And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and
bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
Luke 1:31
Have you ever wondered why Jesus came as a baby instead of a full-grown man?
Why didn’t God form Him as an adult from the dust of the earth like He did Adam (Genesis 2:7)?
Or send Jesus to earth in the same way He did Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3)? Or how about the way the two witnesses in Revelation will be on the earth with no explanation as to how they got there (Revelation 11:3)?
If Jesus had come as a man, He could have shortened His time away from the Father. Jesus’ ministry only lasted three years before He died and rose again. After that, He soon returned to heaven.
So, why would He come as a baby and spend thirty years of His life being rather ordinary?
Let’s find out.
Table of Contents
Why Did Jesus Come as a Baby?
Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth was to die and atone for our sins so we could be made right with God. But to do this, He had to be made like us in every way. So that meant He was brought into the world the same way as everyone else, minus the sin nature. Because Jesus became like us even down to His birth, and then lived a perfect life, God made Him our merciful and faithful high priest. And His sinless life allowed Him to become the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
1. To Be Like Us in Every Way
What better way for Jesus to be like us than to be born and start His life the same way all people do?
And then to spend the next thirty years living a relatively obscure life: identifying with hard work, having opportunities to obey or disobey, and suffering in ways that people most certainly do.
Maybe He could have done it in three years of ministry, but God decided His coming as a baby was the best way to accomplish being like us.
Remember, Jesus came from heaven. He is God and far above His creation. Consider what Christ Jesus gave up to be human.
First, let me note that Jesus did not give up being God but became the God-man clearly taught in Scripture.
Philippians 2:6-7 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Jesus not only became human but one that was like us in every way. Whether through being born like we are or suffering and having the same type of temptations we do, Jesus became like us.
Hebrews 2:17 Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Notice two crucial reasons:
- So He might become our merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God – things like atonement for sins
- So He could make propitiation for the sins of the people – Jesus could offer a satisfactory sacrifice that would take away people’s sins
Let’s look more closely at these two reasons.
2. To Be Our Merciful and Faithful High Priest
Jesus becoming our merciful and faithful high priest involved three things:
- Being human
- Being tempted in every way as we are
- Never giving into temptation but living a perfect life in complete submission to God
Jesus met all three criteria.
High priests under the law offered gifts and sacrifices for the sins of the people. But they had to do it for themselves, too, because they were guilty of sinning like everyone else. And therefore, their work was never finished.
Still, it was a temporary solution for sin that God put in place…until Jesus came.
Jesus was born as a baby. He faced all the same temptations in His life as we do (see 1 John 2:16), which means He understands and can help us when we are tempted.
Hebrews 2:18 Since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Suffering is how Jesus learned perfect obedience to God, which qualified Him to become our High Priest. He has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Therefore, Jesus is the perfect high priest we need.
Hebrews 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
Hebrews 7:26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.
As a believer in Christ, I hope you understand the gravity and take full advantage of having Jesus as your merciful and faithful high priest.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such is as common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
3. To Die and Break the Power of the Devil and Death
The second reason and Jesus’ purpose in coming was to make propitiation for the sins of the people. And to render powerless the one who had the power over death.
It was a joint effort between the Father and Son, as seen in the following four verses.
Hebrews 2:14 Because God’s children are human beings–made of flesh and blood–the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.
2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
It began with a prophecy made to the serpent (the devil) in the garden.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between her seed and your seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.
To recap the four verses:
- Jesus had to be human to break the power of the devil
- God made Jesus to be sin on our behalf
- Jesus is Himself the propitiation for our sins, the sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath against sin
- The Father sent His Son out of His love for us
Or you might say that God loved us so much that He sent Himself to die for our sins because no one else could do it.
RELATED > > > > > How is Jesus the Promised Seed? – Genesis 3:15
2000 Decembers Ago
Final Thoughts
Why did Jesus come as a baby?
Because Jesus had to be like us so He could die for our sins and break the power of the devil and death.
He also came as a baby, so He could learn obedience through His suffering and temptations.
Since He lived as a human without sinning, He can be our merciful and faithful high priest. We can go to Him for help in our time of need.
However, becoming the sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath against sin is why Jesus came. It is the only reason we can now be made right with God and have eternal life with Him in heaven.
Do you know you will go to heaven when you die?
It’s vital that you know the answer.