Incarnation (4) Dangerous

Coming to earth as a baby was highly dangerous for God. If the spiritual powers of evil could kill him before he grew up, they could foil God’s plan to rescue his people and his creation.

That is why the spiritual powers of evil stirred up Herod to kill all the baby boys living in the vicinity of Bethlehem. They hoped to wipe him out, before he became a problem for them.

An angel spoke to Joseph in a dream and he and Mary fled to Egypt. The wise men had provided them with wealth to support themselves while there.

I believe the spiritual powers of evil did not notice Jesus fleeing during the night, because they believed that they had destroyed Jesus when Herod killed the children.

Or perhaps they were so arrogant, they did not believe that a baby boy could be a threat to them.

Whatever the reason, Jesus was able to grow up to be as a normal young man.

I am sure that a host of angels continued to surround him for protection. The prayers of Mary and people like Anna and Simeon gave them authority to surround Jesus and protect him. God had to wait for them to be there, before he could send Jesus.

When Jesus was baptised, the spiritual powers of evil realised that Jews really was a threat. They went into the wilderness and tried to get him to disobey God and disqualify himself for his mission. Or to take a rash action that would result him being killed.

Jesus resisted the spiritual powers of evil and defeated them. He was then able to enter his ministry and fulfil his calling.

Although the angels were there to protect Jesus, it was an enormous risk. What if the people has stopped praying, or Joseph had ignored the angel and stayed in Bethlehem. God loved us so much that he was willing to risk his son on a mission to rescue us.

Imagine if you had rented your house out to someone that you trusted to look after it, but they let some gangsters move in and live with them. Would you send your child to live in the house for a couple of years, in order to get it back. If that was the only way to do it, most of us would give up and look for another house. We would not risk a child to save a house. But that was what God did. He sent his son, to save the world. He loved us so much that he was willing to risk his son to rescue us.