Advent 3/25

 DAY THREE (week one; prophecies)

   So far we’ve looked at two prophecies; one saying that Eve’s seed (descendant) will conquer the Devil with a price, and the other saying that a sign from God will come from a virgin, specifically titled ‘God With Us’. Today we get a clearer picture of this messiah from Isaiah 9:6;

“For a child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (NASB)

   The Messiah will not come from the clouds or descend out of heaven in a chariot; He will be born (connecting Him to the ‘sign’ from a virgin) as a human. So this ‘God With Us’ is fully human, yet He will be called ‘Mighty God’. How can someone be fully God and fully man? This dual nature of Jesus doesn’t separate Him into two people- God before He was born, Human after. It also doesn’t split in aspects, Jesus isn’t 50% human and 50% God. He is both, which can be hard to comprehend.
   Here is a paraphrased quote I have read before that puts it nicely- “Jesus has always been God, and at the incarnation (when He was conceived in Mary’s womb) He added humanity into His character without taking away from His deity.”
   So Jesus became flesh and had human features, yet He was still all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal (which was proven when He conquered death), unable to sin, and many other incredible characteristics of God. 

   Today, I encourage you to pray with me for a closer relationship and kinship with Jesus because He was truly fully human, just like us; humbly born as a child to fulfill the prophecy in Isaiah.