When We See Jesus We See God

Jesus Christ - have you heard that name? Do you know what that name means? Jesus was his original name. And then he was called the Christ. Do you know what that means? The Christ means the Messiah. Do you know what is meant by the term, “the Messiah”? The Messiah is a divine figure, who was prophesied to enter the world and save the people of God. Is this Jesus, who was born two thousand years ago, the Messiah? Is this Jesus the Christ? Some people thought so. Others had their doubts.

We read in the Bible, in the Gospel of John: (Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem had this question) “Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes he will simply appear. No one will know where he comes from.” So they had it worked out. They had a certain notion of God. They expected God to do a certain thing. They expected God to send the Messiah in a certain way. They expected the Messiah to arrive just like that, to appear out of nowhere. They couldn’t accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah because they knew where he came from. Jesus understood their thoughts and said to them, “Yes you know me. And you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true and you don’t know him. But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.”

So Jesus said to the people who questioned his status as the Messiah, “You know me only so much. But there is something you do not know. I came from a certain person. And you don’t know that person.” I think these are significant words: “I came from a certain person and you don’t know that person. But I know that person because he sent me. I have seen him.” Jesus was referring to God, God the Father. He claimed that God the Father sent him to the world, and that the people who questioned his status as the Messiah, didn’t know God the Father.

At this Christmas time, when we are about to celebrate the birth of this Jesus, who is also the Christ, let us throw away all preconceived notions regarding God. We have a certain understanding of God, and we expect him to work in a certain way. But God didn’t do that two thousand years ago. Though Jesus fulfilled many prophecies during his lifetime, his entry into the world was most remarkable because it was not at all noteworthy. He was born in very humble circumstances. He was born to very humble people. Except for the three wise men who visited him and honoured him there was nothing particularly remarkable about his birth. The angels did announce his birth to shepherds. That was a remarkable moment. But when you consider the fact that he came very humbly into this world, that he was born in a manger, and that he was born to a carpenter, and a woman, who became pregnant before her marriage - these are not ideal circumstances in which a person is born. God defied human imagination and expectations when Jesus Christ was born. And he continued to defy human expectations.

The message of the Lord Jesus Christ was nothing like the message that was preached by people before him. It was remarkable. He preached forgiveness. He preached loving one's enemies. He preached that people should bless their enemies and pray for their enemies. This is a remarkable message. One doesn’t hear this message in anything that came before the Lord Jesus Christ.

This Christmas I have this message to convey to the world: we have certain expectations of God. We believe that we know God. Those who have studied God, those who have read about him have this idea that they can work out God. Jesus proved to everyone that God’s mind cannot be worked out. He was an exceptional manifestation, he was a shocking manifestation of God. One of his own disciples asked him at a certain time, “Show us the Father”. And Jesus said, “How can you even ask such a thing? The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”

This is the truth. This is the Truth whom we call the Lord Jesus Christ. When we see him, we see the one who sent him. We don’t know the one who sent him. This world doesn’t know God. But Jesus came into the world to reveal God to us. He is the Christ. He is the Messiah, who came in a way in which no one expected him to come, and who went away in a way in which no one expected him to go away. Everything about him was remarkable. This is the Christ that we will remember during this Christmas. He defies our expectations. His love is beyond description. His grace is beyond our belief. He loves us beyond measure. He forgives us of all our sins. This is Jesus. And he represents God. When we see Jesus we see God.

Let us see God during this Christmas. And let us remember this: that God will surprise us as he surprised us two thousand years ago. We can never ever claim to know him. We just know that he is love. And he expressed his love through the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be grateful for that love. Let us thank God, and let us truly celebrate Christmas by celebrating his love. I wish you all a blessed Christmas.

(Transcript of the message given by Samuel Godfrey George on 20th December 2013)