Why is the Incarnation So Important?

The importance of the Incarnation, which we looked at in the previous post, can’t be overstated. Jesus, God the Son, became a human being and lived among us. Please don’t let that truth fly by you without a thought. Spend a moment pondering that. 

Jesus not only became human, he lived a sinless life. Not once in act or word or thought did Jesus ever sin. He was tempted in every way, but he never fell to temptation. No one else has ever faced the full impact of temptation without giving in. Whatever temptation you may face, Jesus has been there and overcome it. He understands what you’re facing, and he’s always there to offer you his help.

But why did Jesus come to earth as a man? Why was it so important for God the Son to come and live among us? We touched on this here, but let’s discuss some reasons for the Incarnation.

First, and this is probably the one that initially comes to mind, Jesus came to be our Savior. We’ll camp out here in some future posts, but for now, Jesus came to die on the cross so that we could be made right with God.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Jesus became human so that he could take our place and die to pay our penalty. Each of us has sinned, and the penalty for our sin is death. God chose to die in our place, but God is eternal, and he will never die. But Jesus did. Conversely, no mere human being could have paid the penalty for all mankind. Only a God could do something like that. Jesus did. 

Another reason that Jesus came to us as a human is to be our example. 

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)

Okay, hold on, we’re supposed to follow in the footsteps of Jesus? Who could live up to that? That’s like asking Ken Jennings to live up to Alex Trebek. Well, it’s much harder than that, because Jesus is God. He lived a perfect life. He was sinless, for cryin’ out loud.

Still, Jesus is our pattern to follow. Yes, he is God, and if that’s all he is, then there’s no way we could live up to his example. But Jesus is also 100% man, and it’s Jesus the man who is our example. It’s Jesus the man who shows us how to live, how to love, how to serve, how to face temptation, and how to go through seasons of suffering. We don’t have to follow his example in our strength. He’s given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to live as we ought. So, how are you doing? Ask God to help you follow the example of Jesus. Ask him to grow you in holiness. That’s a powerful prayer — are you ready to ask it?

Third, Jesus also came to reveal God to us. One day, Jesus said to his disciples, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:7). Then Philip said, “Hang on a second. Jesus, if you’ll just show us the Father, that will be enough for us.” And Jesus replied, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). 

When we’ve seen the Son, we’ve seen the Father! When we read and study the life of Jesus in the Gospels, we see God and his love, his grace, his power, his perfect justice, and his incredible holiness. 

God isn’t an angry old man ready to zap us with a lightning bolt at our slightest mistake. He’s also not a sweet old man in a Santa Claus beard who wants to overlook all our wrongs. He’s not a mean-spirited man who wants to take all the fun out of life. He’s also not like Mermaid Man, really old and out of touch but there for you whenever you blow the conch shell (yes, that’s a shoutout to SpongeBob Squarepants).

Read the Gospels, but this time look for the perfect balance of love and justice in Jesus’s life. You’ll see it if you look for it. If you want to know what the Father is like, look at the Son.

Here’s another reason why Jesus came to us, and it’s one that not a lot of people talk about: 

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

Jesus came to us as a human to destroy the works of the devil. Satan is not some make-believe figure. He’s real and active, and he’s the creator of sin. Jesus came to destroy all of what Satan has done, and that happened when Jesus arrived on earth. Satan is a defeated enemy. His end has been settled. That’s why believers are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:17-18). The power of sin has been destroyed. The very presence of sin will be destroyed when Jesus returns (Revelation 20:10), but the power of sin was destroyed when Jesus arrived on the scene. 

There’s one last reason I’ll mention why Jesus became human. He came to be the mediator between God and man. We’re getting into the present work of Christ instead of his past work, and we’ll discuss this in more detail in future posts, but for now, it’s important to know that Jesus is our mediator, representing us before God. 

In the Old Testament, the only way for sinful people to come closer to God was through the sacrificial system performed by priests. We can still only approach God through a sacrifice. That sacrifice is the one made by Jesus. 

So those are five reasons why Jesus came to earth as fully God and fully man. As I said, the importance of the Incarnation can’t be overstated. We celebrate this truth at Christmas. My prayer is that we remember and thank God for the Incarnation year-round.

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