Jesus is not one among many; he is not even one among a few; he is truly unique. Many have taught great and beautiful ideas; a few have made personal sacrifices for the betterment of society; but only one has defeated death. Only one has conquered the swift justice our sins require and replaced it with an abundant eternal life. Only one has been fully God and fully man with unfailing love for all of mankind, such that his death would conquer death itself.
Jesus entered history “made of flesh and blood” to identify with us. He couldn’t stand in our place until he took our place. He took on the capacity for death so that he could take death on—and beat it. But his work as Messiah began when he became one of us.
Jesus also came into the world to remove all of our sin by dying on the cross with all of our sins heaped upon him. He doesn’t just pretend the sin isn’t there; he has killed it. He lives now in us to build his kingdom by transforming our brokenness into his righteousness. He now works his purposes through our hands and voices. He will return soon to perfect as a physical reality what he has begun as a spiritual reality—our future glory in Christ.
In this season we praise God and proclaim with great joy: Jesus has come, God is with us, and Jesus will come again! Hallelujah!
