The Son of God took on flesh for two reasons: to be our substitute and our sacrifice. You see, when God created mankind in his image, his desire was that we would live holy lives, full of love for him and our fellow man. When mankind fell into sin, that became impossible. So, the heavenly Father sent Jesus. He is the only human being to keep all of God’s Law perfectly. He did that as our substitute. Through faith, we claim his perfection as our own. But we needed another gift—one who could pay for the sin we had committed. And so, the Son of God became human for another reason—so that he might die as the sacrifice for our sins, removing that barrier between us and a holy God.

Understanding we needed both—substitute and sacrifice—helps us better understand Jesus’ saving work. That work includes more than Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus saving work began the moment he was born under the Law and obeyed it. This week, we thank God that Jesus served us in both these much-needed ways!