0 Shares

He Became Poor: A Christmas Message

https://youtu.be/W7VIKkEmCzQ

There are many ways to understand Christmas and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is one way to understand Christmas from 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9 which says:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

One might say that in this verse, we have a Christmas tree full of gifts that help us understand who Jesus is and what He did for us. We have:

The riches of Jesus
The poverty of Jesus
The manner of His poverty
The reason for His poverty, and
The result of His poverty.

Jesus Was Rich

First, we learn that Jesus was rich. When was Jesus rich? It was before He added humanity to His deity, was conceived by a miracle in Mary’s womb, and eventually walked this earth. Jesus, as the eternal Second Person of the Trinity, as God the Son, lived in the splendor of heaven and was surrounded constantly by the glory, power, and majesty of God. These things make any amount of wealth on earth seem poor. He was rich in possessions, rich in honor, rich in power, rich in love, and rich in happiness.

Jesus Became Poor

Secondly, He became poor. Look at the whole nativity scene. The newborn King did not sleep in a cradle of gold but in a feeding trough set in a humble stable. Jesus was wrapped in the swaddling bands of poor children. His whole life was lived humbly. At a very young age, Jesus lived a few years as a refugee from His own country. Raised as the son of a humble carpenter, Jesus had no fancy clothes, no home of His own, and often relied on others for food. Jesus didn’t even own His own grave.

The Manner of Jesus’ Poverty

Third, notice the manner of His poverty: He became poor. It does not say that Jesus was made poor. Instead, He became poor as it was completely voluntary on His part. Every moment of His life on this earth, Jesus made the conscious choice to live as a relatively poor man.

The Reason for Jesus’ Poverty

Fourthly, see the reason for His poverty: yet for your sakes He became poor. There was a real reason why Jesus did this. It was not for His own sake at all that Jesus did this. It was for your sakes He became poor.

The Result of Jesus’ Poverty

Finally, look at the result of His poverty: that you through His poverty might become rich. Because of Jesus’ poverty (in all that was related to it), those who put their trust and surrender their lives to Jesus can become rich. As we do, we have a share in the eternal, heavenly wealth of Jesus because He came and took a share in our poverty.

Because of all this, it is true of all those who put their trust in Jesus:

As Jesus was rich in possessions, so are we – especially rich in contentment.
As Jesus was rich in honor – so we have the honor of being sons and daughters of God.
As Jesus was rich in power – we also are the children of the God of all power.
As Jesus was rich in love – so we have the love of God poured out into our hearts.
As Jesus was rich in happiness – so are we with the peace that passes all understanding.

Receive the Riches of Jesus

So, 2 Corinthians 8:9 is undeniably true: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Yet, consider this: Jesus Christ rose from the dead and has ascended to heaven – Jesus isn’t poor any longer.

If Jesus did all this for you when He was poor, how much more do you think He will do for you now that He is once again rich in every way?

Today, find contentment in the riches given to you by the poverty of your Savior, Jesus Christ.