Enjoy listening to Bryce Cook as he shares about the mercy and grace of God through His gift Jesus Christ.
Now, when we think of these two concepts, mercy and grace, it could be said that Jesus represents the true epitome of both of them. You could say he is the ultimate manifestation of mercy and grace, or even that mercy and grace themselves find their fulfillment in the very person of Jesus, the person whose birth we are preparing to celebrate. And this is supported by scripture. John begins his gospel by saying that Jesus came to earth “full of grace and truth.” Grace is a sort of defining characteristic of who Jesus is. Not only this, but multiple gospel accounts contain instances in which Jesus himself says that his purpose in coming to earth was to lay down his life as a ransom for many. In essence, he came for purposes of mercy. Jesus basically represents the combination and culmination of both grace and mercy. It is in the person of Jesus that these two ideas come together and are found in their purest forms. That’s why we celebrate his birth in this Advent season. We celebrate the incarnation of a God whose very character is apparent in both grace and mercy.