For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given …
Isaiah 9:6
Why was Jesus born as a baby and then made to go through all the indignities of childhood? He really didn’t have to come that way. The second person of the Trinity appeared as a full grown man on a number of occasions before He was the Babe of Bethlehem.
The pre-incarnate Christ manifested Himself to Joshua as the Commander of the LORD’s Army when He ordered Joshua to take off his sandals because he was on holy ground. He appeared as the Angel of the LORD to Samson’s parents and then ascended to heaven in the flames of the altar. Finally, the Son of God was seen in the fiery furnace with Shadrach and crew, which shook up the king.
Being born in the same way that all humans come into this world left the Messiah vulnerable to His enemies. Satan urged King Herod to try to kill the child. After Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather, was warned by God in a dream, “he arose, he took the young child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Matthew 2:14). Jesus needed care and protection.
Why, then, did He even have to become a child? It’s because Christ was the Heavenly Man, 100% God and 100% human. He needed to be of the Seed of the Woman to fulfill prophesy (Genesis 3:15), but He also needed to be a Man born of woman to be able to share the human experience and understand our failings. As our Great High Priest, He is able to empathize with humanity.
Being a child meant going to school, learning to read, doing chores, and being obedient to His parents. At age twelve, Jesus was able to astonish teachers, but most of His youth He spent subject to the authorities around Him. Mary’s son was an exceptional Child, but He was a Child nonetheless.
December 11
