What Child Is This? Understanding the Full Identity of Jesus

The Christmas season surrounds us with images of the nativity. Manger scenes appear on lawns, Christmas cards fill our mailboxes, and the story of a baby born in Bethlehem echoes through sanctuary halls. We've heard it so many times that familiarity can become dangerous—we know the story, yet we might miss the point.

The real question this season isn't whether we've seen Jesus. His image is everywhere.

The question is: Who is this child?

How we answer this question determines everything that matters. Everything.

A Real Baby in a Real World

Luke 2:7 tells us that Mary "brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." This simple sentence should stop us in our tracks.
Mary was a virgin who gave birth. The conception was miraculous, but the birth itself was fully human. There were contractions, pain, exhaustion, fear, and then life. Jesus didn't float into the world untouched by suffering. He came the way every human comes—through travail.

When He cried, it was because He was hungry or in pain. He needed to be held, cleaned, and cared for. He couldn't speak, walk, or care for Himself. God entrusted Himself to human hands—not wealthy or powerful hands, but poor, humble hands.
Joseph wasn't a king. Mary wasn't royalty. They had no palace, only a stable. A manger isn't a crib; it's a feeding trough where animals had eaten. And Jesus was born under a cloud of suspicion because people understood how babies are made, and Mary's story didn't add up to most.

God didn't arrive insulated from suffering. He arrived wrapped up in it.

The Creator Veiled in Flesh

John 1:1-3 echoes Genesis: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made."

Then comes verse 14: "And the Word was made flesh."

The Word is Jesus. Jesus is God. Jesus made all things.

Pause and think about this. The baby who couldn't lift His head, who had to be fed, whose cry pierced the night air—that baby is the Creator of the universe. The hands that grasped Mary's fingers shaped the galaxies. The voice that cried in Bethlehem named every star.
There are stars in our galaxy so massive they emit more energy in seconds than our sun produces over extended periods. That same baby spoke those stars into existence. He allowed Himself to be cared for by human hands, swaddled and held by Mary.

The manger isn't just humble—it's staggering.

A Savior Born for a Cross

In Luke 2:11, the angel declares: "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

A Savior was born—not just a teacher, not just a miracle worker, but a Savior. Which means something needed to be saved.

Everyone expected a king, but God sent a Savior. And the Savior didn't save through a throne. He saved through a cross.

First Peter 2:22 describes Jesus: "Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth." The baby in the manger grew up. He performed miracles, healed the sick, and taught truth. But the mission was always the cross.

Every sin we've ever committed, every failure, every regret, every hidden thought was laid on Him. The pain was real. The suffering was brutal. The death was intentional.
But here's what we cannot miss: He didn't die as a martyr. He died as a substitute.
Many have died as martyrs. Jesus was different. His mission had been prophesied for thousands of years. When we look at the manger, we see a promise fulfilled and a word kept. He took our place, taking on the penalty for sin. When He said, "It is finished," the debt was paid.

The Empowering, Indwelling God

Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."

Jesus didn't just come in a manger. He didn't just die. He rose again. And He doesn't just forgive—He indwells.

Christianity isn't behavior modification. It's transformation. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's why becoming Spirit-filled is so critical. It's the resurrection power, the life-changing power working in us.

When God gave Moses detailed plans for the tabernacle, He wanted to dwell among His people. Fire fell on the tabernacle as a sign of His presence. When Solomon built the temple, fire fell again. But in Acts 2, when the Day of Pentecost came, tongues of fire sat upon each person.

God established a new dwelling place: in us.

The Creator now lives in His people. If Christ lives in you, that same power that raised Him from the dead works in your life every day, empowering you to live differently.

The Returning King

But the story doesn't end there.

Revelation 19:11-16 presents a dramatically different picture: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns... And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

This is Jesus—glorious, almighty, all-powerful. The same eyes that looked with love at Mary now blaze with fire as He comes to judge the nations with fierce wrath.
Why wrath if He already bore God's wrath on the cross? Because not everyone accepts what He did.

Revelation 21 describes the new heaven and new earth where God will dwell with His people, where there's no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. But verse 8 lists those who will have "their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."

Not everyone will be saved. Not everyone will share in that eternal joy. Everything depends on which group you're in.

The Question That Matters

So what child is this?

He's the real baby born in poverty and pain. He's the Creator of the universe. He's the Savior who died as our substitute. He's the empowering, indwelling God who transforms lives. And He's the returning King who will judge the earth.

You can't separate Him from any of these identities. He's either Lord of all or not Lord at all.
Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." You don't halfway get on a cross. The cross is full commitment—all in.
Christianity summed up: He gave His life for you with the expectation that you would give your life for Him.

Revelation 21:6 says, "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."

Amid all the festivities, gift-giving, family meals, and traditions—all good things—the question remains: Are you still thirsty for Him?

What child is this? He's the one who offers the greatest satisfaction imaginable: the opportunity to embrace Him, be filled with His Spirit, and become all He purposed you to be from the beginning.

Today is the day of salvation. Today is a good day to let Him be Lord of all.