John 1:14 (ESV)
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The day the Word, Jesus Christ, became flesh was one of the greatest days in human history.  The only other days that are comparable to it are the days when Jesus died for our sins and was raised for our justification.

The significance of the Word becoming flesh cannot be overstated.  If Jesus was not willing to make such a sacrifice, we would have no hope of salvation.  The need for Jesus to give up His heavenly estate for the confines of this lowly habitation—a habitation wherein He took on the form of a servant—was dictated by the self-serving sins of which we all are guilty.   Jesus came to this world for us.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

There could not be a better word to describe what Jesus did for us than grace.  In every sense, it was an act of unmerited favor.  It was also an act of unparalleled humility.

Philippians 2:6–8 (ESV)
⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

There is no way for us to relate to giving up so much.  It is hard to fathom someone giving up unimaginable glory and perfection for the frailties of a human body.  What we can know is that Jesus did it all for us.  He became poor so that we might be rich.  He has shown us more love than anyone else ever has.

This love is magnified when we consider that He came to this world with full knowledge of what awaited Him.  He knew that He would be despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).  He knew that He was coming to bear the sins of mankind by being crucified on the cross.

1 Peter 2:24 (ESV)
²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Can you imagine a perfect being leaving an ideal place (heaven), where He was respected and revered by all, for the sole purpose of dying a horrific, torturous death for the very ones who deserved the punishment?  It really is astonishing.

We should also consider Jesus’s unmatchable restraint when He was here on earth.  Not only did He show great moral restraint by never giving in to the devil’s temptations (Luke 4:13; Hebrews 4:15), but He also demonstrated great personal restraint by allowing man to mistreat Him so badly without ever retaliating.

1 Peter 2:22–23 (ESV)

²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³ When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Jesus lived a remarkable life in the flesh, which culminated in a brutal death on a tree, paying the price for our sins.  “…the Word became flesh.”  The truth of this statement is as impactful as anything ever written.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.