Our Mighty God, Given to Us as a Child

One of the most incredible words in all of scripture is Immanuel, which means God with us. The concept of Immanuel, that God became flesh and walked among us, is profound and overwhelming. The way that the hymn writer put it, the “fullness of God in helpless babe,” is a powerful way for us to understand that Jesus was truly Immanuel, the Mighty God, in the flesh of an infant. Jesus was like the 360,000+ babies that are born each day in our world – needy, vulnerable, and dependent. Jesus underwent the humility of being completely reliant on His mother for food, protection, and comfort. 

I love that Luke tells us that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes at His birth. It helps me to remember that Jesus was like every other baby born on this earth. He needed His swaddling clothes changed. He needed to be cared for. The fact that at that same moment, He was also the Mighty God ought to fill us with reverence, shock, and awe. My first thought is, “Wait, He did what? He did that for us!” That is part of the beauty and majesty of the incarnation. As John wrote, “[Jesus] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) The contrast between a baby and the Mighty God is intended to help us understand just how amazing the gift of Jesus is. 

The use of the word “mighty” in Isaiah is a clear reference to the one who is unbeatable in warfare. The original readers of Isaiah would have thought of David, who was Israel’s mightiest warrior. Remember the songs about him went, “...Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:7 ESV) Jesus is described therefore as the God who will fight triumphantly for His people. He is the conquering king. Because we know the rest of the story, we know that through the cross Jesus would conquer the fiercest enemies of all: Satan, hell, and death itself. The gift of Jesus would be a gift of victory over whatever threatens us, and it would come through the gift of a vulnerable baby.

Expectantly,

Shawn