Faithfully yours - What really happened in Bethlehem

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Published on Sunday, December 18, 2016

By Neil Strohschein

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The more I study the Scriptural accounts of Jesus’ birth, the more amazed I become. His was no ordinary birth because, as we have seen, he was no ordinary baby. He was the all-powerful, all-knowing, eternally existent creator who formed and ruled over all facets of his creation. Jesus was that God—revealed in human form. He was “the Word (who) became flesh and lived for a while among us.” (John 1:14)

So why, when he came to earth, did he come as a baby? And what did that choice demand of him? Words from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians help us answer the second question. Note what he says about Jesus: “though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:6-7)

When Paul says that Jesus “emptied himself,” he is using the illustration of a person who takes a goblet or a cup that is filled with liquid, turns it over and dumps its contents on the ground. In Jesus’ case, he allowed all of his powers, privileges and prerogatives as God to be taken from him. He let them go. He released them and then God the Father took what was left, reduced it to the size of a single human cell, and implanted that cell into the womb of Jesus’ mother Mary.

That cell grew inside of her just as any other embryo grows in the womb of a mother until it is time for her to give birth. And when Jesus was born, he came into this world just as you and I came into this world—as an infant totally dependent on his parents for everything.

Think for a moment of what this meant for Jesus. In his pre-existent state, he didn’t have to move from place to place. He was present everywhere at the same time. But he emptied himself of that ability; so when he came to earth, he had to learn how to walk.

In his pre-existent state, when Jesus spoke, stars and planets came into existence, universes were formed, mountains and valleys, lakes and rivers, fields and forests appeared on earth with people to tend and care for them. But he emptied himself of that ability, so when he came to earth, he had to learn how to talk.

In his pre-existent state, Jesus had no problem fitting into society and living by its rules. He was the one who made and enforced the rules. But he emptied himself of that ability, so when he came to earth, he had to learn to live in a society where someone else made the rules.

In his pre-existent state, Jesus would have lived forever. But he emptied himself of that ability, so when he came to earth he came knowing that one day he would have to experience physical death. He released all of these things and more when he came to earth.

So why did he do it? He did it because that was part of God’s divine plan. Jesus would come to earth, experience everything that you and I experience between birth and death and do it all without ever thinking an evil thought, speaking an evil word or doing an evil deed. So when he died, he could take our sins on himself and die to atone for them (see Hebrews 4:15-16).

God became a man—that’s what really happened in Bethlehem the night Jesus was born.