If Jesus is the Creator, the one who made everything and holds everything together, then it might be tempting to simply admire him from a distance, in a mood of disconnected reverence. However, Jesus Himself doesn’t leave that option open to us. Read, for example, one of the great prophecies regarding the Messiah:
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
7 The burning sand will become a pool,
the thirsty ground bubbling springs.
In the haunts where jackals once lay,
grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
(Isaiah 35:5-7)
On the one hand these are images that build upon each other to emphasize the incredible redemption and restoration that God was going to bring to His people. But on the other hand they also represent some very real and tangible interventions that Jesus made in the lives of many, many people during His life.
When Jesus healed a lame man that man’s life was physically changed forever. He may not have leapt like a deer, but he quite possibly jumped for joy. In doing that healing Jesus not only brought physical renewal to the man, but emphasized what Paul has been describing over and over again in his letter to the Colossians—Jesus is the Creator and as such has complete power and authority over His Creation. For the Creator, blind eyes are opened at the drop of a hat. Dead people are raised. Sick people are healed.
Christmas is almost here. The prophecies have been fulfilled. Jesus, the Messiah, has come to dwell with us and He brings healing and new life with Him. May that fill our hearts with joy as we gather together to worship Him this Sunday!