The Doorpost: Jesus came in flesh and blood to identify with us

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

In June 2023, I had the privilege to travel to the Holy Land and participate in an archaeological dig at Shiloh. I still struggle to describe what it was like to walk where Joshua, Hannah, Samuel, and many others walked. It was a profound experience to literally dig the Bible and to uncover things not seen or touched in thousands of years.

Shiloh was a place where real people, just like us, lived and worshipped. People today have the same fundamental need as people did then. Worshipers went to Shiloh to seek a remedy for sin; they needed a way to restore their relationship with God and with each other because sin had broken that fellowship. This required a long journey to offer sacrifices as a temporary covering for sin.

All the sacrifices at the Tabernacle were looking forward to the coming Messiah. And, get this: Another way to translate “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” is “the Word tabernacled among us.” Jesus came in flesh and blood in order to identify with us.

We don’t have to travel to a distant land to bring a sacrifice. Jesus is the Tabernacle and He offered Himself once for all, a perfect sacrifice for sin.

Immanuel is here, God with us!