He was like any ordinary little boy born with ten fingers and toes. To His mother, more than a miracle – to His dad, a stepson who would definitely follow in His Father’s footsteps. To the shepherds He was the Messiah they had waited for so long.
A protagonist in a drama is the hero of the story – the main character – the one who goes to bat for someone else – the one who saves the day. This tiny baby seemed an unlikely candidate for that position. He was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact He looked like more of a minor character than the main one. He cried, he nursed, he slept, he fussed like any other human baby. He would grow into a man someday, but how could one born into such poverty become the King of the World?
Nothing about this story is ordinary. It’s packed full of miracles. The first being that God impregnated an ordinary young girl with His only begotten Son. This is impossible for us to comprehend and one of the many things that we must believe simply by faith.
What makes this little baby so special is that He is the Son of God and Son of Man. He was the perfect one to save us from death and hell. His sinless quality made him the spotless lamb that God required. His human attributes allowed Him to feel every human emotion (except sin), every human pain from the tiniest scratch to the blows of the lash upon His back and the spikes being driven into His hands and feet. He was perfectly crafted to be just like our brother, yet He had all the attributes of His heavenly Father and could eliminate our sin. Yes, He could walk on water and turn the storms into calm, but He also got tired and thirsty and wept just like we do.
Because of His perfection, we have an advocate – a hero – a brother – who will take our place in every situation. All we have to do is ask.