Jesus Moved Into The Neighborhood
The neighborhood needs Jesus, and the Bible has the answer. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” (John 1:14) In the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we are told of a baby, laid in a manger. The Word, another name for Jesus, came to earth.
Jesus had a miraculous birth. The Bible says that he became man. “This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18)
Yet, this was not Jesus’ beginning. He was with the Father before the universe was created. Numerous times Jesus said that He came from Heaven. In John 6:38, Jesus says of himself, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.”
The most surprising is that Jesus came down from heaven born as a human being. We can only imagine what it was like when Jesus left Heaven to come to the earth. He laid aside His infinite glory and majesty in heaven, and He limited Himself, becoming a baby dependent on his parents like any other baby born into the world.
Paul confirms this in Philippians 2:6-8: Jesus “…who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
These are stunning words to be spoken about God the Son:
- “He made himself nothing.”
- He took “the very nature of a servant.”
- He was “in appearance as a man.”
- “He humbled Himself.”
- He was “obedient to death.”
We are now in the season of Advent. One of the other names of Jesus is Immanuel. The prophet Isaiah spoke of Jesus’ birth: “All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” (Isaiah 7:14)
The other night, we heard a siren, and it stopped down the street from our house. After a while, a second police car arrived, then a third and a fourth police car arrived. We looked through our kitchen window, and we looked at each other, “What happened?”
After a while, we saw the police put up tape around the front of the house. We knew then that something bad had happened. The neighbors began to come out of their houses, as we did, and we gathered, looking at the scene.
Another neighbor approached us, and he knew what had happened. A gun shot from that house had been heard, and the police were called. The story did not continue well. That neighbor had taken his own life.
My heart went out to the family. How sad that the man did not know this Immanuel, God with us, Jesus, the Prince of Peace. The story was told that he had fallen on hard times. That his business had been robbed taking all his tools that he needed to work with. Also, his wife was in the hospital with COVID.
When I read Psalm 4:8 the next morning, it had new meaning for me as I thought of our neighbor who did not have the assurance that only a Savior can give, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Jesus came down looking for us. He is with us. He is Immanuel.
In the Old Testament times, God’s presence was found in the tabernacle - in a tent. Wherever the tabernacle went, God’s presence traveled with it. In Jesus, we have God himself in a human body, in person, not in a tent. “He made his dwelling among us.” He “tabernacled” among us. The Word became flesh. The Word was God. The Word is Jesus. (John 1:1)
The Message says, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” This is a wonderfully powerful word picture. Jesus came down and moved into the neighborhood. Surely His love was present even with our desperate neighbor.
When life is difficult, we can count on Jesus being there for us. He is in our neighborhood. Through repentance, faith and acceptance, He can live within our hearts. He can be with us always. He didn’t just move in next door to you and me. But He asks to come into each home. His presence can tabernacle in our earthly tent, in our eternal soul. “Thank you, Jesus, for your incarnate birth. For coming to us to bring us into right relationship with you.” He is worthy of our worship and trust.
Rev. Susan McKeithen, NBC Executive Assistant, and Spanish Ministry Pastor Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene
Published: 12/07/2020
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