians 2:5–8).

The arrival of God on the earth, in the flesh, living with mankind which He created was good news. Only a few persons were able to understand the reality of this. Part of the task for Jesus was to help people understand what it meant for Him to be here, in the flesh. When Jesus began His ministry, He did so with the purpose to seek and save that which was lost. So, He came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand…” (Luke 19:10; Mark 1:14–15).