This week we continue singing and savoring what we are calling an ancient Christmas hymn from 1 Timothy 3:16. Last week we explored verse one, or the movement from the Throne to the Cradle, and this week we will be delving into the second and third verses of this inspired song, ​​Cradle to the Cross and Cross to the Tomb, that further declare the Grand Story of Christmas.

The Grand Story of Christmas Verse 2: From the CRADLE to the CROSS

Paul, the persecutor turned preacher, penned these inspired words in 1 Timothy 3:16, that Jesus was…

…vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels…

A wealth of theology is packed into this short sentence, but we could summarize the motif of this movement of being one of witness and worship.

In this movement, we see Jesus grow from a baby to a child to an adult. From fleeing with His parents as a refugee to demonstrating wisdom beyond His years as a 12-year-old boy, His life was remarkably lived in almost 30 years of obscurity, followed by three years of ministry.

I love how one pastor and missionary put it:

“Behold the mystery! He partook of flesh and blood without sharing in the corruption that besets our loins. Adam entered the Garden as a full-grown, mature man. Jesus didn’t come this way. His body didn’t just materialize one day by the audible voice of God. He came as a baby. He had an umbilical cord and shared the blood and the nourishment of Mary. And yet His humanity was created directly by the Holy Spirit and free from every trace of the depravity handed down from generation to generation since the beginning. He was a pure and holy toddler and teenager. His twenty-two-year-old life was undefiled and free from every stain of guilt just as much as this moment as He sits at the right hand of His Father waiting for the Day of His appearing (Heb. 10:12-13; Tit. 2:13).”^[1]

Yet it’s in between the cradle and cross where we see the mystery of godliness unfold. We cannot just skip from the cradle to the cross without getting dirty in the dust of the rabbi and Lord Jesus, who lived the model life of God’s kingdom and then empowers us to do the same. We learn in this verse what discipleship is.

It’s in between the cradle and cross where we see the mystery of godliness unfold. We cannot just skip from the cradle to the cross without getting dirty in the dust of the rabbi and Lord Jesus, who lived the model life of God’s kingdom and then empowers us to do the same.

As one Christmas hymn puts it:

When the babe was born

In a manger on the hay,

God saw a veil torn,

He saw Good Friday.

He was born to die.^[2]

Yes, Jesus was born to die, yet we cannot breeze over His life before Calvary. We must follow the path Jesus took to get there and join Him on his journey. Jesus came to fully reveal the Father and to forge, through His own life, a narrow path providing the way for us to be reconciled back to God. The Holy Spirit gives witness to this, and it causes the angels to express worship.

Jesus came to fully reveal the Father and to forge, through His own life, a narrow path providing the way for us to be reconciled back to God.

The role of the Holy Spirit and angels saturate the life and ministry of Christ. At His birth, angels proclaim the news to lowly shepherds in a chorus backed by all of heaven’s glory. At His baptism, the Spirit descended on Jesus and rested on Him. At His temptation in the wilderness, angels came and ministered to Him as they did in the garden of Gethsemane. And on the cross, the Scripture says it was by the Holy Spirit that Jesus offered Himself up as a loving sacrifice.

What a mystery, to which we can cry out with the chorus…

GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS!

The Grand Story of Christmas Verse 3: From the CROSS to the TOMB

This movement could be likened to the “bridge” of the song. While it’s not specifically mentioned in the flow of 1 Timothy 3:16, it is certainly central to the gospel. The motif of this movement is one of wreckage. But the greatest tragedy the world has ever seen, the Son of God crucified between two criminals, was also the greatest victory. Jesus went from 30 years of obscurity to three years of ministry, and finally to three days of what seemed to be misery, hopelessness, defeat, uncertainty, doubt, and fear. It certainly was that for Jesus’ disciples, who were grieving and deeply regretting that they had abandoned their Lord in His greatest hour of need. And for the first and only time in all of eternity, the Father turned His back on His only beloved Son. He was forsaken there on Calvary’s tree, bearing the full weight of our sin and shame, and drank the full cup of God’s just wrath that had been reserved for you and me.

In the wake of the tragedy of the cross lay a wreckage of darkness, doubt, fear, and loss. Yet this verse is also a movement from tragedy to triumph. What was ultimately wrecked was not the Savior but sin, not the disciples but death, not hope but hell. At the cross, the once-and-for-all decisive and eternal victory was obtained.

In the wake of the tragedy of the cross lay a wreckage of darkness, doubt, fear, and loss. Yet this verse is also a movement from tragedy to triumph. What was ultimately wrecked was not the Savior but sin, not the disciples but death, not hope but hell. At the cross, the once-and-for-all decisive and eternal victory was obtained.

Here’s a passage that gives us a window into what was happening during this movement from the cross to the tomb.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15)

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15)

What a mystery, to which we can cry out with the chorus yet again…

GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS!

This next week, how might your outlook change if you set aside intentional time to meditate on this Grand Story of Christmas? Specifically, prayerfully reflect on the movements in 1 Timothy 3:16 that bring us from the cradle to the cross, and the cross to the tomb. Linger in the profound wonder of His love demonstrated in these movements. May it motivate us afresh to share the Grand Story of Christmas with others this Advent season.

Copyright © 2023 Justin Jeppesen. All rights reserved.

^[1] Stephen Venable, cited on: https://theworshipinitiative.com/songs/come-thou-long-expected-jesus/instrument/introduction

^[2] Shane and Shane, “Born to Die.” Glory in the Highest: A Christmas Record. 2008.