Unassuming God

He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice...

Isaiah 42:2-3

Last night as my wife and I read the story of Jesus' birth to our eight week old daughter from The Big Picture Story Bible, I found myself overwhelmed with fresh insight into the truth of this passage. Here is how David Helm puts it in that book:

"But in this crowded city where would this special baby be born? In a nice, big home? No, not in a nice, big home. In a clean hotel? No, not in a clean hotel. All the nice, big homes and clean hotels were filled up with people. Can you guess where this baby would be born? God's forever king was born in a stable, a place for animals." (emphasis mine)
 

Being just a handful of classes away from a Masters of Divinity degree, this quote from a children's story Bible didn't confront me with any new information, but rather it presented a familiar truth with such simplicity and beauty that I found myself struggling to read the rest of the story. How utterly mind blowing that the birth of creation's king should occur in the same place that a donkey might be born, or eat his dinner, or even relieve himself! I wanted to weep and praise God for His goodness right then there. Is there no limit to God's humility? What have I ever done to deserve such a King?

It's astounding that a holy God would choose to love a sinner like me at all. It's unfathomable that He would choose to enter into the finite space of His creation to show me that love. It is unthinkable that He should take the guilt for my sin against Him upon Himself and die in my place. But how far beyond human reason is it to think that the one true Creator God would enter this creation as a helpless baby who can't even lift His own head? And then that the birth of this baby should not be met with fanfare or honor as even the birth of a human king would be, but rather that it should be crowded out of all civilized conditions and into a stable..."a place for animals!" Again I ask is there no limit to God's willingness to humble Himself on our behalf? 

There is no other god like this God. No other god is so deserving of honor. No other god is so unassuming. The only proper response to an event like this is dumbfounded awe followed by heartfelt worship and joyous proclamation. And yet, my own human capacity to grow accustomed to God's great actions towards me and even to take them for granted never ceases to amaze me either. Don't take this amazing gift for granted today. And don't wait for Christmas to celebrate or break out into worship for this God's most amazing gift to His creation. Sing, exult, lift up your heart in worship for the one, true God has humbled Himself and taken on the nature of a man because of His love for you. And yet in doing so, He did not demand honor as a human king would. He did not impose His will on anyone. In fact, He came so gently that He would not have even broken a "bruised reed" or snuffed out "a smoldering wick." What manner of God is this! Certainly one who deserves my praise, my life, my all.

For further reading...

• Philippians 2:5-8- More on Jesus' humility.
• Luke 2:1-3- Helms also draws a comparison between Caesar and Jesus. Jesus comes so humbly at the same time that Caesar is trying to show his greatness by numbering his subjects.
• Matthew 26:47-27:56- What all-powerful god would allow himself to be treated like this?

Who is this Guy?

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Mark 4:35-41

Jesus is the one that told the disciples to set out for the other side of the lake. Obedience to Him put them right in the middle of a big problem and a dangerous situation. But God does all things for His own reasons. This was a divinely orchestrated teaching moment designed especially for the disciples (many of whom were experienced fisherman and sailors) so that God could begin to open up their understanding to who Jesus really was. So let's put ourselves in their place. Let’s learn their lesson and use it for our good today. Imagine that you are one of these disciples in the midst of the storm with Jesus and let's ask ourselves the same question that the disciples ended up asking themselves. “Who is this Jesus?”

We see first that Jesus is unmistakably human for He is sleeping (ESV Study Bible). Scripture speaks plainly that God doesn't sleep (Isaiah 40:28 & Psalm 121:4). Yet here we find Jesus, in the midst of a great storm as water floods in the boat all around Him sound asleep. However, the disciples needed no reminder that Jesus was human; they knew that full well. What they needed to know was what stands out most in this encounter: Jesus does something which only God could do (The New Bible Commentary by IVP). Only the Creator God has the power to command the wind and the waves. Yet, we find Jesus doing exactly this. So who then is this Jesus?

Scripture tells us that He is not only human, but He is also God the Son and the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created… all things have been created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:15-16)

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:3)

In his commentary on this passage, Matthew Henry rightly notes that had the disciples known the answer to their own question, they would have feared the storm less. They feared the wind and the waves more than they should have because they feared Jesus less than they should have. If they had known who Jesus really was, then they would have feared the storm much less and Jesus much more. It is easy though when the problems of this world are clamoring all around us and the lives which we have carefully constructed are crashing down upon us to focus exclusively on the storm and to think that it is ultimate reality... but it is not. No matter what your storm is, it is not ultimate reality. The most pertinent fact in the whole world to whatever problem you are facing is this: God loved you so much that He sent His Son to take on flesh to suffer and die in your place so that your sin could be atoned for and forgiven. God has accepted you in grace. Respond to Him in belief. If you will (or if you have), then He has promised your ultimate destination is heaven. He is in control of your journey. Each storm is allowed by Him to draw you nearer to Him and to conform you more into the image of His Son. If God is for you, then who can be against you? (Romans 8:31). No one!

So learn a lesson from the disciples today. Don't attack God with accusations and unbelief like they did Jesus (see vs. 38). Implore Him for help, but from a place of faith. If He has given His son for you, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give you all things that you need? (Romans 8:32). As your storm rages all around you, remind yourself who Jesus is. Remind yourself that no matter how big, loud, or painful your storm is, Jesus is bigger, He is more real, your destiny is in His hands, and He has already proven His love for you. So ask for help, but do so in faith.

For further reading...

• Romans 8:18-39: Read what Paul has to say about present suffering, future glory, and ultimate reality.
• John 1:1-18: John tells us who Jesus is.
• Colossians 1:15-20: Paul tells us who Jesus is.
• John 10:1-21 & John 14:1-14: Jesus tells us who He is.
• Revelation 5: The Revelation vision tells us who Jesus is.

Contaminated

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Mark 1:40-45

In the Old Testament and in life we get a clear picture of the way that contamination works. From experience we know that if you toss a piece of clean white linen into the mud, the mud doesn't miraculously become clean. On the contrary, the linen is soiled. That's the direction that contamination flows. Dirty things mar clean things. The Old Testament tells us that, much like that mud, sick people contaminate well people. This is why God gave the Israelites a lot of specific instructions on how to handle leprosy (Leviticus 13 & 14). I don't know of anywhere in the Old Testament where it says that the leprous man should touch something or someone who is clean, and upon doing so he will become clean. In fact, the Old Testament had a lot of instructions for how leprous people were to avoid coming into contact with anyone who was healthy. Leviticus 13:45-46, for example, requires certain lepers to live outside the camp and cry out "Unclean! Unclean!" to help keep people away.

But in this passage Jesus reverses the flow of contamination. When Jesus touches the leprous man, He is not contaminated with his leprosy. On the contrary, the leprous man is contaminated with Jesus' cleanness and health. Jesus has power over this illness. He has the power to remove and to restore and to make whole again. And what is perhaps even more interesting is that Jesus doesn't have to touch the man to heal him. He could have simply said, be healed. He heals from a distance elsewhere (Matthew 8:5-13). But Jesus chose to heal him by touching him. We cannot imagine what this must have meant to this man. His leprosy has placed a stigma on him. No one touches him anymore. No one hugs him, or comes near him, unless they also have the disease. But the maker of the universe walks over and enters into his uncleanness...his sickness and takes it away. What a beautiful example of God's love and of how Christ humbles Himself to enter into our circumstances to show us that love. It is downright incarnational.

Jesus has this same power over all illnesses, all weaknesses, and all sin. It is only Jesus who restores and makes clean and whole. It is only Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. It is only He who can restore you to right relationship with God. Whatever your problem, whatever your illness, whatever you are lacking, rest assured that Jesus is the answer. This doesn't mean that He will do exactly what you want Him to do. Or that all your problems will go away immediately. But Jesus will set you free from your sin if you ask. He will give you the perseverance and strength to face your struggles and be victorious over them. Sometimes, He chooses to heal people through death, setting them free from their disease by leading them home to heaven. At other times, He heals them right here and now and sends them off to live for God in this world. Don't get me wrong, Jesus isn't going to pay all your bills, and beat up all your enemies, and get you a raise at work. But He alone is the storehouse that can provide for all your needs, and He alone has the wisdom to discern when to simply meet your needs and when to help you as you struggle against them. Come to Jesus. Bring your illness, your disease, your sin, and let His Spirit touch you and heal you today. And then go out and help others carry their burdens the way He has carried yours.

For further reading...

• Matthew 8:5-13: Read a story of Jesus healing from afar.
• John 1:1-18, Philippians 2:1-11, II Corinthians 8:9- Read these passages on the incarnation of Christ and see what connections you can find to Jesus' action of healing the leprous man.