Jesus1st.Net

Jesus Isn’t What You Think

Jesus was conceived out of wedlock to a poor family from an underprivileged city and in a stable inhabited by livestock.

His mother was surrounded by scandal. His earthly father was a common day laborer.

When he grew up, he was homeless and a bit of a drifter. He was tried and sentenced to a criminal’s death for upsetting the religious establishment of his time.

Yet, his Father was royalty. If you are impressed by pedigree, you can not find one better. If you are drawn to power, you cannot find one with greater power. If you like influence, there is no one more influential.

But Jesus was despised, ignored and rejected. He was the envy of no man. He was sacrilegious, untraditional, kept close friendships with bad company and taught a message so repulsive to religious leaders that they had him killed.

If He lived today, the outcome would be no different.

Is Jesus Still Relevant?

The housing bubble has burst.
The stock market has developed wild mood swings.
Banks and automakers are begging for bailouts.
Unemployment is rapidly approaching double digits.

Also…

Healthcare is a mess.
The Middle East is in a constant state of unrest.
Fears of terror attacks are returning.

A glance at the latest headlines is argument enough that the world as we know it has gone over the brink and is headed in an uncertain direction. We are worried, afraid and angry. We are running out of money and patience. We are facing a time of deep and gripping confusion and our souls are unsettled.

It’s bad. It’s probably worse than we think it is. At this point in history, the world seems like a dark and terrifying place. We are without hope and without peace.

On the other side of history, light came into a dark world without hope, without peace and with little to give thanks for. A star brought news of God’s answer to our despair on the outskirts of Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. In the time it takes to deliver a baby, a new hope began to fill a waiting world.

Perhaps on this side of history– in the dire situation we find ourselves in— we will truly understand how much the Savior is still needed. His story is no longer confined to the ancient past. It is still relevant. It is still the hope to which a frightened and desperate world clings.

But Why?

By now you’ve heard the story every Christmas since your birth. A Child was born in Bethlehem to a poor carpenter and his wife. The carpenter wasn’t the father. In fact, an angel appeared and said the child was a King and was from God. The birth itself was unremarkable and took place in a manger, attended by shepherds and livestock.

You’ve heard about a Silent Night that happened Away In A Manger in the Little Town of Bethlehem. You’ve been told that While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night Angels We Have Heard on High appeared and sang Gloria. You have heard that Mary’s Little Boy Child was born to bring Joy To The World. But why? Why did He come, and what does it mean?

It wasn’t to rule. The helpless child the world saw, was actually The King of Kings who already ruled it all. It wasn’t to make His presence known. Few people actually knew about Him during His life. This whole scene, unfolding in a remote village that was barely a dot on the map of the great Roman Empire, was a rescue mission.

God saw what we don’t like to admit. He saw a world in great need. He heard the world crying out for a savior, and He came ― clothed in humanity ― to rescue something precious that was lost. God understood what we often don’t understand ― that when we live our lives separated from Him, we will find ourselves in desperate need of rescue.

The answer to “Why?” is “Because we needed help.” The specific type of help can differ from person to person. Why do you need help?

Are you lonely? Do you long for friendship or love? Do you wish there was just one person in this life who would understand you and who would listen to you?

Are you depressed? Do you fail to see a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how hard you try? Do you ever feel like there is no way out?

Do you feel a sense of guilt that you can’t escape? Is there something in your life that isn’t right, something about yourself that you don’t like, but no matter what you do, you just can’t shake it?

Are you struggling? Are the pressures and the drama of life too much for you to bear?

Are you caught in an addiction of any kind? Do you feel like you desperately want to stop, but you just can’t find the willpower to do it?

That’s why. The baby we celebrate at Christmas came to be a friend to the lonely, a light for the depressed, an advocate for the guilty, a helping hand for the struggling and strength for the addicted. The only thing powerful enough to knock God off His throne was His deep love for people who were in desperate and inescapable need.

Dirt

Dirt. Her feet were caked in it from a long day’s journey. She desperately needed to bathe and she longed for a soft bed. But her present surroundings were a far cry from the cleanliness she desired. There may not be blankets in this meager stable, but there is plenty of dirt for people and animals alike. She looks down at her newborn baby and sobs, “I’m so sorry it had to be here, Jesus. You deserve so much better. This is no place for a king.”

Dirt. There was certainly plenty of it to go around. As the boy grew, it would accompany him everywhere. It would surround him for 40 days in the wilderness, it would sneak under his fingernails as he worked in the carpentry shop and it would amass on his feet as he and a ragtag band of misfits roamed the countryside. Near the end of his life, he would make it a point to wash the grime and grit off the feet of his ragamuffin gang.

Dirt would be kicked up in his face as he was beaten. It would gather in his hair when he fell while carrying a cross. The filth and rust of a Roman nail would one day pierce what were now tiny hands. Born in the dirt of a manger to return to the dirt in death.

Dirt. It was always about the dirt and the filth. The King came to the pigpen as swine. He slept in the slop bucket, and endured the slaughterhouse. The King came because He saw that his people were dirty, and He knew this was the only way we could be clean.

Life With Us

It was the second most magical moment in all of time. The first was when He created life. As the angels watched in amazed silence, God re-connected with his creation after thousands of years of separation. It had been part of the plan ever since man chose sin over Godliness. Even before He did it, He knew what it would take and what He would experience. The pain made him wince but the overpowering thought of being reunited with His creation made Him all the more willing to go through with it. He had the chance to do something unheard of. He had the chance to bridge the gap between man and God.

For a brief moment in time Heaven came to earth. All that was good in Heaven was given to the people it was always meant for. The Master finally had the chance He had been waiting for. He had the opportunity to share His undying love and unfaltering commitment with His most prized creation. For so many centuries He had longed to walk with them and talk with them. He had always wanted more than anything to personally comfort them in their time of need, to let them know that He was there and that He cared about them more than they could ever know. This was His chance. He could show them what they meant to Him.

See His energetic smile as a young boy, playing tag with His friends and taking part in the joys of His creation’s childhood. He may not have known it then, but what he was doing was something He had only been able to watch from a distance, it was something He had always wanted to take part in. Children were so innocent, they were so much more unique than the rest of mankind, yet because of man’s sin, God had never gotten to interact with them. Now He was getting that chance, and what made it even more special was that He got to do it from the perspective of a child.

Hear Him as a growing adolescent, telling jokes at public gatherings. I’ll bet He could bring the room down with laughter by sharing some of His humorous analogies. Maybe He knew then. Maybe He didn’t; but His humor came not from what life He had lived but from what He had observed from Heaven. Can you see the glow in His eyes as He sees that He has connected with His audience and that He is bringing them cheer? He would do that many years later with more serious analogies. He would later bring them not just cheer, but hope as well.

Watch him at the temple as a young teen as he asks the church leaders questions. He knew. At this point in His life, He knew who He was and what He had to do. His questions were not designed to gain knowledge. His questions were ones that would make the church leaders think. Observe the glow on His face as He sees lights going off in the heads of His audience. Finally, after all this time He had a chance to teach and interact with His children in their own world. This time He could see something He hadn’t seen before. He could see that they were listening and that they were learning from Him. It wasn’t just following commands, or trying to please Him, they were actually hearing His voice and considering His words. It melted His heart even then.

He must have loved it. His original plan was to be able to spend time with the one creation that He had made in His image and to be united with them. Because of sin that couldn’t happen, but now… Now it was different, He became one with the creation. For the first time since the Garden of Eden, He could walk among them. How it must have warmed His heart to be able to dry their tears and ease their pain. And to be able to reach out and actually touch them again, that was something He had wanted to do for years. To just put a firm hand on the back of those that were struggling and give them the reassurance that all would get better in time. It meant so much more to them, and to Him, to be able to tell them these things in person. Never before had this been possible. Their sin had always pushed them so far away from His love. This time that love was close by. He was so close that He could actually talk to them one on one in a way that they could understand.

It felt great when He saw people coming to Him for help. Never in all of time had this many people turned to Him. He saw people giving up everything they had to follow Him, which was the one thing He had hoped for from afar for thousands of years. He could do things as a human that He couldn’t do from His throne because they would feel intimidated, like their struggles were small compared to an omnipotent God. He could look in their eyes and see trust, and He could return that look in His own eyes. He could talk with them and walk with them. He could gently teach them and even more gently, correct them. The miracles He did from Heaven, He could do on earth and people could see Him doing them.

Before, people “looked” to God without ever seeing Him and trusted Him blindly. While He was a man, people could literally look to Him, and the faith they had in Him was anything but blind. The people who heard Him teach, believed, and they believed not because of the power of His words but by the power of His presence and the unconditional love that He showed them.

That was the part He enjoyed the most. He could love them. He could show them how much He loved them and once they experienced His love they knew that it could come from no other heart but God’s. He could quench the thirsty soul of the desperate. He could feed the spiritual hunger of the abandoned. His love showed the outcasts that their burdens were not just theirs, but that He shared their pain. He loved them all, no matter what the circumstance. He was a defendant to the sinful, a light to those in the darkness, a hope for those without hope, a refuge for the fearful, and a servant to all.  It was clear to them if they really opened their heart that no human could love like this.

When all was said and done and the nails had been driven home, there was no question among those that heard Him; He was God. He made His mark and His mark still remains. He showed us how to live and taught us the ways of God. He led us all down the path of righteousness, but most importantly. He loved us. He is the only example of true love the world has ever seen. The one who loves us enough and knows us well enough to never let us down, knock us out, or lead us into confusion. He enjoyed every second of being with us, and I know one thing is for sure. He is eagerly waiting, with more excitement than ever, for the day the trumpet will sound and He will get to be in fellowship with His most beloved and precious creation again. He loves us, and someday

He will come to lead us home.

Imagine That Day

Imagine for a moment that you were present when Jesus was born. Imagine how Mary must have felt. Can you see her? A poor, young, scared girl aware of what she will be doing but unaware of how it will all play out. She is tired from her journey and the pains of childbirth add even more exhaustion. The night is cold in the desert, but she is sweating, excited about her child, but at the same time nervous about her responsibility.

Think about the moment Christ was born. Picture God, looking down from Heaven at a world caught up in so much sin it could never find its own way out. See the tear in His eye, as He thinks about what He has to do. Watch him as He sets down His crown, leaves His throne, closes His eyes, and descends into our world. When He opens His eyes, He is a baby. A helpless child, needing His mother for food, clothing, and every basic need.

As He looks around His surroundings, it is easy to tell that He is no longer in Heaven. His palace has been replaced with a stable. His throne is a trough that animals once drank out of. His royal robes have been replaced with rags, and His crown has been replaced with human flesh. He breathes in to take in His surroundings and the smell is not pleasant. Animals, straw, fur, and sweat.

The air around Him is cold, and for the first time ever, He shivers. For the first time, He is able to feel pain and discomfort. As a baby, He cannot communicate who He is, nor can He communicate His discomfort, so He does the one and only thing He can do to express His feelings. He cries.

Imagine Joseph, as he holds and comforts the baby for the first time. He knows the child is not his own, but that he must love him and treat him as though he is. What a responsibility he has. How will he ever do it? In his arms, he is holding not just a baby, not just the savior of man, but God Himself, wrapped in human flesh. The thought alone is frightening to Joseph, and as he holds the newborn baby, he says small prayer. “Lord, please don’t let me do any wrong by you. Let my words and actions serve you, so that you may accomplish your earthly task.”

The Shepherds look on in awe of this scene. Here, in this tiny, dark, damp and dingy stable, a helpless child has been born to a poor couple from Nazareth, they are scarcely able to afford their own food and clothing, yet they have been entrusted with this child from Heaven. There are no loud blows of a trumpet, no joyful band of angels, and no lightening flashes or thunder claps. In fact, other than Mary, Joseph, the baby, and the Shepherds, no one else is aware that this child born in Bethlehem is the promised one. To them, the night came and went just like any other ordinary night.

This was no ordinary night though, for on this night, something mysterious and strange had happened. God had traded His throne for a cradle. Not only that, He announced His arrival to two peasants and some shepherds instead of to kings and religious leaders. On this night, God revealed to ordinary people His extraordinary plan. And on this night, God brought hope to the sinful and the common, the poor and the needy. On this night, God showed that His love was for everyone. While there may have been no room at the Inn for Mary and Joseph, this night revealed that there was always room in the place God has prepared in the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Infant King

Was it a cold night? Was there something in the air not felt before? We can only guess what it must have been like. Some people only think about it once a year. Others think about it and know that it means much more than what it seems. How does it make sense, anyway? God’s sinless Son being born in a stable, whose earthly parents are mere working class people? Can you imagine… Jesus Christ being wrapped with the remains of a burlap sack? In many ways, this doesn’t make sense. People everywhere look at this story in history and wonder how God could have allowed this.

Why would God ever want what is perfect and holy to be at the hands of men, and subject to the infirmities of humanity? Christians sing hymns about this beautiful baby…some suggest that the baby Jesus didn’t cry, or made little noise as he lay in the manger. This idea seems to take away from the concept that has become the hope of humanity…that while this baby was fully God, he was fully human…and that he experienced the same joys and trials that you and I go through. And yet, we overlook this. It is hard for us to see that an infant born in such a poor condition has any relevance to us.

Almost 2000 years later…and for what? What does it matter if we recognize this poor family? Were there not others like them? It is possible that other families got turned away for various reasons. The thing that made this family different was not seen by the society they lived in…it was not seen by the people around Mary and Joseph…and it was not seen by the inn keepers. It could only be seen by those who were looked down upon, much in the same way that Jesus was born. Unlikely circumstances. Less than comfortable conditions. So it should not be surprising, then, that an angel of the Lord appears to a bunch of shepherds.

It was more than likely an ordinary night for the shepherds. Did they feel something in the air? Again, we can only guess. They had what most considered to be an unfortunate job…watching their flocks into the morning hours. They had to stay up and keep control over these animals when they were undoubtedly as tired as anybody else. It goes without saying that this was a less-than-respected career. So why would God choose to reveal the birth of The Messiah to a group of shepherds? For all we know, they were standing around discussing the issues of the day…maybe they were talking about the census, and about how many people would be returning to Bethlehem to register.

We find ourselves doing the same thing…we may be standing around talking one day, or just doing our job as normal, when God decides to show up. And who can expect it? Who would have ever thought that God would reveal Himself to the outcasts of Roman society? What makes them worthy of receiving this good news over people with more money or reputation? The answer is amazing. Even today, we think that there are things we can do to get “brownie points” from people…ways we can act, things we can say. But the amazing thing about Jesus’ birth was that he reversed this way of thinking.

No longer do we need to think that doing certain things gets us credit. No longer do we have to be a certain way to get a taste of God’s grace. No longer do we have to be somebody “important” or well-known to really see what God’s purpose is. God’s purpose is to give strength to the weak… hope to the hopeless…and extraordinary love to the ordinary. People talk all the time about how God could have entered this world in any other way. But aren’t we glad that He didn’t? What better way to come into the world?

The way God came to this earth as an infant… subject to every human emotion and
every human environment… shows a greater understanding for what His purpose was… and still is… in the world. Jesus’ circumstances as an infant reveal so much about what he would do as an adult.

In the same way that he was born in humility, he bowed down in service at the feet of his disciples. In the same way that he was born in an unconventional way, he lived a radical life that boggled the minds of even the most “religious” folk of his day. In the same way that God gave Jesus as His gift out of love for His people, Jesus gave himself out of love for us. In the same way that God sent angels to the less-than-accepted shepherds in the middle of the night, He sent Jesus to us…some of us, who are looked down upon…who can not meet other peoples’ expectations… who need one person who understands what it’s like to be in the real world.

Did Jesus cry out that night? Because he was in the real world… the real Son of God, crying out for humanity. If we were not valued by God, in spite of ourselves, Jesus would never have come into the world. But we are. And the thing that we miss…so many times…is that God didn’t just come into our world in passing. He never stayed to amaze the people, and leave again. He had every right. But He wanted to make sure we really understand what it means for us. What does it mean for us today? Some people celebrate Christmas in passing… we are glad God chose to reveal Himself through Jesus… as an infant, reaching out to those who others rejected… but we have to remember what value that should have to us now. When we think about the birth of Jesus, we see an infant… but that infant is now King.

He is no longer a child in the cold world… He fulfilled his ministry on the Earth and is now offering a relationship out of his forgiveness. When we think about Christmas, we have to remember that it starts with a birth, but it ends with a resurrection. The story begins with a passion, and ends with a purpose. The purpose of Christ being born the way He did re-enforces the amazing way He lived his life…and is willing to work in ours today. The Jesus that was an infant is now a King…stretching out His hand from eternity…and asks, “Who do you say I am?”

Why He Came

It could have been so simple. Just a snap of the divine fingers and it could have all been over with. Sin could have been out, grace could have replaced law, and people could have been forgiven on the spot. He created the world, He was certainly powerful enough to change the world and forego the pain. Why then? Why become a man? Why go from royalty to servant-hood? Why the cross? Why did he come? Poetic justice? The creator dying to save his creation? It goes far deeper than that.

The whole beauty of Jesus Christ is that he was God in the flesh, that he became like us and experienced the same things that we do. I’m not sure about you, but I wouldn’t be able to look at my savior the same way had he not been human. What makes a personal relationship with him so unique and significant is that he feels our pain because he has experienced it all himself.

Think what it would be like had God not become flesh and endured the sorrows of human life. God would seem so distant; there would be no assurance that God really understands us. How would we relate to a savior who never knew despair? How could we put full trust in a savior who had never been betrayed? How could we come to him with our stress if he had never experienced affliction? How could we cry out to him during times of trouble if we knew he had never fallen on hard times? God would be almost unapproachable.

He came and experienced our world. He chose to live among us and face the day to day struggles that we do. It is very difficult to turn to a God of power that hasn’t experienced the hardships of our lives; but it is not at all taxing to turn to a God of love that became one of us not just to show us the way, but to show us He understands us. In every situation we can turn to Christ because we know that he has been there before. He has lived a human life.

Jesus has been betrayed.
He has experienced loneliness.
The Almighty has experienced failure and defeat.
Our Redeemer has felt futile, like nothing he did was making a difference.
The Prince of Peace has been weary.
The Bread of Life has been hungry.
The Everlasting Father has been thirsty.
The Man of Sorrows has felt physical pain as well as emotional pain.
The Christ has felt guilt.
The Beloved Son has felt sorrow.
The Author of our Faith has felt temptation.
The Light of the World has felt the loss of a loved one.
The Lamb of God has made sacrifices to benefit others that would hurt himself.
The Creator gave his all and got nothing in return.
The Morning Star did great things only to be thanked by criticism.
The Son of Man has had people he cared about walk out on him.
The Counselor has been angry.
The Good Shepherd has felt the sting of bitterness.
The Holy One has had to bite his tongue and put his foot in his mouth.
Our Deliverer has had to deal with a family that didn’t understand him.
The Rock of Salvation has felt the temptation to run away from his problems.
The Messiah has felt the gut wrenching feelings associated with stress.
The King of the Ages has been argued with and hated.
Jesus had to choose between the urging of the crowd and the voice of the heart.

The list could go on and on, the point is that our savior has felt every bad thing we have ever experienced, every pain and every hurt. That is what adds significance to why he came. Isn’t it comforting to know that Jesus has been in our shoes? Isn’t it refreshing that He who saved us also knows how we feel all the time? There is more though. Not only did Jesus feel all things mentioned before, he experienced the full scope of human existence.

That means that he also smiled and laughed. He teased and joked. Jesus used wit to get out of some trying situations. Jesus could preach to people, but on occasion he had been known to play with them as well. The Lord smiled at the Samaritan woman and laughed with her as she realized who she was talking to. He teased playfully with the Gentile woman who asked for a healing, and when the Pharisees came after him, he was always ready with a clever witticism to keep them guessing.

Not only has he felt pain and sorrow, but he has felt joy and happiness. There is not a time that we can’t go to him, and not a circumstance he won’t understand. Jesus came to show us how to be like God, by being like us. What a savior. What an awesome God. If you’ve ever wondered why he went through all that he did, it all boils down to one thing. He loves you and will go to any length to be near you. Even if it means becoming just like you so that he can know and understand everything about you.

Immanuel: God With Us

Immanuel. In Hebrew it means “God With Us.” (“El,” means God and Immanu means “with us.”) It is a name we don’t invoke often. In most cases, pastors pull out this name and dust it off every year at Christmas, and we talk about the birth of Christ and the Christmas star, and the wise men and the promise made in the Old Testament being fulfilled. After Christmas, we go on about our lives and we don’t often think about the implications of Christ’s arrival. The name Immanuel, given only twice, once in Isaiah, and once in Matthew, compels us to focus on those implications.

“His name shall be called Immanuel.” If Isaiah had written that in modern day English, it would read, “He will be called God among us.” This revelation, given 700 years before Christ, was unfathomable to its hearers. Even today, people have a difficult time accepting this idea that God who created the universe would actually become a man and walk among us. When Jesus came, the religious leaders accused him of blasphemy for claiming to fulfill this prophecy.

The prophecy, found in Isaiah 7:14, sets this child apart from others. It signifies that there is something inherently different about this baby. This child will not be your ordinary human, this unique child will one day be called God. He will be the Almighty clothed in the flesh and blood of a mortal man.

The idea of God With Us, while unbelievable, is not unheard of. God was with us once before. At the dawn of creation, in a garden that He planted, God walked among the first two members of the human family. Creator and creation were together and the world was for a brief season the way it should be.

The sin of Adam and Eve created a chasm between us and God, it drove us away from God, in such a way that no act of man could ever bring us back into His presence. God was with us in the beginning before sin entered the garden, and at the moment of our sin, God promised He would one day be with us again, that the offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent.

God didn’t demand that we come to Him. Instead, He promised that He would return to give us freedom from the sin we invited into the world. For us to be with God, we would have to be righteous. We would have to go to a righteous and perfect place. We would have to do something that we are not capable of doing. But for God to be with us, it means God would have to traverse the chasm and come into our sin. The Holy of Holies would have to put Himself into a world infected with a curse. The strongest being in the universe would have to enter our weak and pathetic state to make it possible for us to come home.

That’s the spiritual reality of the name Immanuel, but there are also physical realities behind this concept. The hands that worked in his earthly father’s carpentry shop would have had real finger prints at their tips. The feet that walked the desert sand would have left real footprints. The man who claimed to posses divinity would have a real impact on the world.

The “great physician” who laid his hands on those whom he healed, would carry the physical touch of God. When He cried in Gethsemane, the tears were real, not mythical. God cried real tears. God felt real pain. The blood that was shed on that cross was pumping through the veins of the very one who initiated all sacrifices. The heart that was pierced was the heart of the Master. God left the world of “spirituality” and “philosophy” and entered our physical reality. He became flesh and blood. He was just as real as you and me. The one who hovered over the waters in the beginning of time walked thousands of miles across desert terrain He is no longer the voice on the mountain top, the writing on the tablets or the source of a divine message. He is the God who bridged the gap between Heaven and earth and touched His creation.

But we can’t stop at the reality of Christ’s incarnation. “God With Us” is just as important to us today, as it is in Scripture. The name Immanuel is not just a commentary on the incarnation. Because God does not change, the Immanuel of scripture is the God who is with us still. God is with us in our day to day struggles and in our triumphs. He is with you at work, He is with you when you are at home, He is with you when you sin and He is with you when you ask forgiveness. The gap has been bridged, and the God who entered the world 2,000 years ago as a carpenter, enters the everyday life of His people today.

God is among us. He is among us in His church and through His people. He is among us through the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit. He is with us through His Word, and He is with us through our prayers. This is not a distant God who waits for you to mess up and punishes you heftily for it. This is the God who saw you mess up and came to pay your debt. This is the God who has a name and who had a physical appearance, who talked about love and called His followers friends. This is the God who bridged the gap. “God With Us” made it possible for us to be with God.

Why is He Smiling?

“What the heck is this? Jesus… Smiling? Every picture I’ve seen of him shows him either in pain, crying, grim, or sorrowful…”  

And that’s exactly the problem.

“What do you mean?”

Jesus wasn’t like that.

“He wasn’t?”

Nope.

“Then what was he like?”

He was human. He felt the same feelings that you and I feel. Yes, he was sorrowful at times, he did get hurt, and he did cry. But, that wasn’t all he did. He did a lot more than just go to Lazarus’ funeral. He also smiled, and laughed, and joked. He experienced joy and all of the good things in life. He went to a wedding too, you know.

“Yeah, right… What did Jesus have to be joyful about? He came here to die.”

Well, think about it. From the beginning man was intended to be in fellowship with God. God wanted to spend time with us, to talk to us, to be our maker and our friend… But we chose to sin and to separate ourselves from God.

“Bad choice.”

No kidding. Anyway, for centuries God longed to have communion with us and to walk with us, talk with us, and help us out when we were down on our luck. Because of sin, he couldn’t do that. So, he became a man. He became one of us, so that he could get to know us and understand us better. He came in a form that we could understand so that he could show us how to have eternal fellowship with him, and to be the way we were always meant to be. Then, he made a new way for us to get rid of our sins.

“Right. And that was painful, and sorrowful… Where does joy come in?”

Imagine Jesus as a child. Playing games with the other children. Whether he knew who he was at the time or not, this is something he had never gotten a chance to do. For years he had to watch the children playing from above, and he could never interact with them. Finally, after all this time, he had the chance to. Wouldn’t that make him smile? Wouldn’t he be having fun?

“Yeah, I guess. I mean, he created them and then he had to be apart from them…”

Right. Now you’re catching on. And when he started teaching, think of how it made him feel when he saw the lights go on in people’s heads? Wouldn’t it fill him with joy to see them finally understanding a message that he could not tell them from so far away?

“Yeah… I’m starting to see it.”

And he actually got to spend time with people as their friends. He ate dinner with them, made idle chit-chat, and he got a chance to be with them one on one. Imagine the joy he must have felt, getting to do all of this after so many years of being so far away from us.

“Wow. I had never thought about that before…

So… Do you see why Jesus is smiling in that picture?

“Yes. It makes sense now.”

Kind of changes your view of him doesn’t it? Seeing him as a joyful and happy person sure does beat the typical sad, somber servant with a death wish, doesn’t it?

“It sure does.”

Kind of makes him seem more inviting, doesn’t it? It makes you want to get to know him a little more, doesn’t it?

“Well, I always wanted to find the Jesus I never knew.”

You’ve come to the right place.