Luke 2:40, 52, 46 — “And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. And….they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.”

Calling Jesus, the Son of God is akin to calling him God. That’s how the chief priests and religious leaders of Jesus’s day understood it. They saw it as blasphemy. They wanted to kill Jesus for it.

When early Christians called Jesus the Son of God, they were saying “We believe Jesus is God himself!” In God’s son, we see God. The Bible is filled with instances showing Jesus calling God his father and the Father calling Jesus his son. We see examples of Jesus doing what God did and bringing about what God had promised. We see Jesus acting with authority over the created world and supernatural world. We see him acting with authority to speak like God. He reinterprets what God had said. Jesus does what God alone is allowed to do. He receives what God alone is due.

Jesus is more than a moral teacher. He is also more than a prophet meant to lead us back to God. Jesus is God in the flesh. Here among us. Come down from heaven. Showing us the very nature and character of who he is. To love us. To rescue us. To gather us to him. Theologians call this the incarnation. It’s the heart and soul of the Christian faith. It’s how God came to save us. He did it personally.

Graciously and lovingly, God encapsulated all of this power, might, and beauty into a person, and his name is Jesus. In fact, Hebrews 1:3 says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God.” He is also the exact imprint of His nature. Incredibly, Jesus came most unexpectedly and humbly possible, in the form of a baby. What a wonderful mystery that God chose to enter into our humanity in all of his sweeping majesty. Jesus is God incarnate!

We never can be thankful enough to God. He has spoken to us fallen sinners about salvation in so many ways. He has done so with such increasing clearness. It is a wonder of love that he should by himself cleanse us from our sins. This act is beyond our utmost powers of admiration, gratitude, and praise.