The Miracle of the Incarnation
by Sarah Wootten Corinth Missionary Baptist Church
In the Christmas story, we are faced with an abundance of miracles. For example, in Matthew 2 we are told that there was a star that led magi to the house where they could find the promised Christ in order to worship Him. How did a star lead the men to a specific street address where Jesus was? That’s weird. And two, was the rest of the world ignoring this incredible star shining over Bethlehem? It certainly doesn’t seem like King Herod knew anything about the star that was just a few miles from his residence in Jerusalem. What the magi saw and followed can only be explained by a divine act of God. It must have been a miracle.
But the miracle of the star is not the only miracle that Matthew records. He also writes, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means God with us),” (1:23, ESV). Of course, a virgin conception is not humanly possible. Scripture tells us exactly how that conception took place in Luke 1:34-35. But, I want us to focus on that second greater miracle mentioned here – that the Creator of the heavens and the earth came and dwelt among mankind.
As we go back to Isaiah 9:6, we come to the next term that the prophet uses to describe the promised child who was to be born. Isaiah calls Him “Mighty God.” It’s here that we have one of the clearest pictures of the incarnation in the Old Testament. In a single verse, Isaiah tells us that a baby is coming who will also be God. A human will also be deity. This is a difficult concept for us to understand. When Jesus came in the flesh, He was both fully God and fully man. He had bones, lungs, and growth spurts, just like we do.
He experienced hunger, temptation, and exhaustion, just like we do. And yet, as the Apostle Paul tells us, all of God’s fullness dwelt in Jesus (Colossians 2:9). Jesus in no way set aside His divinity when He took on flesh. He was completely and perfectly both God and man. He came as a man and dwelt among the people that He created and sustains.
Isaiah also describes to us what kind of God this child will be. Isaiah calls Him “mighty.” Even though He comes as a baby, He will be the definition of power and strength. For the Israelites who were facing exile by their enemies, this is terrific news. Someone would come and uphold them in their weakness. And although we are removed from the writing of this text by thousands of years, Jesus promises the same blessing for us. He welcomes us in our weaknesses and burdens and gives us rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28).
He promises to be with us always, strengthening us and providing for us (Matthew 28:18-20). Because He is mighty, nothing can separate believers from the love of Christ, no matter what painful or harmful circumstances come our way (Romans 8:34-39). And there is coming a day when the power of Christ will be on full display for the entire world to clearly see because He will have victory over every enemy, every ruler, every authority, and even death itself (1 Corinthians 15:24-26). All of creation will see and proclaim that He is the Mighty God.
However, it’s difficult for us to look at a baby and be reminded of strength. Babies can’t provide for their own basic needs or even walk across the room.
But when Christ the King was born, the child in the manger is a picture of both frail humanity and divine strength. It is absolutely humiliating for the Creator of the world to humble Himself, take on human flesh, and die at the hands of His creation on a cross. And yet, in the wonder of His wisdom, this is also a display of His divine strength because this child grew up into a man, and on the cross, He defeated our greatest enemies and ushered in His eternal reign as King over all.
