The Sending of the Incarnate God
Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-39
Hudson Taylor, who was a devoted missionary to the Chinese people, says this about the missionary posture,"The missionary spirit is the spirit of Jesus, the spirit of the incarnation and the cross."
Jesus encapsulates the spirit of sentness through His incarnation. This word “incarnation” used by Taylor means “in flesh,” and he is referencing the texts we read today where God takes on human flesh and meets humanity right where they are.
If the “missionary spirit” is the spirit of Jesus Himself, how does He model sentness through this text? In these stories of His birth, there are no claims or teachings made by Jesus Himself – He is a baby, after all. But this is what makes the story of His incarnation even more powerful. He simply shows us what the missionary spirit is. Both angels and humans recognize that Jesus has come to redeem, not because of anything Jesus said or did initially but because Jesus simply came.
Take another read through the texts for today and underline or take note of all of the responses people had to Jesus’ coming. What did they call Him? What did they do in response?
Before Jesus ever taught, healed, performed miracles and signs, and before He resurrected, He was recognized as “the Sent One” here to redeem Israel, to forgive sins, and to bring peace to all.
In the words of Theologian John Wesely, “The best of all is that God is with us.”
Jesus was not sent only to be with that group of people at that specific time. The incarnation means that God is with us now. We do not need to be far from him because God has already come near to us in the incarnation of Jesus. Consider Jesus' words in Matthew 28:20, “...behold, I am with you until the very end of the age.”
Jesus is the “missionary spirit.” He came to a people in need of a rescue. He humbled himself and willingly gave up His privilege as deity to take on humanity. He lived the human experience to empathize with us, to be tempted as we were, to experience hardship, and ultimately to die a death for us.
What does the incarnation of Jesus change for you? Do you live like God is with you? What is God telling you about “the missionary spirit” through Jesus’ incarnation?
