The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.\u00a0 We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14<\/em><\/p>\nChristmas is a very important date in the Church\u2019s liturgical calendar.\u00a0 Celebrated by millions of Christians worldwide, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most recognized events in human history.\u00a0 Though obviously holding tremendous significance, the contemporary understanding of this occasion has often hidden the most important and compelling point of the entire event.\u00a0 Modern human experience and explanation has seemed to guide our collective understanding of the narrative, thereby giving us only a partial, one-sided perspective.<\/p>\n
Emphasis has long been given to the \u2018baby\u2019 Jesus, \u201cwrapped in cloths and lying in a manger,\u201d1 cute and innocent. We automatically gravitate to such an image, identifying with it easily enough, as it partially reflects and personifies the universal human experience of childbirth.\u00a0 While it is by no means incorrect to think in such terms, for Jesus was certainly born in the context described in Luke\u2019s account, allowing these baby images to dominate ones thinking, at the expense of a more developed understanding, can have a blurring effect on one\u2019s awareness of the primary significance of the Christmas story.<\/p>\n
Luke\u2019s account of Jesus\u2019 birth in chapter two provides us with a window through which we can witness the beginning of the \u201c\u2026good news of great joy that will be for all people.\u201d2 This \u201cgood news\u201d is illustrated clearly in the first passage written above. \u00a0Here, Matthew records Joseph\u2019s dream, highlighting the angelic announcement that the child soon to be born of Mary\u2019s womb would ultimately fulfill Isaiah\u2019s prophecy revealing that the infant would in fact be \u201cGod with us.\u201d3 This obviously propels us beyond the traditional understanding of Jesus as a mere \u2018baby\u2019, and demands us to see the event for what it truly was\u2014an incarnation.<\/p>\n
Incarnational theology has as its dominant premise what it calls the hypostatic or personal union of Jesus\u2019 divine and human natures.\u00a0 This term refers to the point in time when the eternal Son of God took upon Himself a complete human nature and became man.\u00a0 Existing from all eternity as the Word of God, John\u2019s gospel reveals that \u201cthe Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.\u201d4 Therefore, while we must continue to appreciate the traditional Christmas emphasis of Jesus as \u2018baby\u2019, we must likewise capture the essence of what transpired\u2013God, in Christ, became human.<\/p>\n
God the Son entered the human situation as a complete human being, uniting the fullness of divinity with the fullness of humanity in one person.\u00a0 The divinity in no way merely possessing humanity, and humanity in no way merely indwelt by deity, but two natures in one person\u2013one eternal and divine, the other human and generated in time.5<\/p>\n
In order to truly grasp the meaning of Christmas, one must move beyond the category of Jesus as the cute and cuddly baby in a manger and begin to more fully comprehend the significance of the event as it was meant to be understood.\u00a0 That is, as a Divine-human event where God the Son entered the world as a complete human being, taking upon Himself everything that it means to be human, while maintaining the fullness of His deity.\u00a0 Then, and only then, will we begin to appreciate Jesus as Immanuel\u2013God with us\u2013and discover the true significance of Christmas.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n
Jeff K. Clarke is a blogger and an award-winning writer of articles and book reviews in a variety of faith-based publications. Blog:http:\/\/jeffkclarke.com\/<\/a>, Twitter:\u00a0www.twitter.com\/jeffkclarke<\/a>, Facebook:www.facebook.com\/jeffkclarke<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
Footnotes<\/h2>\n
1 Luke 2:12. All Scripture NIV.<\/p>\n
2 Luke 2:10.<\/p>\n
3 Isaiah 7:14.<\/p>\n
4 John 1:1, 14.<\/p>\n
5 John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ our Lord. Chicago: Moody Press, 1969. P 116.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Christmas coming up next week, here are two great places to purchase gifts that benefit the poor of the the world: Mennonite Central Committee World Vision \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 By Jeff K. Clarke The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.\u00a0 We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-contributors","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Significance of Christmas - The Divine-Human Event<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With Christmas coming up next week, here are two great places to purchase gifts that benefit the poor of the the world: Mennonite Central Committee World\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Significance of Christmas - The Divine-Human Event\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Christmas coming up next week, here are two great places to purchase gifts that benefit the poor of the the world: Mennonite Central Committee World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Pangea Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/kurtwillems\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-21T01:05:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kurt Willems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kurtwillems\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kurt Willems\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/\",\"name\":\"The Significance of Christmas - The Divine-Human Event\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-21T01:05:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-12-21T01:05:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#\/schema\/person\/ea663ed0aee4001add7b994865d3fc6b\"},\"description\":\"With Christmas coming up next week, here are two great places to purchase gifts that benefit the poor of the the world: Mennonite Central Committee World\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Significance of Christmas – The Divine-Human Event\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/\",\"name\":\"The Pangea Blog\",\"description\":\"Kurt Willems' Blog at Patheos\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#\/schema\/person\/ea663ed0aee4001add7b994865d3fc6b\",\"name\":\"Kurt Willems\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa14bf226877b601bf31497c397d615a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa14bf226877b601bf31497c397d615a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kurt Willems\"},\"description\":\"Kurt Willems\u00a0(M.Div.,\u00a0Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary)\u00a0is the founding lead pastor of\u00a0Pangea Church in Seattle. He is also the curator of The Paulcast: A Podcast All About the Apostle Paul which has been featured on iTunes as \u201cnew and noteworthy.\u201d Kurt is a graduate student at the University of Washington focusing on early Christianity, Greco-Roman Religions, and Classical Languages. He writes for various print and online publications including his site\u00a0The Pangea Blog\u00a0and is also on\u00a0Twitter,\u00a0Facebook, and\u00a0Google+.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/\",\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/kurtwillems\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kurtwillems\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/author\/kurtwillems\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Significance of Christmas - The Divine-Human Event","description":"With Christmas coming up next week, here are two great places to purchase gifts that benefit the poor of the the world: Mennonite Central Committee World","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Significance of Christmas - The Divine-Human Event","og_description":"With Christmas coming up next week, here are two great places to purchase gifts that benefit the poor of the the world: Mennonite Central Committee World","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/","og_site_name":"The Pangea Blog","article_author":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/kurtwillems","article_published_time":"2012-12-21T01:05:46+00:00","author":"Kurt Willems","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@kurtwillems","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kurt Willems","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/","name":"The Significance of Christmas - The Divine-Human Event","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-12-21T01:05:46+00:00","dateModified":"2012-12-21T01:05:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#\/schema\/person\/ea663ed0aee4001add7b994865d3fc6b"},"description":"With Christmas coming up next week, here are two great places to purchase gifts that benefit the poor of the the world: Mennonite Central Committee World","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/2012\/12\/20\/the-significance-of-christmas-the-divine-human-event\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Significance of Christmas – The Divine-Human Event"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/","name":"The Pangea Blog","description":"Kurt Willems' Blog at Patheos","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#\/schema\/person\/ea663ed0aee4001add7b994865d3fc6b","name":"Kurt Willems","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa14bf226877b601bf31497c397d615a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa14bf226877b601bf31497c397d615a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kurt Willems"},"description":"Kurt Willems\u00a0(M.Div.,\u00a0Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary)\u00a0is the founding lead pastor of\u00a0Pangea Church in Seattle. He is also the curator of The Paulcast: A Podcast All About the Apostle Paul which has been featured on iTunes as \u201cnew and noteworthy.\u201d Kurt is a graduate student at the University of Washington focusing on early Christianity, Greco-Roman Religions, and Classical Languages. He writes for various print and online publications including his site\u00a0The Pangea Blog\u00a0and is also on\u00a0Twitter,\u00a0Facebook, and\u00a0Google+.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/","http:\/\/facebook.com\/kurtwillems","https:\/\/twitter.com\/kurtwillems"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/author\/kurtwillems\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5996\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/thepangeablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}