Luke 2:7-20; Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14
THE INCARANTION—GREATEST OF WONDERS
Think about all the great wonders and miracles of our most omnipotent God. Maybe we would start
with creation. The vastness and order among seemingly random chaos boggles the mind of the most
sophisticated cosmologists. It seems almost every day some new discovery comes to light that totally
changes yesterday’s theory of how the cosmos works. The size and space of even the known
universe is well beyond our imaginations. Our home for example, the Milky Way, is thought to be
100,000 light years in diameter, containing between 100 to 400 billion stars! The distance of one light
year is incomprehensible. Saw an article the other day that said Voyager 1, launched 48 years ago
will reach a distance of 16 billion miles from earth sometime next year…that will equate to one light
DAY!! (the distance light travels in one day). The nearest galaxy to us is 2.5 million light years away.
Just in case you’re not already overwhelmed, it is estimated that there are between 6 and 20 trillion
galaxies in the observable universe. The creation is certainly high on the list of God’s greatest
wonders!
Or how about the new birth? That certainly is a miraculous event and wonder. The miracle of
changing the heart of a spiritually dead person who is in rebellion and enmity against God into one
who believes in, honors and glorifies his God. This is certainly near the top of the list of God’s
greatest wonders. This miracle is more than an emotional experience or moral reformation. It is a
radical change in one’s nature and standing before God. Believers are adopted into God’s family
becoming His children and co-heirs with Christ. And yet, there is a miraculous wonder that I think is
even greater (if it were even possible to rank God’s works) that makes all the others possible.
Luke 2:8-11
8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch
over their flock at night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of
the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And so the angel said to
them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the
people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
The incarnation, Immanuel, God with us. God, coming to us, in the form of an infant, born naturally
from the womb of a young, virgin Hebrew girl, whose first bed was a feeding trough. In this event,
God didn’t just display some of Himself, He displayed all of Himself. God didn’t display His truth in
some facets or in some fragments as He did in the Old Testament, but rather in Jesus Christ, who
embodies all the treasures and wisdom of God—Jesus Christ in whom all the fulness of the Godhead
dwells bodily. If you want to see God fully, look at Christ. Jesus said, “if you’ve seen Me, you’ve
seen the Father”. The incarnation is clearly, the wonder of wonders!
How are we to respond to the coming of God to dwell among men? Psalm 96 gives some
suggestions.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
But the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courtyards.
Worship the Lord in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
Mark Packer
Elder