by Emmett Smith

That's right. Jesus was proclaimed to be "...mighty God..." in Isaiah 9:6. And so He is! In the salutation of his second letter Peter referred to Him as "...our God and Savior Jesus Christ..." (2Peter 1:1). John's gospel begins with the declaration that in the beginning "the Word was God". And should there be any doubt as to John's intent, verse 14 declares that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us", an obvious reference to the incarnation. And Matthew's quotation of Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:23) explains that the name Emmanuel means "God with us".

Have you thought about this lately? God became human. He lived "among us" according to many hundreds of witnesses of record! (see 1 Corinthians 15:1-9 & 1 John 1:1-4) And 1 Timothy 3:16 summarizes it as follows: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory". The gospel is unique in this respect.

No other religion claims that their god became human, lived a simple human life, was put to death by fellow humans, and then demonstrated his power over death in the resurrection. And all this so that we humans could have a loving relationship with Him. The mystery is made even more compelling when we look at Philippians chapter 2. Verse seven says that He "emptied himself" in becoming a man. Just look at a few different commentaries on that verse if you don't think it's mysterious. How could we understand how the sovereign of the universe became human?

But we can understand why. A few verses further on, we're told that His obedient death on the cross enabled Him to be exalted, to be given a name above all others. And we're also told that "every knee should bow" and that "every tongue should confess" that Jesus is Lord. And those knees and tongues are not limited to human ones either, but to things heavenly, and earthly, and under the earth, i.e. every sentient creature ever to exist. The question is not whether we will submit to Him and confess His name, but when we will do it! Whether before or after it's eternally too late.

In John chapter 20, as events following the resurrection are noted, the reaction of Thomas is recorded. We sometimes refer to him as "doubting Thomas". When the others told him that they had seen the Lord alive, Thomas said "I will not believe" unless "I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side". But when the Lord presented this evidence, his response was simply "My Lord and my God".

Think about it. Given that the evidence was true, what other response was possible?

John 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.