Message topic: Reasons why Jesus came to earth Scripture text: Matthew 1:18: 23
Are any of you ever been referred to as a person with an enquiring mind? As you hear the topic of our message for today, does it give you any reason to do some thinking or inquiring? Who can repeat the topic of sharing without looking at your bulletin?
Now, what is the bulletin saying that you believe need some inquiring? Is it implying that there are more than one reason why Jesus came to earth? Would that be right?
Now, ask yourself, what is the reason that I know why Jesus came to earth? Did you get the answer, to give hope to people that by dying for their sins they can regain fellowship with God the father and live with him forever? Is that all the answer there is?
We know that of all the righting in the world, in book form or whatever, none bears the truth like the Bible, so lets look in the bible to see what it has to say to us about Jesus and His coming to earth.
The Bible tells us that God is the first and the last, nothing existed before Him, we also hear Jesus in Revelation 22:13 saying, that He is the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end, the first and the last: how is it that both God the father and Jesus can be the first and the last? This is only possible because Jesus is God, John 1;1 said the word was with God, and the word was God, both are God, both are one being, one deity, even though they are individual.
In the Old Testament God would refer to himself as simply I Am Exodus 3:14: Jesus later when talking to the Jews said to them, most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM. Jesus is not only saying that he existed since before his physical birth on earth, but he is identifying himself as being God, as being the I AM.
John 14: 10-11 says believes not that I am in the Father, and the father in me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but the father that dwells in me, it is He doeth the work.
One reason why Jesus came to earth, is to fulfill the prophies.
In the garden of Eden, God promised a rescuer who would come and defeat the serpent: (Geneses 3: 15.) through the prophets, God revealed and promised a coming Messiah for the nation of Israel who would save His peoples. (Jesus was that Messiah.)
Chapter one of Matthew proclaimed His legal standing as Messiah through the bloodline of David and proclaims, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet (Matthew 1: 22) His birth, life, ministry, and death was the fulfilment of that which God foretold in the Old Testament Scripture (Luke 24;27, John 5: 39) gives reasons for his coming.
Next, Jesus came to reveal God.
Jesus asked a man, Do you believe in the son of God? The man answered, who is he, Lord, that I may believe in Him? (John 9: 35-36) then Jesus said to him, you have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you. (John 9:37)
Jesus came to do the works that the Father gave him to do.
Jesus began His earthly ministry by giving a definitive answer to why He came to earth. Teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus quoted from the prophet Isaiah and revealed His six-fold ministry about to begin as He said in Luke 4: 18-19:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted; to preach deliverance to the captive, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Jesus came to defeat Satan. Satan’s rebellion against God was, and still is sin. Yet there is no redemption for him. Jesus came to pay the penalty for man’s sins, not for sins of fallen angels: throughout the Old Testament, we read of Satan’s working to separate man from His maker and to sin against Him. he knows a savior was promised, and did all he could to stop His coming.
On the cross, Jesus paid for man’s sins, and established a new covenant, opening the way for mankind to come by faith and receive His saving grace and thereby defeating Satan’s power under the new covenant, born again believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Satan has no power to accuse them. He has been defeated. (1st. John 3:8) For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus came to win victory over death. When Adam and Eve sinned, God, declared that their disobedience would be judged and that the penalty for sin is death (Genesis 2: 17) but God, in His love and mercy, also promised a Rescuer (Genesis 3:15) and Jesus gave His life, rose from the grave, and conquered death, so man could live.
(John 10: 10, 1st. Corinthians 15: 22,26)
Jesus came to pay the penalty for the sins of Man.
Jesus was born to die. God had provided His people a merciful system of atonement by the sheading of blood in animal sacrifice. But animal blood, could not fully pay for human sins.
Only pure and sinless human blood could make full atonement, but there was no man that was ever worthy
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23) so God sent His Son to be the perfect pure sinless sacrificial Lamb who would be put on the alter and shed His blood to pay the penalty of mankind’s sins.
Listen to these encouraging words from 1 st. Peter 1: 18:19 you were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Isaiah 53: 5-6 tells us that He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Jesus came once so that He could come again.
The Bible tells of two (advents) coming of Jesus. His first advent, when He was born of a woman, and call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins, He came as the lamb of God and paid for the sins of the world. In His second advent, when Jesus will come as the lion of the Tribe of Judah, He will judge the world of sin.
There can’t be a second advent without the first, Jesus had to come first as the lamb before He could come as the Lion. Why? Because God is merciful and gracious.
Covered by the blood of the lamb, we are forgiven of sins and saved from the judgment of God that the Lion will bring.