“We believe… in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried…”

Fully human; fully divine. How do you wrap your mind around that? As I was outlining some thoughts on this section of the Apostles’ Creed, I titled it, “PREQUEL to the Gospel.” I guess at the time I was thinking the good news in Jesus is all the resurrection stuff. Perhaps that day was golden enough that I wasn’t bogged down in the mess of being a human being. But on days when I am just that, heavy with all the junk of earth, the good news in Jesus Christ has a lot more to do with his full humanity. Max Lucado, in his book, God Came Near, writes:

"It all happened in a moment, a most remarkable moment… that was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb… God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created. God was given eyebrows, elbows, two kidneys, and a spleen. He stretched against the walls and floated in the amniotic fluids of his mother. God had come near. [And] For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached. To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. He’s easier to stomach that way… But don’t do it. For heaven’s sake, don’t. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him can he pull us out."

We believe the good news that Jesus… was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried…”