How do you view Jesus?
Your view of Jesus will shape your response to Jesus. Jesus isn’t just a baby (as some people tend to think at Christmas). Jesus is Saviour. That’s what the name Jesus means, “God saves”. In Matthew’s biography of Jesus it says:
“Mary will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).
As Christmas approaches this year, we need to remember that Jesus wasn't a baby forever. He came to us for a reason.
Why did Jesus come to us?
Jesus came because people needed to be saved from their sins.
The Bible and human experience make it clear that all people have sinned. Sin is when we disobey God – in effect we live as if there is no God. The presence of sin means that our greatest need is to be saved from sin and the penalty for sin.
The extraordinary thing about Jesus is that he is the one person in history to not sin, he always lived in obedience to his Father. And so he didn’t just come to be cute and cuddly Christmas Jesus, but he came on a unique rescue mission to save people from their sin.
Yes it's true that Jesus came as a baby, but his saving act came by dying on the cross 33 years later. When Jesus died, he took upon himself the penalty that people deserve for their sin. It’s only by trusting in Jesus as your Saviour that you can be forgiven of your sin.
How should I respond?
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23).
This sentence reveals even more to us about the identity of Jesus. He is God with us. When you meet Jesus you are actually meeting God, the creator of the universe!!
This is good news. Incredible news. God has come near. God knows our need. God has done something about it. God has become one of us, so that he can save people from their sins. When you view Jesus like this, you can’t keep treating him as a cute and cuddly Christmas Jesus.
Jesus is the SAVIOUR of the World; he came to save people like you. When you understand that Jesus is Saviour, the best way to respond to him is recognising that you need to be saved.
Jesus is GOD WITH US; our need for a Saviour was so great that only God could come and be that Saviour.
Stop thinking of Jesus as a baby! My hope for you this Christmas is that you’d see the real Jesus. A good place to start would be to read one of Jesus’ biographies. Why not start now!.