When God Invaded Earth
 Invasion.
The word has connotations that range from joy and elation
to gut-wrenching fear. In June of 1944 the citizens
of France were living with great expectation of being
liberated from the Nazi occupiers. On the other hand,
in early 1975 the people of South Vietnam were filled
with fear as the armies of North Vietnam converged on
the DMZ in preparation for the invasion and ruthless
occupation of the South.
Historically one of the major reasons
for invasion was the target country occupied an area
forming a crossroads between cultures and economies.
Whoever controlled the crossroads was in a position
to benefit militarily and economically, thus the effort
put forth in conducting a successful invasion was in
direct proportion to the value of the objective. Such
was the case when God came to this earth as a human
the first time.
Jesus, however, did not come with a
conquering army, and He did not vanquish either the
Jewish or Gentile world. He was not born of recognized
royalty and did not have the trappings of a regal birth.
He was born of poor parents in a stinking stable among
animals and was visited by the most humble of people,
shepherds. His purpose was to offer the world what it
needed most — a relationship with God based upon
grace instead of law. None of this was officially acknowledged,
of course, and the result was rejection by all but a
few. A day is coming, however, when He will come to
this earth again, but this time as King of kings and
Lord of lords with a vast army and will seize control
of the entire world without so much as asking anybody’s
permission. But, the discussion of that event is for
another time.
There are several questions regarding
the incarnation of God that must be answered in order
to get more of this great picture in proper view. Many
people know at least something about these matters,
but there is much more to it than a Baby in a manger
and visits by shepherds and some strange wise men from
Persia called Magi.
Did the ancient Hebrew prophets predict
this event? Yes. But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you
One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His
goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.
(Micah 5:2). And this is at least one reason the Jews
should have been waiting for Him. The religious leaders
knew Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, the City of
David, but they did not act on that knowledge. If they
had really been looking for His birth they surely would
have had priestly officers standing by in rotating shifts
in Bethlehem to witness this great event and to bring
the good news to a waiting Israel. The fact of the matter
was they were not waiting and the news of His birth,
which should have been news of joy, actually troubled
them (Matthew 2:3).
Why was the incarnation necessary?
First, we have to understand an important aspect of
God’s redemption. It was a man (Adam) that ruined
the pristine relationship God intended to have with
mankind, and only a man could restore it. See Romans
5:12ff; 8:3; 1 Timothy 2:5,6. But, no matter how morally
good any mortal could ever be, and no matter how willing
he might be to die for the sins of the world, it would
not work for no man is sinless. No man can atone for
his own sins much less that of the entire world. Essentially
the blood of no human being could ever satisfy the sin-debt
owed by all of humanity. Therefore Jesus (who was, is
and ever will be God) left His position in heaven, took
on the body of a human by being born of a virgin who
was conceived of God the Holy Spirit, lived a perfect
life thus fulfilling the requirements of the law, offered
the only blood sacrifice God could accept (Hebrews 9:22),
was buried and rose again and is alive even as you read
these words. Only God could do such a thing; only God
could offer what God demanded. Imagine the most righteous
person you know and remember that God says that person’s
righteousness is like a filthy rag before Him (Isaiah
64:6). That is why the incarnation was necessary.
If Jesus came as King, why was He rejected
and killed? Like a number of religious Jews today, the
Jews of Jesus’ day expected the coming of their
Messiah. The problem was they were looking for a King
on a white horse who would march into Jerusalem, take
the throne of David and run the Romans out of town.
Unbelievers scoff at the thought, but that scenario
will one day be played out when Jesus returns to this
earth as described in Daniel 2:36ff, Zechariah 14 and
Revelation 19:11ff. What the Jews of that day, and most
Christians of this day, did not understand is there
are two comings of Jesus to this earth as a man.
Isaiah 53 describes the first coming
when He would arrive as an humble servant to live and
die for the sins of the world. This Jesus did when He
was born in Bethlehem; i.e., the first divine invasion
of planet earth. The second time is yet future, seven
years after the rapture actually, when He comes back
in glory to rule this earth for 1000 years from the
Throne of David in Jerusalem (Psalm 2:7,8; Zech 14:9ff;
Luke 1:32,33,; Revelation 20:1-7; etc.). Two thousand
years ago the Jews were fixated on the second one and
ignored the first one. They were not interested in a
suffering Savior (Isaiah 53), but in a reigning king
(Zech 14). Most Christians today do not believe in the
reigning King and focus solely on the suffering Savior.
Both have their place.
The time between the two comings consist
of the church age and the 70th week of years found in
Daniel nine (often called the seven year tribulation
period). Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 14 can be compared
to two distinct mountain peaks separated by a valley
with the church age and the tribulation in between.
From a distance the two peaks might seem to be part
of the same range, but the closer you get the more evident
it is that they are separated by a valley; a valley
that has thus far lasted about 2000 years.
Who killed Jesus? We did. It was for
our sins that He died, and if you and I had been in
that crowd before Pilates’ residence that early
spring morning two thousand years ago we would have
probably demanded His death like all the others. Hitler
and other anti-Semites have sold a bill of goods to
the unbelieving and ignorant world declaring that the
Jews killed Him. For this reason Jew-haters call them
the “Christ killers”. Yes, they demanded
His death because they hated Him. But, it was not the
Jews who beat Him almost to death and it was not the
Jews who drove the nails; it was the Gentile Romans
who did it and enjoyed every minute of the whole ordeal.
The important thing to remember, though, is that when
He looked upon that crowd while hanging from His cross
He saw your face and mine along with every human being
that ever lived.
If He was God then why did He let them
crucify Him? Because it was the only way for God to
redeem humanity. Because we are often so spiritually
alienated from the actual birth, life, death and resurrection
of Jesus and because we mostly read the story only at
Christmas and Easter, the whole thing becomes sterile
and without feeling. Most believe it was the nails that
kept Him on the cross. Not at all. No mob could have
captured and bound Him; no Roman soldier could have
flailed His body until muscle and sinew were exposed;
no man could have nailed Him to a couple pieces of rough-cut
timber; and a thousand 8 inch nails could not have kept
Him pinned to the cross. No. It was not any of those
things. It was His love for you and me that kept Him
there.
Did Jesus’ first coming have
anything to do with the actual physical world we live
in? Yes. When Adam fell that day in the Garden his rebellion
not only impacted the body and soul of all mankind,
but it also dealt a blow to creation itself. Eden was
beautiful beyond comprehension and when God cursed the
earth as a result of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:8-24)
creation lost its immaculate beauty. There are some
beautiful places on earth, but in each one lurks the
often hidden presence of pain, death and alienation
from God. But this horrible condition is not permanent.
Paul understood this when he told the Christians in
Rome that the whole earth groans in anguish awaiting
Jesus’ second coming when Eden will be restored
(Isaiah 2:1-4; 11:1-9; 65:17-25; Romans 8:18-25; etc.).
And none of this could happen if it were not for Jesus’
first coming at Bethlehem.
Earth is a crossroads, a theater of
operations if you will, where God is doing battle with
Satan and his forces of evil. The souls of every human
being and their eternal destiny are of supreme importance
to God. That, and the value of His physical creation,
was what made Jesus leave heaven and come to this sin-sick
planet. Jesus became God in human flesh and died for
humanity simply because it was worth it. He came to
Bethlehem as a baby; a baby born to die. His cross was
a symbol of pure love and His empty tomb a symbol of
victory. Yet, the world hardly noticed. His next invasion,
however, will be in triumph and the world will not only
take notice, but will bow before Him and acknowledge
His everlasting deity.
We would do well to remember what the
angel Gabriel told Mary, "And behold, you will
conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall
name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called
the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give
Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign
over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will
have no end” (Luke 1:31-33 NASBu).
God made eight promises to Mary that
day. Five came true at the first coming of Jesus, for
Mary did conceive, she did bear a son, He was named
Jesus, He was a great man and He was called the Son
of the Most High. Since five of the eight were literally
fulfilled, it is certain the final three will also be
literally fulfilled. At His second coming Jesus will
take the throne of David, He will reign over the house
of Israel (God changed Jacob’s name to Israel
— Genesis 32:28) and His kingdom will indeed have
no end.
Well, what about the rapture? Will
Jesus come back to earth at that event? No. At the rapture
Jesus comes to some point in the sky above the earth
(1 Thessalonians 4:13ff), the dead in Christ are resurrected
and transported to that point and those of us who are
alive at that moment will be changed and also brought
into the crowd, the whole of which will forever be in
the presence of the Lord. It will be another seven years
after the rapture before He will return to earth again
— and this time we will be with Him.
When God invaded earth it was because
of His great love for you and me. The value God placed
on humanity was so great it took the very best heaven
had to offer in order to redeem it — the blood
of God Himself in human flesh. Humanly speaking it was
a divine act that can be described as being both incomprehensible
and invaluable. What a God we serve! DLM |
