On Coming & Going-Lent 31, 2015

John 16:27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Let’s face it: Jesus was no ordinary man.  To the disciples, He was their Rabbi and Messianic hope.

But Jesus was far more than that.  He is the unique Son of God.

Never having met the Son of God before and never again being able to be in the presence of God in the person of Jesus after His ascension, we can’t fault the disciples for being slow to understand this.  We have the Holy Spirit, time, and history to teach us what this means.  The disciples didn’t have any of that.  Instead they were privileged to have Jesus in the flesh.  God, as the Son, walked with them and taught them.

Jesus’ coming from the Father is more than just a commissioning. Coming from the Father is more than being an emissary, a negotiator, or an ambassador.  Even more than a simple missionary or preacher. 

He would be the supreme sacrifice for our sin, once for all time.

Jesus gets as close here as He gets anywhere in Scripture to speaking about His own Incarnation.

He was not created.  He was not born as just a human who would be raised to deity.  No, and this is critically important: He was God from before His birth.

If His Incarnation is a mystery and His coming to this world is a birth like no other, His Crucifixion and Resurrection are a mystery and His return to His Father will be a going like no other.  He came born through the Spirit of God overshadowing a virgin.  He goes through the shame of the Cross and does battle with death in a realm unseen in the cold of a tomb.

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Give it Up for Lent: Treating Jesus as a mere human

Put it On for Lent: Humble acceptance of the supreme sacrifice of the unique Son of God

For further thought:

Read Hebrews 7:23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 26 Such a high priest meets our need– one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

How does Jesus’ coming and going as the unique Son of God mean more and do more than any sinful human efforts could?  Read through that passage in Hebrews again paying close attention to sufficiency and fullness.

Read this hymn to the Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Exaltation and marvel at the mystery!  Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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