There was a song popularized several years ago, but you can still hear it today played among all the other Christmas songs. The words give us some insight into the unique Person and life of Jesus.
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy
Would calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know that your baby boy
Has walked where angels trod,
And when you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God?
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear,
The dead will live again,
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb!
God AND man. Powerful AND compassionate. Walked with angels AND walked with man.
I think the Apostle John said it well,
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
Who Jesus is and what He has done cannot be adequately captured. The fact is, He is so many things to all of us. Here are a few descriptions of Jesus that may be particularly appropriate at Christmas.
Light
Jesus referred to Himself as the Light of the World. The Apostle John, when he described Jesus, said,
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
Two things about light: it reveals and it guides. It reveals what’s hidden in the dark and it allows us to see where we’re going (remember that the next time you stub your toe in the dark).
The light of Jesus reveals our wrongdoing (our sin) AND gives us truth that sets us free and leads our life.
Oh, and one more thing about light… it always overcomes darkness. Where there is light, there is no darkness. The Light of the World wants to bring His light into your life.
Peace
Handel’s Messiah is a Christmas favorite. In it, Handel quotes the prophet, Isaiah, who recognizes the Messiah (Jesus) as the Prince of Peace.
We all like peace. We like peace in our relationships. We want peace in the world. We like having peace of mind (as opposed to giving someone a piece of our mind).
Peace is settling. It’s comfortable. It feels secure.
And the good news is that Jesus is our peace. How?
By providing peace with God.
Jesus had to bring us peace with God, because we are naturally not at peace with God. And that’s the tension you feel. Actually, the Apostle Paul said we are “enemies” of God. Ouch!
Why?
Because of our sin – our disobedience against a Holy God. But, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, He offers forgiveness of our sins and a full, abundant, and eternal life.
DISCOVER LIFE’S MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPAnd once you have peace with God, it’s amazing how peace is brought to the rest of our lives.
The Lion and King
You’ve probably watched enough Discovery Channel or National Geographic to know that the Lion is the King of the jungle. He’s strong, powerful, and victorious over his enemies.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus is referred to as the Lion of Judah. Lion because he is strong and powerful and victorious. Judah because Israel’s kingly line passed through the Israelite tribe of Judah.
Jesus is the Lion because in Him is all authority in heaven and earth. Because, in the end, He will conquer all of God’s enemies. And because He has conquered sin and death through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead.
When you are under the rule of Jesus, sin has no rule in your life. You are free! You are free to live the way God intends. No more guilt, no more shame. Just freedom and life.
When you are under the rule of Jesus, death has no victory in your life. Physical death becomes merely a gateway to eternal life with God in heaven.
Give the king – the Lion of Judah – full reign and authority in your life.
The Lamb
In the same passage of Scripture that Jesus is described as the Lion of Judah, He is also described as the Lamb.
John the Baptist also recognized Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
When the Israelites were held hostage in Egypt by Pharaoh, God had a plan to set them free. If you’ve ever seen the movie, The Ten Commandments, you know that God sent ten plagues on the people of Egypt to convince Pharaoh to set them free.
But he refused. That is, until the last plague. Death to every firstborn male.
But, the Israelite families were spared this plague if they took the blood of an unblemished lamb and painted the blood over the doorpost of their homes. When the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over that house and spare the firstborn son.
Spiritually, Jesus is our lamb. At His death, His blood was shed on the cross. His death on the cross paid the just penalty for our sins in our place. Through it, we have forgiveness of our sins. And when the blood of Jesus’ death is spiritually applied to our lives by faith, death passes over us because we are secured in eternal life.