The Almighty Slept
This post by Chris Anderson comes from Gospel Meditations for Christmas (Day 15).
“Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:4)
The God of the Bible—the one true God—is stunning in His transcendence. He is immeasurably greater than anything else that exists. He is infinite, while we are finite. He is omnipotent, while we are impotent. He is all-wise, while even the brightest among us can merely grope after the crumbs of knowledge which He has allowed to fall to us from His table.
The attribute that is commonly referred to as His governing quality is His holiness. That’s actually a bit misleading. God doesn’t have competing attributes, and holiness doesn’t “govern them.” Holiness is actually the composite of all His attributes. Holiness means that God is set apart or separated from everything! He is His own category—what my professor Michael Barrett used to call “completely other.” He is holy in all His attributes. Unrivaled in might. Unrivaled in grace. Unrivaled in love.
Sleep: Our Daily Reminder of Dependency
Among the many vivid distinctions that the Bible presents between the holy God and lowly humanity is sleep. Sleep is a relentless reminder that we’re not God. For an average of six to eight hours per day—that’s approximately one-quarter or one-third of our lives!—we’re unconscious. Recharging. Oblivious.
In stark contrast, we learn in Psalm 121:3–4 that God “will neither slumber nor sleep.” He doesn’t nod off. He doesn’t have to recuperate after a day’s work. He doesn’t get weary. Indeed, part of Elijah’s mockery of the prophets of Baal was this barb: “Perhaps [your god] is asleep and must be awakened” (1 Kings 18:27). The point? A true God doesn’t sleep. He doesn’t feel pain, doesn’t sweat, doesn’t learn, doesn’t grow, doesn’t bleed, and certainly doesn’t die.
Mystery: When Divinity Embraced Humanity
Then came the incarnation. According to Isaiah 9:6–7, “the Mighty God” was to become a “child.” According to Micah 5:2, the One “from ancient days” was to have a birthplace. According to John 1:14, the eternal and divine Word Who created all things “became flesh and dwelt among us.”
So, we read in the four Gospels that Jesus slept. Jesus hungered and thirsted. Jesus wept. Jesus sweat. Jesus bled. And, mystery of mysteries, Jesus died.
Marvel at the incarnation. Worship the Almighty God—Who slept!
Almighty slept—What irony!
Be awed by Christ’s humanity.
In cattle stall then violent storm
Almighty slept, first young, then worn.
Almighty slept—Who slumbers not!—
And God as man salvation brought.
The Maker sweat—A mystery!
Be touched by His humility.
By toil fatigued and sin oppressed,
The Maker sweat that we may rest.
The Maker sweat great drops of red
To ponder death in sinners’ stead.
The Sov’reign wept—Such empathy!
Be moved by mourning majesty.
As once He grieved at Laz’rus’ tomb,
The Sov’reign wept with death-like gloom.
The Sov’reign wept in garden still,
Yet bowed before His Father’s will.
The Savior bled—Oh travesty!
Be pierced by Jesus’ agony
As Satan raged and sinners scorned
The Savior bled—despised, forlorn.
The Savior bled for sin perverse
To vanquish sin and end the curse.
Let the gospel’s messages of God taking on frail human flesh astound you.
Explore the whole book!
Christmas, rightly understood, is about the incarnation. God becoming man in the person of Jesus Christ is one of the epic events of human history. The incarnation is no less essential to the Christian faith than the crucifixion or the resurrection. These 31 daily readings are theological, devotional, and practical. They will help you move beyond the mere nostalgia of Christmas and worship the Lord Jesus—the Word made flesh!
