The Baby grew up!
Nothing brings a smile as quickly as the innocent glow of an infant cuddled tenderly in the embrace of a mother’s arms. We can easily loose awareness of the world around us while watch in amazement the slightest movement, gurgle or simply peaceful slumber of this precious gift. You watch an infant very long and you’ll begin to take on the contented countenance of the infant.
Perhaps this helps to explain why so many people get excited and find comfort in celebration of the birth of Jesus. The sight of the Prince of Peace humbly lying in Bethlehem’s manger is pleasant and soul-stirring. The coming of Emmanuel – “God with us” – as an infant helps to take away much of the fear associated with God in the Old Testament when men shrank back and trembled when He appeared.
Many are fascinated with baby Jesus – but the Baby grew up and the “grown-up” Jesus is not so fascinating, appealing, or easy to behold. The mission of Jesus put Him at odds with the world even though His mission was their salvation. The Messiah was born in Bethlehem (left heaven to take on the form of a man) that He might die in Jerusalem on a cross of shame and agony. Between these two great events, the Son of God challenged the conventional religious thinking of His day and called men to a higher plane of living.
The adult Jesus called on men to lose self-interest (Matthew 23:8-12). He challenged people to control their thoughts and showed that they were answerable for thoughts as well as actions (Matthew 5:27-30). He demanded single-minded devotion (Matthew 6:24, 33). A Jesus who challenged is not as easily accepted nor as appealing as Bethlehem’s infant.
The Son of God, the Prince of Peace, The Great I Am came not to be served, but to serve others. His was a mission of selfless sacrificial service (Mat. 20:26-28). By His teaching and life, He taught that the pathway to greatness in the sight of God was not in being served but serving others. His standard of greatness is not measured in how many people serve us, but how many people we serve. The multitudes followed Jesus until He began to talk about sacrifice, and many were offended by such teaching and the crowds quickly began to dwindle.
As a result of His teaching, the adult Jesus was hated. In John 1:9-11, John informed man that Jesus, the True Light, came into the world but the world did not know Him or receive Him. Much earlier Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would be despised and rejected although He would bare our sorrows and griefs. He would be smitten, afflicted, and wounded because of our transgressions (Isaiah 53:3-11). The adult Jesus is not as easy to look upon as the sweet innocent Baby in Bethlehem’s manger.
If we want to receive the blessing of the peace proclaimed by the heavenly hosts long years ago, we must face the adult Jesus. We must move beyond the gurgling infant held tenderly in Mary’s arms to see the One Who died alone on Calvary’s hill and Who calls us to a life of humble obedience.
What about you and me? Do we want the Baby to grow up? Will we accept the adult Jesus? Will we follow His teaching? Will we take on His yoke? Will you move beyond Bethlehem to surrender to the Savior bleeding on the cross?