Paul writes in Philippians chapter 2 that Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
But instead he made himself nothing.
He took on the form of a servant and he was born in the likeness of men.
This is Paul's version of the word became flesh.
That's how he describes it.
Of course this is amazing, astonishing, mysterious news.
The Christian belief that God became a human being.
The incarnation is the fancy word we use.
This belief is phenomenal.
It's full of wonder and mystery and it's impossible to fully kind of wrap our minds around.
What this means.
But it's true.
And at the same time as we imagine this truth that God became a human being.
That the word became flesh.
It just begs the question doesn't it?
Why in the world would God do that?
Why would he come?
Why did the eternal son forever in glorious relationship with his father become the human Jesus of Nazareth?
Why?
Well the goal of this morning's time is to answer that why.
See the word became flesh on purpose.
God has.
This was a highly calculated and aimed incarnation.
God has a mission in entering his creation.
Here it is.
Here's why God came.
God became a man so that man can know God.
The word became flesh so that you and I could truly know who God is.
And by knowing God receive eternal life.
God became a man so that man can know God.
So that's the short answer.
Now we get to explore that together from John chapter 1 this morning.
If you haven't opened a Bible yet I'd invite you there.
If the black hardcover ESV is in the pews.
You can find it I think on 1052.
Is the page number?
We'll be looking at what David just read for us.
We're going to proceed by looking at three aspects this morning of this mission of Jesus.
Three aspects.
The backdrop.
The essence.
And the climax.
First the backdrop.
Before we get too far into this mission.
We need to see what John is doing.
He's setting the stage for us in chapter 1 of his gospel.
And he's making at least two.
There's more we could say.
But two that I want to focus on.
Two humongous truth claims.
Two audacious, bold, emphatic claims.
That set everything else in motion from here.
The first is that there's a hero.
He's introduced right in the first verse.
And Billy talked about who this person was last week.
The word.
But then the second truth claim is there's a problem.
There's a really, really, really big, fundamental, universal human problem.
So John identifies who the hero is.
And he identifies the problem that the hero has come to solve.
This hero, right from the beginning of John's gospel, we see all kinds of amazing things.
He's in the beginning.
He's in the beginning with God.
Because he is God.
Everything that was created was created through the word.
Through this hero of our story.
And he has this intimate and unique and personal loving relationship with the father.
Forever.
This word in verse 4 we see has life in himself.
He doesn't need anybody to give him life because he himself possesses life.
Self-sustaining existence forever and ever and ever.
And we see Jesus making these claims throughout the book.
I am the bread of life, he says.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
John chapter 14 verse 6.
But not just what the word was like then, but verse 14.
He became flesh.
And has dwelt among us.
The word comes down.
He enters into the creation that he created.
And not just comes down, he was sent.
Purposely by the father.
So we're in the season of Advent.
Advent.
This time when we reflect on the baby in the manger.
That we reflect on the word made flesh.
And we do this year after year after year.
And if you've been in church a while, you know.
Come December, you can guarantee a couple things.
Christmas music on the radio.
And in church, you're going to learn about the baby in the manger.
So how do we approach this season year after year after year?
And have it be fresh.
How can we keep this from being just the thing that we do this time of year?
Because there's something so beautiful and wonderful that year by year,
we have this opportunity to remember this in a fresh and wonderful and exciting way.
So let me just offer a suggestion about how each of us can do this.
I'm stealing an answer from our life group on Thursday night.
Because we were talking about something different.
But the help that I received is, I want to pass it on in this same regard.
We talked about slowing down.
We talked about when we're dealing with discouragement or just difficulties in life,
that one of the ways that we can kind of snap ourselves out of it is by just slowing down.
Kind of putting the phone on silent, stepping away from life,
you know, maybe cutting a thing or two out of the calendar and just slowing down.
I think in this season of Advent, that's exactly what each of us need to do
in order to have this season fresh and exciting and wonderful.
Let me just encourage all of us this morning to do that.
Take some time where you leave your phone in a drawer
and maybe instead of going through the drive-thru of Starbucks,
you go inside and you find a place to sit and just open to John 1.
And just pray.
All you need to do is pray for the Holy Spirit to help you see how wonderful and good Jesus is.
There is, I cannot remember a single time when I prayed that, that God didn't answer that prayer.
Because He wants us to know His Son.
He wants us to know Jesus in this season of Advent.
And marvel anew at the baby in the manger, who is Emmanuel, who is the Savior of the world.
So that's the hero.
That's the person that John is introducing us to.
But the other part of the backdrop that I want to make sure we see
is that John introduces this fundamental and universal human problem.
No one's exempt from this problem.
All of us are facing this problem.
And John's way of putting it is, we do not know God.
We don't know who He is.
And John just kind of lays this on over and over and over again.
If you look at chapter 1, look in verse 5.
John talks about darkness.
And he doesn't just mean, oh, we need a light switch to kind of see where we're going in the dark.
But he introduces darkness as the spiritual reality, this evil that's against the purposes of God.
And Jesus, being the light, shines into that.
And the darkness does not overcome the true light.
There's a problem.
We're blind.
We're in the dark.
We don't know God.
We can't understand who He is.
On in verse 10, John continues.
He says that this Word created the world.
And He was in the world.
And the world didn't know Him.
It says that Jesus came and kind of knocked the world upside its head.
And the world didn't know Him.
And not just that in verse 11, we see that He came to His own people.
And His own people.
Those who most clearly should have understood who He was and why He was coming,
they did not receive Him.
And John's raising all of this to show the problem.
He keeps going.
In verse 13, he says that flesh and blood, human will, have no help in becoming children of God.
So, contrary to popular opinion, we don't start out God's children and then just kind of get to heaven
simply because we're born into this world.
In fact, we have no ability to become God's children, John says in verse 13.
And this whole thing climaxes in verse 18 where John says,
no one has ever seen God.
In one sense, he just means God's invisible.
He's spirit.
We can't see Him.
But we see at the end of that verse that there is one, the only God who is at the Father's side,
who has made Him known.
So, it's not just simply that God's invisible.
He's not known.
He's not comprehended.
He's not understood.
And this, according to John, is the fundamental human problem.
We don't know God.
This plays out over and over again in John's Gospel.
We see a man in chapter 3 named Nicodemus, who's one of the religious leaders of Israel,
come to Jesus at night.
Jesus says, unless you're born again, you can't see the kingdom of God.
In chapter 14, Jesus says, nobody comes to the Father except through me.
He goes on to repeatedly explain that the reason why people reject Him is that they don't know the Father.
They don't know God, so they reject Jesus.
Over and over in John's Gospel, we see this.
One of the clearest places is in chapter 16, verse 2, where Jesus says,
hey, a time's coming.
He's talking to His disciples the week before He dies, and He says,
the time's coming when whoever kills you will think that he is offering service to God.
And they'll do these things because they have not known the Father nor Me.
This adds flavor to our problem, doesn't it?
There's something not just that God has to come,
but there's something preventing us from understanding who He is.
This light that comes into the world, this Word made flesh, is offensive.
That's why His own people don't just not receive Him, they crucify Him.
Because He's so offensive to them.
And yet, John says, the problem is we don't know God.
And He comes, and we don't know Him, and we reject Him.
Over and over again, that's the problem that John presents.
Elsewhere in our Bibles, we might see it as talking about, like in Paul,
that we're dead in trespasses and sins.
There's this sin problem that we have.
I'm not denying any of that, but the way John couches it and explores it
is through this relationship.
It's broken, it's non-existent, we don't know God.
That's why we're in the mess we're in.
Well, you can probably guess what Jesus' mission is then, right?
I mean, this is, I feel like I don't even have to say it,
but I want to, just so we're all on the same page, right?
The essence of Jesus' mission, this is point two,
the essence of Jesus' mission is so that man can know God.
That's why Jesus came, to make God known.
To reveal the Father.
And to mend what is broken by sin.
The baby in a manger is making the invisible visible.
The unknown, known.
The unknowable, knowable.
Jesus' mission is to solve our greatest problem.
We do not know God.
But Jesus makes him known.
In the prologue of John that we're looking at,
chapter 1, 1 to 18, John says it in a few different ways.
One, in verse 9, he says that the true light
that enlightens everyone,
that gives light to everyone,
is coming, right?
Jesus is illuminating the spiritual realities
about who God is
and about the condition of our own lives and hearts
apart from him.
In verse 12, it says that Jesus alone,
not flesh and blood,
not the will of man,
but Jesus alone gives the right
to become children of God.
So apart from Jesus,
we're not children of God, it says.
Jesus.
And then in verse 18 again,
it's that Jesus makes God known.
Jesus makes God known.
And John is very clear.
Jesus isn't one of many people
who makes God known.
He's not one of many ways to know God,
but he is the way to know God.
And apart from him,
we cannot know God.
This is one of the major reasons
why John records these seven statements of Jesus
about who he is.
Jesus, over and over through John's gospel,
one of his main ways of describing his mission is,
this is who I am.
These are exclusive claims.
Jesus saying,
I am the only way to come to a knowledge of
and enter into a relationship with God.
I'm the bread of life.
I'm the light of the world.
I am the door for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
I am the true vine.
And as a bonus,
in chapter 8,
before Abraham was,
I am.
And these statements of Jesus
come with this call
to receive him as he is
and as he claims to be.
to believe that Jesus,
when he makes the claim
that he is the only way to know God,
to say,
I believe that
and I want to know everything I can about Jesus
because to know Jesus
is to know God
because Jesus is God.
He alone can make God known.
And along with this call
to respond in that way,
to put our faith and our trust in Jesus,
to believe in him for eternal life,
is this accompanying promise
that all who believe
will not perish
but have everlasting life.
We see it played out again
in these same statements.
If you eat the bread of life,
you will not die.
If you follow the light of the world,
you will have the light of life.
If you enter by the door,
you will be saved
and find pasture
because the good shepherd
lays down his life
for the sheep,
for their lives.
If you believe the resurrection
and the life,
you will never die.
He is the way,
the truth,
and the life
and if you come to him,
you will come to the Father.
And in chapter 15,
he says,
I'm the true vine.
If you abide in me
and I in you,
you will have life
for apart from me,
you can do nothing.
Jesus is the only one
who can make God known
because he is God
and he has come in human flesh
to make God known.
That's his mission.
That's his purpose
in taking on flesh.
All other people
and religions
and everyone else
who claims that they have
another way to know God,
they are either thieves
or liars.
Only Jesus
makes God known.
John says that, right?
No one has ever seen God.
No one.
But the only God
who is at the Father's side,
he has made him known.
You can know God
through Jesus.
That's the claim of John.
It's the claim of this book
called the Bible.
The Word became flesh.
God became a man
so that man can know God.
So church,
let's keep delighting
in this truth,
this Advent season.
We can truly know
and understand
and be in relationship
with God
because Jesus
has made him known.
But we know
the story doesn't end there
with his birth.
Though the incarnation
of God,
the Word becoming flesh,
was certainly costly,
certainly amazing
and wonderful
and a truth
that we need to declare
and celebrate,
it was only a piece
of his mission.
We must always remember
where Jesus is going.
Where his mission
climaxes.
Jesus' mission
to make God known
climaxes at the cross.
when the Son of God
was crucified
in the place of sinners.
This seems like
such a bizarre statement
on the surface.
If you think about it.
How in the world
can God's Savior
be killed
on a cross?
how does that
save anybody?
How can a crucified man
be the Messiah,
the Savior of the world?
But John's been preparing us
for this all along.
That he's shown
so many examples
in this gospel
of people
who just misunderstand Jesus.
That we should get
to this point
where the full revelation
of God
at the cross
comes into full view
in the gospel
and we should go
I don't need to be
I don't need to misunderstand.
I can know
that this is truly
who God is.
Unlike Nicodemus
who sits there
scratching his head
saying
how can I be
how can I crawl back
into my mom's womb
and be born again?
Or the Samaritan woman
at the well
saying sir
how can you give me
this water of life
you don't even have a bucket
to drop into the well?
Crowds of disciples
hearing Jesus say
I'm the bread of life
saying
how can this man
give us his flesh to eat?
Right?
All these people
over and over
who misunderstand God.
And Paul says
that the word of the cross
is folly
to those who are perishing.
Right?
How does this make sense?
That God would die?
And yet that's exactly
what happens.
And it's this very claim
in chapter 8 verse 28
that Jesus highlights
and points out
for his disciples.
And for those listening
who will end up
crucifying him
he says this
when you have lifted up
the son of man
so in that same way
he's talking about himself
and he's talking about the cross
when you have lifted up
the son of man
when you've hung me
on the cross
then you will know
that I am
and that I do nothing
on my own authority
but speak just as
the father taught me.
The cross
validates
everything that Jesus
said about himself
and if we reduce that down
the cross
is the place
and the conclusion
that Jesus makes God known.
as Nicodemus
scratches his head
Jesus tells him
truly truly
I say to you
it was necessary
that the son of man
be lifted up
that whoever believes in him
may have eternal life.
It's because the problem
goes so deep
friends.
see the picture
that John paints
is not
of these
really God-fearing
individuals
kind of just sitting
going oh
if God would just
show up
and reveal himself
we'd love to follow him.
History continues
to repeat itself
that God sends
messengers
and says
this is what I'm like.
People kill
his prophets
they crucify his son
and they continue
to martyr his bride.
Because the problem
goes so deep
and yet
Jesus is the only way
that we can know God.
In an intimate
gathering of disciples
chapter 14
one of them
Philip says
kind of please
he pleads with Jesus
he says
just show us the Father
and it's going to be
enough for us.
And Jesus says
Philip
have I been with you
so long?
If you've seen me
you've seen the Father.
Do you not believe
that I am in the Father
and the Father
is in me?
The Son of Man
must be lifted up
to divine necessity
to crucify Jesus.
To cast out
the ruler
of this world
to defeat
the problem
of evil
and sin
and death
put all people
on notice.
Believe
in God's Messiah
or perish
in your sins.
To showcase
God's righteousness
in his holy
hatred
for sin.
And to teach
sinners
how far
reaching
his love
is.
For God
so loved
the world
that he gave
his only Son
that whoever
believes in him
would not perish
but have
everlasting life.
That's the mission
of Jesus
isn't it?
To secure
eternal life
for all who believe.
And what is
this eternal life?
eternal life?
John 17
verse 3
And this is
eternal life
that they know
you
the only
true God
and Jesus
Christ
whom you have
sent.
Eternal life
is knowing God.
You see how
this all
connects?
Jesus' mission
he came
to make God
known.
Knowing God
is eternal
life.
God
became a man
and died
on a cross
so that man
could know God
and find
eternal life.
All who believe
in this
will not perish
in their sin
but have eternal
life.
They will know
the one true
God
because they
know Jesus
Christ
the one
God
sent.
Jesus says
I and the
Father
am one.
I'm in the
Father
the Father
is in me
if you've
seen me
you've seen
the Father.
Jesus alone
makes God
known
because Jesus
alone is God
and he's come
to make
God known.
That's his
mission.
That's why
he came.
So how do we
respond?
I just want to
offer two ways
for us to
respond to
this.
First way
is to
celebrate
him.
Celebrate
this unique
person
who alone
is able to
offer eternal
life.
Who alone
is able to
help us
know God
truly.
So we
worship and
adore him
this season
of Advent
and every
season.
I recognize
in that
it requires
different
strategies
and procedures
for different
folks in the
room.
Right?
If you're in
the room
today and
you don't
know Jesus
you can't
celebrate him
until you
come to
him and
receive his
offer of
eternal life
and forgiveness
of your
sins.
He offers
this freely.
It's why he
came as a
mission that
he had from
the beginning.
But you
must come to
him and
believe in
him.
He's the
only way you
can know
God.
And any
other way
that you're
trying to
know God
will fail.
No one's
seen God.
The only
God at the
Father's side
has made
him known.
But then
for the rest
of us to
celebrate Jesus
means we've
got to get
him before
our face.
We've got to
understand who
he is and
we've got to
get him
before our
eyes.
The way
this has been
looking for
me this
week, I
have this
fantastic
ability to
take all of
my problems
and put them
under a
microscope and
magnify them
and just stare
through the lens
of this microscope
and just stare
at my problems.
Oh, the problem
is so terrible.
I'm guessing
some of you
can relate to
this.
But that's
never going to
get me to
celebrate Jesus
today or any
day, is it?
I've got to
get my eye
from squinting
into this
little teeny
microscopic
device and
step back and
lift my gaze
up and see
this delightful,
glorious,
wonderful Savior
who dwarfs
every problem
I have.
That's the
fight of faith
I'm engaged
in to celebrate
him now.
So that's
the first
response,
celebrate him.
The second
way that we
respond to
this mission
of Jesus
is to join
him.
After Jesus
is resurrected
in chapter 20
verse 21,
he says this
to his
disciples,
As the
Father has
sent me,
even so I
am sending
you.
See, the
mission of
Jesus doesn't
stop when
Jesus goes
up to
heaven.
Certainly
he has
died and
been raised
to offer
eternal life
and salvation
and his
mission continues
through his
people.
To gather
his sheep,
those who
will hear
his voice
and respond
to him
and come
in and find
pasture in
life.
That mission
to continue
uniting a
people in
his name
for his
glory.
He sent
us into
this time,
to this
place,
for his
glory,
to be on
mission with
him.
The season
of Advent,
when we
ponder the
baby in the
manger,
is such a
good time
to either
for the
first time
kindle,
or for
the 50th
time,
rekindle
joining
Jesus on
this
mission.
Chapter
1,
verse 14
doesn't
say,
the word
became
flesh and
dwelt
nearby us.
The word
became flesh
and dwelt
among us.
Let us
be like
that too.
Though we
acknowledge that
mission is
hard, it
can be
messy and
scary.
I was just
talking about
it before
service.
There was a
way we were
trying to
help somebody
and it
didn't work
out so
well.
But it
requires
proximity, it
requires risk
taking, that
face-to-face
relationship that
Jesus makes
God known
because he's
among the
people.
We have
one such
opportunity
coming up on
Christmas Eve
that Mike
announced earlier.
We're going to
gather in this
building as a
church and
we're going to
prepare food and
we're going to
feed a
community of
anybody who
wants to
come.
But more than
that, we want
to join together
to be God's
sent ones who
are on mission
to say, Jesus
is the only way
to God.
He's the only
way you can
know him.
And if you
know him, then
you truly do
know God and
you have eternal
life in him.
Let's not just
aim all of our
energy at that
one event and
that one
time, right?
Let's commit
as a church,
wherever we're
at, whether
we've been
doing this and
you're like,
okay, here we
go again, or
you need this
encouragement and
this push.
Let's continue
joining Jesus in
this season and
every single
season.
Joining his
mission to
make God
known by
making Jesus
known.
Declaring to
our friends,
our neighbors,
our family,
our coworkers,
this glorious
news that God
became a man so
that man can
know God.
Let's pray.
Father God, I
just thank and
praise you for
your word.
Spirit, would
you help us
grasp this
incredible news
that Jesus
reveals the
Father because
the Father is in
Jesus and
Jesus is in the
Father.
Help us to
celebrate our
Lord and Savior
this Advent
season and help
us to join him
in this mission.
God, accomplish
much through our
efforts and be
glorified through
our celebration.
I give you all
the thanks, all
the praise, all
the glory, praying
only through
Jesus, our
Lord, our
God.
Amen.