October 1, 2026
I love the way Matthew describes the incarnation by recounting the genealogy of Jesus, by relating the angel’s annunciation to Joseph that he should wed Mary because she would give birth to the Messiah, and by detailing the visit of the wise men who “brought gifts” and fell down to worship the young child.
Luke is even more descriptive of the birth of Christ, because he describes the angel’s visit to Mary to inform her that she would be the mother of Immanuel. Dr. Luke takes us on the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where Christ is born and laid in a manger. He describes the visit of the shepherds and the presentation of Jesus in the temple when he was eight days old.
However, the Apostle Paul compresses the Christmas story succinctly into one sentence. In his second letter to the church at Corinth he writes: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich” (Corinthians 8:9). This is the Christmas story in a capsule or a nutshell.
Indeed, the Christmas story is an account of God’s amazing grace. Paul says, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our precious Savior is all about mercy and grace. Mercy is when one does not get what they deserve. We all deserve judgment and the penalty that goes with it. However, Jesus took our place on the cross and died the death meant for us, but because of His vicarious death, His willingness to pay our debt, we are recipients of His mercy.
Grace, on the other hand, is when one gets what they do not deserve. Grace is being a beneficiary of God’s unmerited favor. It is a gift from the Lord. Christmas is all about God’s amazing gift to us – salvation, an abundant and eternal life.
In II Corinthians 8:9, Paul writes, “that though he (Jesus) was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.” When was Jesus rich? He was rich before his incarnation. Colossians 1:16 explains, “For by Him (Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven and that are upon the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” So, before the incarnation, Jesus could stand on the heights of the universe with its myriads of worlds and say, “All that is mine.”
Before the incarnation, Jesus was rich in possessions, but he was also rich in person. In the first verse of the Gospel of John, the Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” In Colossians 1:15, Paul declares that Jesus is “the express image of the invisible God.”
So, prior to coming to this earth, Jesus was rich in possessions, in person, and rich in position. In Philippians 2:6, Paul speaks of Christ having an equality with God. He shared all the glory of the Father. He sat upon the throne of the universe. All things were subject unto Him. The angels and the cherubim and the seraphim worshipped and adored Him.
It must also be stated that before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he was rich in power. Creative power was His for He made all things. He had only to flick his omnipotent finger to hurl stars and constellations into their places. Reigning power was His for dominions and principalities, and all other distinctions of power were subject to Him.
Nevertheless, Jesus left all the advantages and blessings of heaven to come into this world of sin and strife with mercy and grace on His mind. On this earth, He suddenly became poor. Philippians 2 tells us that “He emptied Himself and took upon Himself the form of a servant.” On one occasion, He said, “Foxes have holes and the birds have their nests, but the Son of Man hath no place to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20).
Jesus left the glories of heaven and was born in a stable for animals and placed in a manger, the feeding trough for cows and oxen. He came into a world where he was rebuked and scorned. Even his own people refused to receive Him. He was spoken of in pejorative language, mocked, taunted, denounced, humiliated, betrayed by one of his own disciples, and suffered all kinds of indignities even before His crucifixion.
There is so much more that could be added to the truth of Christ’s mercy and grace, but Henry Barraclough summed it up beautifully in the hymn he wrote, “Ivory Palaces”. Barraclough was a secretary to George Scott Robertson, a member of the British Parliament. Here is the refrain of his powerful hymn:
“Out of the ivory palaces
Into a world of woe
Only His great eternal love
Made my Savior go.”
I have often wondered which experience brought Jesus the greatest pain – the incarnation and the resulting shock of leaving a place of eternal tranquility and indescribable joy, or the excruciating suffering on the old rugged cross to pay a debt He did not owe. I think it just might have been the former, because he knew the cross was the portal that would soon lead Him back to His heavenly home and all the prerogatives of His deity.
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J. Gerald Harris is a retired pastor and journalist who served as editor of The Christian Index for nearly two decades. You can reach him at gharris@loveliftedmehigher.org.
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