In December of every year the Gallup Poll publishes the results of its ten most admired men and women surveys. The list usually includes the current President of the United States and his wife, business people, show business celebrities, other politicians, medical doctors, and clergymen. Here are the lists for last year, 2018 (at this writing the 2019 lists have not yet been announced). You may disagree with the selections but they are what they are.
Most admired men:
1. Barack Obama (19%)
2. Donald Trump (13%)
3. George W. Bush (2%)
4. Pope Francis (2%)
5. Bill Gates (1%)
6. Bernie Sanders (1%)
7. Bill Clinton (1%)
8. Dalai Lama (1%)
9. Joe Biden, (1%)
10. Elon Musk (1%)
Most admired women:
1. Michelle Obama (15%)
2. Oprah Winfrey (5%)
3. Hillary Clinton (4%)
4. Melania Trump (4%)
5. Queen Elizabeth II (2%)
6. Angela Merkel (2%)
7. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (2%)
8. Ellen DeGeneres (2%)
9. Nikki Haley (1%)
10. Malala Yousafzai (1%)
It will be interesting to see how the rankings change this year and to see what people are added and who is left off (or if any have died). In any case, all of these people have one thing in common, they are mere human beings. They may be worthy of admiration (or not), but none is worthy of worship. No mere man or woman is worthy of worship by anyone. History is replete with individuals who gained that kind of unquestioning devotion (egs.; Hitler; Hiro Hito [late Emperor of Japan]; Joseph Stalin; North Korea’s Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong Un). Nearly every situation like that has lead to terrible consequences for his nation and the world. No human being deserves that sort of unquestioned authority and power.
That being said, there was a man who, more than 2,000 years ago, made certain claims about Himself and did what was necessary to prove them. Who was that? Jesus Christ, of course. This month we remember His birth. In this two part series we address one the most significant questions about Christmas: “Why Did Jesus Come?”
Most of you are familiar with the Biblical stories of Jesus’ birth. We will examine those in the second installment. But in this section we will remember that Jesus’ life did not begin at His birth. To really understand why Jesus came we must go back in eternity past as written about in the prologue to John’s Gospel.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14 NASB)
In these theologically powerful verses, the Apostle John reveals two crucial facts about who Jesus was and why he came. These two tenets are essential doctrines of the historic Christian faith.
The first of these key elements of Jesus’ preexistence, which John proclaims, is that Jesus lived before the creation of the universe, and was present when it happened. John distinctly refers to someone he calls “The Word.” That term in Greek is ho Logos. In Greek philosophy Logos was used by various schools of thought. In Stoicism it meant the world’s controlling rational principle. Philo saw it as the created intermediary between God and his world. John, however, does not mean the Logos is just an impersonal divine principle. Rather, for him, the Logos is a personal preexistent life-giving person – that is Jesus. For him, the Logos is the same Word that empowered the prophets of old – that is God Himself.
John states that the Word was present with God at the creation of the universe and was, indeed, God Himself. This critical statement about Jesus’ nature is the foundation of Christian theology. Jesus (the Word) was, with the Holy Spirit, the Creative Agent of God the Father.
The Apostle Paul reiterates the same concept in his letter to the Colossians.
15 He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17 NASB)
He clearly indicates that Jesus is the “image” (eikon– i.e.: exact likeness) of God. He says He is the “firstborn (prototokos– i.e.: the supreme ruler) of all creation.” He declares that He created “all things” (panta/panton– i.e.: everything), “all things” were created “through Him and for Him,” that He “is before all things,” and holds “all things” together. The only being to exist before “all things” was God Himself.
Thus, Jesus was and is The God. This is, of course, essential to the historic doctrine of the Trinity. Naturally, this is a difficult idea to understand. But it is a wonderful thought. The same baby born in a stable in Bethlehem was the Creator of the universe. All the planets, stars, and galaxies – billions and billions of them – Jesus made them all!
As we know, some cults deny this precept. Most notorious are the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are so antagonistic to the doctrines of the incarnation of God in Christ and the Trinity that they have even altered the text of the Bible. Their official Bible, The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT), inexplicably renders John 1:1 as, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.” Notice they call the Word (Jesus) “a god.” The indefinite article “a” does not appear in the Greek, but they added it to diminish the clear implication of the pre-incarnate Jesus’ deity.
As for the Colossians passage, the Jehovah’s Witnesses also blatantly distort it in their translation to obscure the clear teaching of Jesus’ deity. Here is how the NWT renders those verses:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist. (Colossians 1:15-17 NWT [2013 edition])
Do you see the difference? Whenever the words “all things” appear in the text (one word in Greek) they have interjected the word “other.” That word is not in the Greek text, so why would they add it? The answer is obvious; they do not like the idea that Jesus created all things – which would mean He is God. (Note: In previous earlier editions of the NWT, the word “other” was in parentheses – a subtle admission that they had added it to the text. In the 2013 edition, they removed the parentheses.)
This leads to the second essential principle of this passage in John’s Gospel. John asserts that this eternal Deity, the Word, came and dwelt among us as a man. C. S. Lewis termed it “the Grand Miracle” – that the Infinite and Eternal God could become human.
In John 1:4-5, the Beloved Apostle states: In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness. The point being that Jesus’ divine presence was like a shining light in a dark sinful world. And, he says, “the darkness did not comprehend it.” “Comprehend” is katelaben, literally meaning “overtake, seize, or overcome.” In other words, the darkness of the sinful world did not have the power to extinguish the light of Jesus’ life.
The sad part is that his own people (those in His own homeland) did not know Him (vss. 10-11). He says, however, that those who did receive Him were born again as God’s children. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John then explains Jesus’ relationship to John the Baptist – who was not the Light, but a witness to the Light. That is, Jesus Himself. John then explains (vs. 14) that the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Just think how John felt as he wrote those words. He had known Jesus as well as anyone, and saw in Him God’s glory: “and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten (monogenous – i.e.: “one and only Son”) from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
God Himself had left heaven to be with us and provide salvation for us. Paul described that event this way in Philippians 1:6-8:
6 …although He (the preexistent Jesus) existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (NASB)
The phrase Paul uses – “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself” – is full of deep theological content. “Grasped” is harpagmon, meaning holding on tightly to or strongly wanting to keep something of great value. Jesus was already God, but He was willing to let go of His exalted divine status and “humbled Himself” in order to come to earth. This is when He “emptied Himself.” This term is ekenosen, and describes the emptying out of something. In this case, Jesus emptied Himself of His eternal and infinite power to become a human.
The late great radio commentator Paul Harvey, each year at Christmas time, told the story of a man who did not believe in Jesus Christ. His wife and children would go to church on Christmas Eve while he stayed home alone. One cold snowy Christmas Eve, as he was there by himself, he looked out and saw several birds on his lawn shivering in the snow looking for food. The man went to his kitchen and got some bread to give them. However, when he went outside and threw it to them, the birds all flew away in fear. The saddened man thought to himself, “If I only could become a bird I could tell them not to be afraid.” Suddenly, he realized that what he had thought was exactly how God felt when He sent Jesus to earth. He quickly ran and started his car, hoping to make the Christmas Eve service on time.
We must, therefore, remember that Jesus was not like any other person. He was God Himself who came to show us the true light. It is this belief that we must keep in mind as we celebrate Christmas. It is more than just celebrating Jesus’ birthday (we really do not know when that was), it is a celebration of the incarnation of God into the world!
So, why did Jesus come? He came to show us the Light – that is, the Eternal Infinite God Himself revealed in Jesus Christ!
In the next installment, Part 2, we will look, appropriately on December 25, at the New Testament accounts of the birth of Jesus. We will continue to examine the question, “Why Did Jesus Come?”
© 2019 Tal Davis