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The Way in a Manger

John 1:14

There may be no more beautiful time of year than Christmas. I love the lights, the gatherings, the music, the food, and the gifts—but above all else, I am thankful for our wonderful Savior. We celebrate Him all year long, but Christmas gives us a special moment to pause and marvel at the miracle of His coming.

And each year, I am reminded that the Christmas story is a story of grace.
None of us deserved the gift of God.
None of us earned it.
Nothing we ever did could have brought Christ to us.

In fact—it was the opposite.
It was the sinfulness and hopelessness of mankind that moved the heart of God to send His Son.

In our text, the apostle John writes:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14)

This single verse contains one of the most astounding truths in all of Scripture. John’s gospel does not begin with shepherds or angels or a manger. Instead, it opens with the eternal, almighty Son of God stepping into humanity.

Somehow the God of heaven—full of majesty, power, holiness, and glory—compressed Himself, humbled Himself, and placed Himself into human flesh… the size of a baby.

Verse 3 tells us that all things were made by Him.
Verse 14 tells us that the Maker became like His creation, clothed in human flesh.

But why?
Why would God think to do such a thing?
Why would He want to do it?
Why would He need to do it?

Let me answer that with three truths from the text.

1. He Was Made Flesh So We Might See God’s Glory

Think of how the Old Testament believer viewed God:

  • mysterious

  • hidden behind a veil

  • untouchable

  • holy, while man was sinful

  • too glorious to behold

In Exodus 33:20, God told Moses:

“Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”

But in a quiet little village called Bethlehem, everything changed.
God stepped into our world.
He became visible.
He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
For the first time ever, mankind was able to see, touch, and hold God in the flesh.

Mary literally held God in her arms.

John writes:

“…and we beheld His glory…”

Not from a distance.
Not through smoke and fire.
But up close—in the face of Jesus Christ.

How blessed are we that God no longer reveals His glory from afar, but in the person of His Son.

2. He Was Made Flesh to Dwell Among Us

John continues:

“…the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”

The Old Testament understanding of God was one of distance. God was holy, man was sinful, and the two could not meet. The presence of God rested in the ark of the covenant, inside a tabernacle or temple, and the people could only approach at a distance—and then had to leave Him there.

But Bethlehem changed that forever.

Now God came to dwell with us—not for a night, not for a ceremony, but from that moment forward.

He is Emmanuel.
God with us.

The word dwelt literally means tabernacled.
He came to pitch His tent among His people.

Under the law, you went to the tabernacle to meet with God.
Under grace, the God of the tabernacle has come to meet with you.

You may ask, “But what does that really change for me?”
It changes everything.

Because now we have a God who:

  • felt exhaustion

  • knew hunger and thirst

  • wept in grief

  • endured temptation

  • experienced sorrow

  • carried burdens

  • lived in human weakness

Hebrews 4:15 tells us He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

We do not pray to a distant, indifferent deity—
we pray to a Savior who has walked our road and understands our pain.

3. He Was Made Flesh That We Might Receive Grace and Truth

The final line of John 1:14 says:

“…full of grace and truth.”

Before Christ came, the world had truth—but truth without grace.
They had the law.
The law was perfect, but man was not.
The law showed the standard, but not the strength to meet it.

John 1:17 explains it clearly:

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

In that little manger lay the perfect combination—not truth alone, not grace alone, but grace and truth together.

  • In truth, Jesus satisfied every requirement of God’s holiness.

  • In grace, Jesus reached down to man with forgiveness and salvation.

Where sin abounded, grace much more abounded.
Where the law condemned, grace redeemed.
Where truth demanded perfection, Jesus—full of grace—supplied it.

Grace and truth kissed in a manger.

Conclusion — Behold His Glory

John said, “We beheld His glory.”
This Christmas, I invite you to do the same.

Behold Him.
Think on Him.
Consider Him.
Magnify Him.
Adore Him.

Christmas is not merely the story of a baby becoming like us.
It is the story of God making us like Him.

As one preacher said:

“The Son of God became the Son of man so the sons of men could become the sons of God.”

Oh, what a Savior.