Baby Jesus Didn't stay that way - Part 2

 

TEXT:  Luke 19:10  – “…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

 

Jesus didn’t stay a baby because He had a great mission to fulfill.

His purpose was not –

• ·      To make a better world
• ·      To bring peace to the earth (side note – verse 14 should be translated – “and on earth peace toward men of good will)
• ·      Start a new religion
• ·      To give us some wise teaching
• ·      To bring happiness to all

Jesus came to die!

The manger is worthless without the cross.  The Cradle means nothing without the Cross leading to the Crown.

The incarnation is meaningless without the crucifixion.

The virgin-born Babe is not important without the nail-scarred Savior.

The Baby grew up to provide God’s gift of life to us. Why worship the Baby and ignore the Savior? Those who pay homage to the Child while rejecting the Crucified One are without hope. There is hope – there is salvation to those who look past the cradle and come to the cross.

Jesus came as a baby so He could grow to provide our salvation. This Christmas Season, let us not look on the manger – let us celebrate the Savior!

One last thought – those who are only concerned with His first coming as a Baby will fear His Second Coming as the Conquering King!

Where are you this glorious Christmas Season? Do you have that gift of life? Do you have that personal relationship with Jesus?

You can –

 

Baby Jesus Didn't stay that way - Part 1

 

TEXT:  Luke 2:40  – “The Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.”

 

Many think of God and religion during this season of the year. Cards, posters, songs, stamps, and much more speak to us about that Baby born in Bethlehem. The problem is that most people don’t look past the manger. All they see is “Baby Jesus, Meek and Mild.” After all, everybody loves a baby. To a large segment of the population – Jesus was a baby – and still is.

 

It is important that we see Jesus as God wants us to. He was born – He grew up – He became a man. This God-Man then proceeded to redeem us from the penalty, the power, and the presence of sin. It was not the baby who saved us – it was the God-Man. Let us pause this day to remember – Baby Jesus didn’t stay that way.

If we had a baby, and it remained that small cute bundle – we would be dismayed. For a baby not to grow means there is something drastically wrong. If Jesus had remained a baby – something would have been wrong. We read in Luke 2:52 – “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Increased means to progress – the word in Greek is in the imperfect tense – continued action

How did He grow? First, in wisdom – this is the insight of the true nature of things. His intelligence increased, however – not only did He learn facts, but the true way of things. He was “filled with wisdom” (vs. 40) because He was God, He had a great capacity for wisdom. Because He was God, He was (is) the sum total of all wisdom.

Also, He grew in stature – this is both height and maturity. Physically He was developing into a man. We could apply Paul’s statement from 1 cor. 13:11 – “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Verse 40 again – “And the child grew and became strong….”

His growth found favor in the sight of God and His fellowmen.

Tomorrow we will consider that He didn’t stay a baby to fulfill His mission.