The Tender Terror of God Taking Flesh
By Pastor Samuel Apena
Text: John 1:1–14
Introduction
In the beginning, God spoke. And by His word, galaxies spun into existence, oceans were corralled into their shores, and light pierced the darkness. That’s the God John introduces us to in verse one: a God who is eternal, a God who is personal, and a God who is creative.
But then, something happens in verse 14 that shatters every category of religion. The same Word who was with God and was God—did not send a memo. He did not broadcast a celestial Zoom call. John says, “The Word became flesh.”
Today, I want to show you three things about this staggering truth: why it was necessary, what it actually means, and why it changes everything for you.
1. The Distance We Could Not Cross (vv. 1–5, 10–11)
First, we have to feel the problem. Verse 10 says, “He was in the world… yet the world did not know him.” Verse 11: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
Humanity was not just ignorant; we were rebellious. We preferred the darkness (v. 5). Think of it this way: sin didn’t just break our rules; it broke our hardware. We became spiritually dead, unable to reach up to a holy God. We tried religion, morality, philosophy—all ladders leaning against the wrong wall.
The problem was never that God was far away. The problem was that we were hostile. And if we were ever going to be saved, God Himself would have to cross a distance we could not.
2. The Shocking Reality of the Incarnation (v. 14)
And that’s exactly what He did. “The Word became flesh.”
Now, the Greek word for “flesh” here is sarx. It doesn’t just mean “a body.” In John’s vocabulary, sarx points to human weakness, vulnerability, and mortality. John is saying: The eternal Son of God didn’t just wear a human costume. He became a human being.
Consider what this means:
· He took on real limitations. He grew tired, hungry, and thirsty. He had to learn to walk and talk. The One who holds atoms together got a splinter in His finger.
· He took on real temptation. Not a fake, “untouchable” holiness, but a genuine battle in the wilderness, in the garden, in the ordinary Tuesday afternoons of Nazareth.
· He took on real sorrow. At Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus wept. The Creator of tear ducts let them flow down His own cheeks.
Why? Verse 14 says: “He dwelt among us.” The Greek word is skēnoō—literally, “He tabernacled among us.” Just as God’s glory cloud filled the Old Testament tent in the wilderness, now the full glory of God dwells in a human body named Jesus. He pitched His tent in our neighborhood.
3. The Glory We Can Actually See (v. 14 & v. 12)
And here’s the good news: in that flesh, we finally see God’s glory. Verse 14: “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
On Mount Sinai, Moses asked to see God’s glory and was told, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” But in Jesus? You see the face of God, and you do live. Because Jesus shows us a glory that isn’t raw, consuming power alone. It’s “grace and truth.” It’s holiness dripping with mercy.
How does God feel about sinners? Look at Jesus eating with tax collectors.
What is God’s attitude toward suffering? Look at Jesus healing the leper, touching the untouchable.
What does God think of death? Look at Jesus standing outside the tomb of Lazarus, angry at the tragedy of it all, and then shouting, “Come out!”
This is the glory of God: not a distant monarch, but a suffering servant. Not a cold judge, but a weeping friend.
What the Flesh of Jesus Means for You
So what does this mean for you today?
First, it means God is not ashamed of your humanity. Are you tired? Jesus was tired. Are you tempted? He was tempted. Have you been betrayed, misunderstood, or physically in pain? He has been there. The incarnation means you have a High Priest who gets it—not because He read a book about it, but because He lived it.
Second, it means God has dealt with your sin. Flesh was the very thing sin corrupted. So God took that same flesh, nailed it to a cross, and in that flesh, He condemned sin (Romans 8:3). The Word became flesh so that the flesh could be redeemed and raised.
Finally, it means you can become a child of God. Verse 12 says, “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” You don’t climb up to God. God climbed down to you. Your only job is to stop striving and start receiving.
Conclusion
Let me close with this image. In the ancient world, kings were always hidden away behind walls and protocol. But imagine if a king took off his robes, moved into the poorest slum, slept on a straw mat, and said, “Let me wash your feet.”
That is your God.
The Word became flesh. He still has that flesh—glorified, yes, but scarred. At this very moment, a man sits on the throne of the universe. And that man knows what it’s like to be you.
Do not be afraid of a God who got His hands dirty. Run to Him. He is not far away. He is as close as your own humanity.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, we confess that we often want a God who stays at a safe distance. But You came near. Thank You for taking on flesh—for tired feet, for tears, for the cross. Help us to stop hiding and to receive the grace and truth standing right in front of us in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
By Pastor Samuel Apena
Text: John 1:1–14
Introduction
In the beginning, God spoke. And by His word, galaxies spun into existence, oceans were corralled into their shores, and light pierced the darkness. That’s the God John introduces us to in verse one: a God who is eternal, a God who is personal, and a God who is creative.
But then, something happens in verse 14 that shatters every category of religion. The same Word who was with God and was God—did not send a memo. He did not broadcast a celestial Zoom call. John says, “The Word became flesh.”
Today, I want to show you three things about this staggering truth: why it was necessary, what it actually means, and why it changes everything for you.
1. The Distance We Could Not Cross (vv. 1–5, 10–11)
First, we have to feel the problem. Verse 10 says, “He was in the world… yet the world did not know him.” Verse 11: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
Humanity was not just ignorant; we were rebellious. We preferred the darkness (v. 5). Think of it this way: sin didn’t just break our rules; it broke our hardware. We became spiritually dead, unable to reach up to a holy God. We tried religion, morality, philosophy—all ladders leaning against the wrong wall.
The problem was never that God was far away. The problem was that we were hostile. And if we were ever going to be saved, God Himself would have to cross a distance we could not.
2. The Shocking Reality of the Incarnation (v. 14)
And that’s exactly what He did. “The Word became flesh.”
Now, the Greek word for “flesh” here is sarx. It doesn’t just mean “a body.” In John’s vocabulary, sarx points to human weakness, vulnerability, and mortality. John is saying: The eternal Son of God didn’t just wear a human costume. He became a human being.
Consider what this means:
· He took on real limitations. He grew tired, hungry, and thirsty. He had to learn to walk and talk. The One who holds atoms together got a splinter in His finger.
· He took on real temptation. Not a fake, “untouchable” holiness, but a genuine battle in the wilderness, in the garden, in the ordinary Tuesday afternoons of Nazareth.
· He took on real sorrow. At Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus wept. The Creator of tear ducts let them flow down His own cheeks.
Why? Verse 14 says: “He dwelt among us.” The Greek word is skēnoō—literally, “He tabernacled among us.” Just as God’s glory cloud filled the Old Testament tent in the wilderness, now the full glory of God dwells in a human body named Jesus. He pitched His tent in our neighborhood.
3. The Glory We Can Actually See (v. 14 & v. 12)
And here’s the good news: in that flesh, we finally see God’s glory. Verse 14: “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
On Mount Sinai, Moses asked to see God’s glory and was told, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” But in Jesus? You see the face of God, and you do live. Because Jesus shows us a glory that isn’t raw, consuming power alone. It’s “grace and truth.” It’s holiness dripping with mercy.
How does God feel about sinners? Look at Jesus eating with tax collectors.
What is God’s attitude toward suffering? Look at Jesus healing the leper, touching the untouchable.
What does God think of death? Look at Jesus standing outside the tomb of Lazarus, angry at the tragedy of it all, and then shouting, “Come out!”
This is the glory of God: not a distant monarch, but a suffering servant. Not a cold judge, but a weeping friend.
What the Flesh of Jesus Means for You
So what does this mean for you today?
First, it means God is not ashamed of your humanity. Are you tired? Jesus was tired. Are you tempted? He was tempted. Have you been betrayed, misunderstood, or physically in pain? He has been there. The incarnation means you have a High Priest who gets it—not because He read a book about it, but because He lived it.
Second, it means God has dealt with your sin. Flesh was the very thing sin corrupted. So God took that same flesh, nailed it to a cross, and in that flesh, He condemned sin (Romans 8:3). The Word became flesh so that the flesh could be redeemed and raised.
Finally, it means you can become a child of God. Verse 12 says, “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” You don’t climb up to God. God climbed down to you. Your only job is to stop striving and start receiving.
Conclusion
Let me close with this image. In the ancient world, kings were always hidden away behind walls and protocol. But imagine if a king took off his robes, moved into the poorest slum, slept on a straw mat, and said, “Let me wash your feet.”
That is your God.
The Word became flesh. He still has that flesh—glorified, yes, but scarred. At this very moment, a man sits on the throne of the universe. And that man knows what it’s like to be you.
Do not be afraid of a God who got His hands dirty. Run to Him. He is not far away. He is as close as your own humanity.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, we confess that we often want a God who stays at a safe distance. But You came near. Thank You for taking on flesh—for tired feet, for tears, for the cross. Help us to stop hiding and to receive the grace and truth standing right in front of us in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
The Tender Terror of God Taking Flesh
By Pastor Samuel Apena
Text: John 1:1–14
Introduction
In the beginning, God spoke. And by His word, galaxies spun into existence, oceans were corralled into their shores, and light pierced the darkness. That’s the God John introduces us to in verse one: a God who is eternal, a God who is personal, and a God who is creative.
But then, something happens in verse 14 that shatters every category of religion. The same Word who was with God and was God—did not send a memo. He did not broadcast a celestial Zoom call. John says, “The Word became flesh.”
Today, I want to show you three things about this staggering truth: why it was necessary, what it actually means, and why it changes everything for you.
1. The Distance We Could Not Cross (vv. 1–5, 10–11)
First, we have to feel the problem. Verse 10 says, “He was in the world… yet the world did not know him.” Verse 11: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
Humanity was not just ignorant; we were rebellious. We preferred the darkness (v. 5). Think of it this way: sin didn’t just break our rules; it broke our hardware. We became spiritually dead, unable to reach up to a holy God. We tried religion, morality, philosophy—all ladders leaning against the wrong wall.
The problem was never that God was far away. The problem was that we were hostile. And if we were ever going to be saved, God Himself would have to cross a distance we could not.
2. The Shocking Reality of the Incarnation (v. 14)
And that’s exactly what He did. “The Word became flesh.”
Now, the Greek word for “flesh” here is sarx. It doesn’t just mean “a body.” In John’s vocabulary, sarx points to human weakness, vulnerability, and mortality. John is saying: The eternal Son of God didn’t just wear a human costume. He became a human being.
Consider what this means:
· He took on real limitations. He grew tired, hungry, and thirsty. He had to learn to walk and talk. The One who holds atoms together got a splinter in His finger.
· He took on real temptation. Not a fake, “untouchable” holiness, but a genuine battle in the wilderness, in the garden, in the ordinary Tuesday afternoons of Nazareth.
· He took on real sorrow. At Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus wept. The Creator of tear ducts let them flow down His own cheeks.
Why? Verse 14 says: “He dwelt among us.” The Greek word is skēnoō—literally, “He tabernacled among us.” Just as God’s glory cloud filled the Old Testament tent in the wilderness, now the full glory of God dwells in a human body named Jesus. He pitched His tent in our neighborhood.
3. The Glory We Can Actually See (v. 14 & v. 12)
And here’s the good news: in that flesh, we finally see God’s glory. Verse 14: “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
On Mount Sinai, Moses asked to see God’s glory and was told, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” But in Jesus? You see the face of God, and you do live. Because Jesus shows us a glory that isn’t raw, consuming power alone. It’s “grace and truth.” It’s holiness dripping with mercy.
How does God feel about sinners? Look at Jesus eating with tax collectors.
What is God’s attitude toward suffering? Look at Jesus healing the leper, touching the untouchable.
What does God think of death? Look at Jesus standing outside the tomb of Lazarus, angry at the tragedy of it all, and then shouting, “Come out!”
This is the glory of God: not a distant monarch, but a suffering servant. Not a cold judge, but a weeping friend.
What the Flesh of Jesus Means for You
So what does this mean for you today?
First, it means God is not ashamed of your humanity. Are you tired? Jesus was tired. Are you tempted? He was tempted. Have you been betrayed, misunderstood, or physically in pain? He has been there. The incarnation means you have a High Priest who gets it—not because He read a book about it, but because He lived it.
Second, it means God has dealt with your sin. Flesh was the very thing sin corrupted. So God took that same flesh, nailed it to a cross, and in that flesh, He condemned sin (Romans 8:3). The Word became flesh so that the flesh could be redeemed and raised.
Finally, it means you can become a child of God. Verse 12 says, “To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” You don’t climb up to God. God climbed down to you. Your only job is to stop striving and start receiving.
Conclusion
Let me close with this image. In the ancient world, kings were always hidden away behind walls and protocol. But imagine if a king took off his robes, moved into the poorest slum, slept on a straw mat, and said, “Let me wash your feet.”
That is your God.
The Word became flesh. He still has that flesh—glorified, yes, but scarred. At this very moment, a man sits on the throne of the universe. And that man knows what it’s like to be you.
Do not be afraid of a God who got His hands dirty. Run to Him. He is not far away. He is as close as your own humanity.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, we confess that we often want a God who stays at a safe distance. But You came near. Thank You for taking on flesh—for tired feet, for tears, for the cross. Help us to stop hiding and to receive the grace and truth standing right in front of us in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
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