At Christmas, we Christians remember and celebrate the incredible event where God became a man. Charles Spurgeon expressed the proper kind of admiration we ought to have when thinking about such an event:

Infinite, and an infant—eternal, and yet born of a woman—Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast—supporting the universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms—king of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph—heir of all things and yet the carpenter’s despised son!

God becoming a man (a.k.a. the incarnation) is a mind-blowing whose mysteries couldn’t be fully grasped here or in eternity to come. Brain shattering, awe-inducing stuff.

Why Did God Become Man Anyway?

As we think about such an event, I encourage you to not only admire, but also ask. One good question to start with is, “Why did God become a man?” What was so important about becoming a human being in order to save human beings? What does Jesus becoming man accomplish that other methods could not?

Well, it’s Christmas and I don’t want to wax eloquent for too long, I got stuff to do. Thankfully, the Heidelberg Catechism helpfully answers our question and in a much more eloquent way I could have anyway:

Jesus has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be…

our Chief Prophet and teacher (Acts 3:22; Deuteronomy 18:15) who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance;

our only High Priest (Heb. 7:17; Ps. 110:4) who has delivered us by the one sacrifice of his body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father;

and our Eternal King (Matthew 21:5; Zechariah 9:9) who governs us by his Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom he has won for us.

Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 31

Jesus became a man to reveal God’s truth, reconcile us to God’s affection, and rule us as God’s King, clothed in all beauty and goodness.

May your Christmas be alight with His truth, warmed by His unhindered friendship, and enjoyed with the peace that comes from knowing His rule.

Merry Christmas.