The Greatest Superhero of Them All

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I like to sit quietly at night in the soft glow of Christmas tree lights while listening to a moving rendition of “O Holy Night.” For me, this helps usher in the awe of our savior’s birth in a way that nothing else can.

Although the Christmas tree is not an essential to celebrating Jesus’ birthday, it adds to the experience. Decorations remind us of the beauty of God’s gift to us. My husband & I enjoy putting up our Christmas tree, and we pick a different theme for our ornaments each year. One year, we decided on a superhero theme. It was fun!

We needed a tree topper, and I wondered what I could craft for it. Of course, there would be no Christmas without Christ, so I thought we could put baby Jesus at the top of our tree. As I thought about it, I became more and more amazed at the thought of him. Celebrating Christ’s birth is remembering that God himself came in the form of a tiny, vulnerable human just to be with us, to connect with us, to experience what our existence is like. 

Just think! Baby Jesus cried, he drank milk; he had needs. He probably skinned his knee when he was little and sought comfort from his mom; perhaps, he dealt with bullying; he was even a teenager along the way. Jesus went through growing pains, as we did.

I’m not trying to be irreverent, but I’m realizing the depth of God’s love for us in that he was willing to come down from the comforts of heaven to experience our lives in all our humanity within the nitty-gritty chaos of this world. There is nothing—no struggle, no temptation, no heartache—we’ve experienced that Jesus cannot relate with!  

That very same baby, who was houseless when he was born on Christmas Day, grew up to be an adult—the one who made the greatest sacrifice that anyone has ever made for all mankind. Jesus survived extreme hunger and thirst and temptation. He experienced physical pain and excruciating torture—he was struck in the face and whipped mercilessly; nails were hammered into his hands and feet. 

Not only was Jesus familiar with physical pain, he was no stranger even to our emotional pain and loneliness. He was misunderstood, ignored, ridiculed, falsely accused, unheard and unvalued. The devil spoke lies to him also, and he felt the deeply painful betrayal and abandonment of those dearest and closest to him. Jesus wanted to know what it feels like to be us. Aren’t these pains experiences that most of us have gone through? 

Moreover, Jesus was spat upon, repeatedly rejected, and shamed before crowds. He was treated with the utmost disrespect, contempt, and hatred. Yet, he wasn’t stoic or unfeeling. Jesus felt the most intense of emotions throughout his life, he expressed them, and at the end of his earthly life, he experienced an extreme depth of anguish as he anticipated his torture and crucifixion—an anguish so severe that he sweat blood as he prayed. Still, in the end, Jesus allowed himself to be murdered for the sake of the very people who hurt him and who didn’t even acknowledge his value. Jesus, who had the power of God, could have stopped their torture easily, but he chose instead to relate with our pain, to endure it for our sake. Ironically—THIS was his strongest act as a hero–not in using his omnipotent power to save himself but instead in laying it down, holding back his power, just so he could experience our vulnerability and pay the terrible price for our sins.

Jesus can relate with us because he made a point to come and be with us, to experience what it’s like to be us. He came to break us free of everything that could stand between us and God: sins, guilt, inability to relate due to a lack of similar experience and emotions. He cleared all of those barriers. By coming in person, Jesus bridged that gap because he did not want heaven without us. The true miracle at Christmas is realizing that God came to join us as a baby—just as vulnerable as the rest of us—so that he can have a real relationship with you and me. 

Hebrews chapter 4, verses 15 – 16 say: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our times of need.

This is the priceless gift that we each receive as we celebrate Jesus’ birth: Emmanuel, “God with us.” He feels with us; he understands. Out of his great love for us, he endured the most excruciating pains, laid down his life for you and me, and gave up heaven to be with us! That makes Him the greatest superhero of them all.