Jesus, Why Did
You Come?
I.
The Place Where Destiny Is
Shaped
II. "Jesus, why did you come?"
A.
To fulfill the terms of the
Covenant of Redemption (Gen. 3:15)
1. The effect of sin
2. The evidence of a Saviour
a. The virgin birth
b. The influence of the Lord's
personality
c. The personal testimony of
many
B.
To destroy the works of the
Devil (1 John 3:8)
1. Lying is a work of the Devil
(Gen. 3:1-5)
2. Murder is a work of the
Devil (1 John
3. Pride is a work of the Devil
(1 Chron. 21:1,7,9-14)
4. Betrayal is a work of the
Devil (John
C.
To seek and to save that
which is lost and to give eternal life to all who
believe (Luke
Conclusion. The gift of God's grace is yours for the
asking and yours for the receiving by faith in Jesus Christ.
"Declare His glory
among the heathen;
His marvelous
works among all nations."
1 Chronicles
Jesus, Why Did You Come?
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she 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.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the
angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto
you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste,
and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they
had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning
this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were
told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these
things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as
it was told unto them.
The year was 1809. The international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon was sweeping through
If there had been news broadcasts
at that time, these words might have been heard: "The destiny of the world is being shaped on an Austrian
battlefield today." But history
was actually being shaped in the cradles of
The
narrative of the incarnation of Christ is part of the Greatest Story Ever
Told. Today, the gospel has captured the
hearts of more than 2,000 million people on planet earth who profess to be
Christian. As attention is turned once
more to the Advent story, a fundamental question arises: "Jesus, why did you come?" The Bible records the answer.
First,
the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ came to fulfill the promise God the
Father made in the Covenant of Redemption. When Adam, acting as the Federal
Representative of mankind, fell in the Garden of Eden, he condemned not only
himself but also all of humanity to a godless state of existence. The Bible says,
“Wherefore, as by one man
sin entered into
the world, And death by sin;
and so death passed
upon all men,
For that all have sinned.”
Every
person who is born into the world is born with the plague of all plagues
clinging to the soul and permeating every fiber of existence: sin. And what does sin do to self and others?
Sin darkens the understanding.
Sin perverts the emotions.
Sin dominates the will.
Sin moves individuals to love darkness rather than light.
Sin creates chaos and confusion.
Sin destroys the moral compass of the will
while exalting pride, selfishness and
greed.
Sin causes the
body to burn with illicit desires
while trying to
silence the conscience warning of a certain damnation.
Sin defies God.
Sin destroys relationships.
Sin demands servitude and gives only death as wages in
return.
Despite all the wars that have been
wage,
all the tears that have shed,
all the promises that have been made,
all the self-loathing that has been
expressed
the power of sin is still present.
Despite all the self-help programs
on the market,
despite all the professional counseling in
the country,
despite all the prisons that have been
erected,
despite all the personal shame that
tormented souls carry in private,
sin is still
alive and well on planet earth.
Because
sin is so pervasive and strong, if any soul is ever to know redemption and
forgiveness of sins than the question of sin has to be dealt with. Because of infinite grace, in the same spot
that sin was first conceived, God entered into a Covenant of Redemption with
man. One day, He promised, Someone would come to reverse the works of unrighteousness
thereby allowing souls to be reconciled and have fellowship with the Sovereign
based upon the righteousness of justice satisfied. "Where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound."
The
long wait for the fulfillment of the Covenant of Redemption began with great
hopes and many expectations. But these
gave way to a patient waiting. During
the waiting period, the Law came with all of its rituals and ceremonies. These rituals and rites served a purpose
which was to remind individuals that by the works of the Law no flesh can ever
be justified in the sight of God.
Moreover, the shedding of the blood of animals does not take away sin
for they are not perfect either having been touched by the same plague that
afflicts mankind, sin.
Realizing this, religious men, like
the Pharisees, grew desperate. They
hoped against hope that somehow the righteousness of God could be appeased by
the blood of bulls and goats in association with many good works. And yet, "Every smoking altar, every bleeding victim,
every ascetic privation, every priestly intervention was a testimony to the
guilt of sin and the need of [a more perfect way for the] remission [of
sins]...." (David Clark)
Lest
mankind utterly despair, the prophets appeared to remind the people of the
Prince who was to come who would make a Covenant with His people. Finally, "in the fullness of time," (Galatians 4:4) at the
appointed moment, the Messiah did appear suddenly in His holy temple.
Later, He went and stood on the
edge of the
Upon
learning that the Messiah had come, many people in
Tragically,
there are still those who cannot believe that Jesus is the Son of the Living
God. They cannot believe that Christ is
truly Emmanuel--God with us--despite abundant evidence that Jesus is
who He claimed to be. There is the
evidence of the virgin birth, the influence of His personality upon the world,
and the personal testimony of many. Regarding the Virgin Birth, it is a great
mystery, but the Bible tells us that Jesus was born without personal sin, and without the imputation of Adam's
sin. How God could be both true deity
and true humanity has occupied the conversation of theologians and Church
Councils for centuries (
The Bible simply records the
facts—without explanation—and calls upon the heart to believe in the miraculous
because it is true. The baby in the cradle of
“Sacrifice and offering thou
wouldest not,
But a body hast thou
prepared for me:
In burnt offerings and
sacrifices for sin
Thou hast had no pleasure.
Then said I, Lo, I come (in
the volume of
The book it is written of
me,) to do thy will, O God.”
Hebrews 10:5-7
~*~
Later,
Roman historians would record that the world had been waiting for Someone as special as Jesus.
Suetonius noted, "There had
spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at
that time for men coming from
Tacitus tells of the same
expectation declaring, "there was a firm persuasion ... that at this very time the
East was to grow powerful, and rulers coming from
And
what a Son Jesus would prove to be. The
totality of his life was a constant demonstration of His deity. And by that life He became The Man Who
Changed the World. Dr. Herbert Lockyer
explains.
More than 1900 years ago there was a Man born contrary to the laws of
life.
This Man lived in poverty
and was reared in obscurity...
Only once did He
cross the boundary of the country in which He lived:
That was during His exile in
childhood...
In infancy He startled a
king: in childhood He puzzled the doctors:
In manhood He ruled the
course of Nature, walked upon the billows as if
pavement, and hushed the sea to sleep.
He never wrote
a book, and yet all of the libraries of the country could not hold the books
that have been written about Him.
He never wrote
a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the
songwriters combined.
He never
founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as
many students...
The names of
the past proved statesmen of
The names of
past scientists, philosophers and theologians have come and gone; but the name
of this Man abounds more and more.
Though time
has spread [1,998] years between the people of this generation and the scene of
His crucifixion, yet He still lives.
Herod could
not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.
He stands
forth upon the highest pinnacle of Heavenly glory, proclaimed of God,
acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the living,
personal Christ, our Lord, our Saviour and our God.
"Jesus, why did you come?"
"I came as the Son of the Living God to offer
myself as a Perfect Sacrifice to honor the Covenant of Redemption first stated
in the Garden of Eden."
"Lord, is
that the only reason why you came?"
"No, I
also came to destroy the works of the Devil" (1 John 3:8).
Lying is a work of the Devil as Satan
lied in the Garden of Eden.
“Now the serpent was more
subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God
said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the
serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit
of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not
eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto
the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For
God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened,
and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1-5).
"When regard for truth
has been broken down
or even slightly weakened,
all things will remain doubtful."
A.
W. Tozer warned,
"The unattended garden
will soon be overrun with weeds;
the heart that fails to
cultivate truth and root out
error will shortly be a theological wilderness."
Murder is a work of the Devil. We read of how Cain, motivated by Satan rose
up and murdered his righteous brother Abel. ““In this the children of God, are manifest, and the Children of the
devil: whosoever doth not righteousness Is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For
this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, That
we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew
his brother. And wherefore slew he him?
Because his own words were evil, And his brother's righteous”(1 John
Moving men to pride is a work of the Devil manifested
in the Divine narrative of how the Evil One moved David to number the children
of
The nation of
unwilling to repent,
unwilling to say, "I'm
sorry",
unwilling to tell the truth about things that all the
world knows
to be different.
The Bible declares that God will always resist the proud,
but He will give grace to the humble.
Betrayal is a work of the Devil reflected in the fact that
for 30 pieces of silver Judas betrayed the Son of God after
the Devil had entered into him.
“Now there
was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his Disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore Beckoned to him, that
he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. He then lying on Jesus' breast Saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is,
to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped It. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas
Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after
the sop Satan entered into him. Then
said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly”(John
There are many forms of betrayal such as
a contract not honored or re-negotiated,
a marriage vow broken,
a friendship abused for selfish purposes and a
willingness to advance one's religious or
political agenda at all cost.
The story is told of William Tyndale and how he was
betrayed. Tyndale was the first person
to translate the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English. He wanted to make a
Bible for the common people. He thought that plowboy of ten with a Bible could
know more than the Pope himself without the Scriptures. But the church official stepped in to forbid
Tyndale from giving the Bible to common people.
Tyndale continued his work in secret until, in 1535, a friend betrayed
him. He was taken prisoner to the
Now Christ has come to destroy all the works of the Devil. And where Christ puts forth His strength, He
overthrows the Evil One as well as sin.
John teaches that those who are born of God sin not (1 John 3:9). This does not mean that believers are endowed
with angelic purity though the Pelagians and the Cathari taught that during the
days of John Calvin in the 16th century.
Nor does it mean that believers are entirely sanctified so that they are without sin as some of the
followers of John Wesley teach today.
What is does mean is that, "in
the end of regeneration, sin will be destroyed and all who are begotten of God
will live righteously and godly because God's Spirit corrects the lusting of
sin" (John Calvin).
"Jesus, why did you come?"
"I
came to destroy the works of the Devil."
"Lord,
is that all?"
"No, I
also came to seek and to save that which is lost
and to give
eternal life to all who will believe."
Because eternal life is a relationship with the Living
Lord based upon faith in all that Jesus claimed to be, the content of belief is
important.
George Whitefield was preaching to coal miners in
"I
believe the same as the church." "And what does the church
believe?"
"Well,
they believe the same as me."
Seeing he was getting nowhere, Whitefield said, "And what is it that you both
believe?"
"Well,
I suppose the same thing."
The coal miner
lacked real content for faith. The
content of faith is the gospel concerning the death burial and resurrection of
Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The
object of saving faith is Christ. But
faith in Christ must not be in the abstract.
It must be personal and real.
"The life of Christianity consists of
possessive pronouns" says Martin Luther. It is one thing to say, "Christ is a Saviour"; it is quite
another thing to say, "He is my Saviour and my Lord." The devil
can say the first; the true Christian alone can say the second.
"Jesus, why did you
come?"
"I came to honor the Covenant of Redemption.
I came to destroy the works
of the Devil.
I came to
seek and to save the lost.
I came to
give eternal life.
I came so
that individuals might say,
“Jesus is my Lord and my
Saviour." Amen.