Why did Jesus come to the earth?

We all long for purpose and meaning in our lives, a reason for our existence, and a justification for what we are doing.  This search for significance is not only true of individuals, but also of corporations who publish mission and vision statements to explain to their constituents, employees, and customers their purpose and goals.  We all want to make sense of our lives.  So what about Jesus?  What was the purpose of his life? Why did Jesus come to earth over 2000 years ago?

While there are several ways to go about answering this question, one way is to consider Jesus’ own statements as recorded for us in the Gospels by the eyewitnesses to his life and ministry.  Let us briefly consider a few of these statements.  Matthew’s gospel records Jesus’ well-known Sermon on the Mount in which he states, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).  In this statement Jesus refers to “the Law” and “the Prophets,” which is a shorthand way of referring to the Old Testament scriptures.  Here we see one of the reasons Jesus came to the earth:  to fulfill the Old Testament.  In other words, Jesus came to fulfill the promises of God that are recorded for us in the Old Testament.  And the central promise of the Old Testament is that God would send a descendent of Eve to defeat the devil and reverse the effects of the curse of sin (cf. Genesis 3:15).  This descendent would be the Lord’s anointed one, the Messiah, who would come to save His people from their sin.  Jesus came to fulfill this great promise of salvation from God in the Old Testament.

But how will Jesus fulfill this promise?  In Mark’s gospel Jesus explains his mission to his disciples right after Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah).  Jesus explains that he “must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31).  Twice more Jesus tells his disciples that as the Messiah he has come to be killed and then rise again on the third day (cf. Mark 9:31; 10:33-34).  These are the very events that Christians around the world commemorate and celebrate each year at Easter.  But what is the significance of these things?  Why did Jesus die on the cross?  Jesus’ answer is that he “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).  Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty not for his own sins (for he had none) but to pay the ransom price for the sins of all who believe on him.

One final example of a statement by Jesus about why he came to earth is found in John’s gospel: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38).  Jesus came to do the will of his Father in heaven.  And what is his Heavenly Father’s will?  From Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Messiah, we learn that “it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer.” Why? Because “the Lord makes his life an offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:10).  It is the Father’s will for Jesus the Messiah to be the substitutionary sacrifice to atone for the sins of his people so that they will be saved from the just wrath of God and raised to eternal life like Jesus was raised.  Back in John’s gospel Jesus explains it this way: “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:39-40).

This is the reason that Jesus came to the earth:  to save his people from their sins by his life, death, and resurrection.  His great purpose was to restore sinners to their God so that they may have eternal life forever with him.  And Jesus’ great purpose is what gives purpose and meaning to the lives of those who trust in him.  As the Apostle Paul states, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).  Have you considered the purpose of your life this Easter season?

John Miller
Grace Baptist Church
Carlisle, PA

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Who is Jesus?

There is no more important question to answer than “Who is Jesus?”  Myriads of answers are given by both secular and religious people in our society.  Some say that Jesus was a man who led a failed revolution and was executed for his crimes.  Others say that Jesus was a great moral teacher.  Still others say he was a prophet of God in a long line of prophets.  But what is the testimony of those who were with him when he lived upon the earth?

To this day we have the record of eyewitnesses available for us to read in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Matthew and John were themselves apostles who spent three years with Jesus directly.  Mark and Luke, while not apostles, gathered their information from those who were eye-witnesses to Jesus’ life.  As Luke states, “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,  that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:1-4).  Luke wrote what eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life had “delivered” to him.

So what do these eyewitnesses testify concerning the identity of Jesus?  They tell us that similar to today there were a variety of opinions among the people.  Some of the Jewish scribes thought Jesus was a demon-possessed man (cf. Mark 3:22).  The crowds had a variety of answers: “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:14).  But those who had been with Jesus and taught by Jesus clearly declare that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

But what does this declaration mean?  While there is much more that needs to be said by way of explanation, briefly consider one part of this declaration.  Jesus is the Christ, which means he is the long-awaited Messiah, a word that literally means “anointed one.”  In the Old Testament period, three kinds of people were anointed in Israel: prophets, priests, and kings.  These men were anointed to their office by laying on of hand and anointing with oil.  This anointing represented being set apart for the task they were entrusted with by God and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to fulfill that task.

But one of the problems with the prophets, priests, and kings of Israel is that they did not fulfill their offices perfectly or perpetually.  There were times when they abused their office (like when King David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah in 2 Samuel 11).  And all of their terms of service came to an end, for they all died.

But the prophets of old spoke of one who would come as the perfect prophet, priest, and king.  As the prophet Jeremiah said, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6).  God through the prophets foretold of a King from the line of David that would reign forever, for God said, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:13b).  That anointed one to come is none other than Jesus, who is the Greatest Prophet (greater than Moses), the Great High Priest (who ever lives to represent His people), and the Greatest of Kings who is called “King of kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16).  Jesus is the Lord’s Anointed who is the climactic figure in whom God’s purposes to bring glory to Himself and salvation to all who trust in Him are fully and finally accomplished.

Who do you say that Jesus is?  Your eternal destiny hangs upon how you answer that most vital of questions.

John Miller
Grace Baptist Church
Carlisle, PA

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True Transformation

At the beginning of January, perhaps like many others you made a New Year’s resolution.   Maybe it was to eat less sugar, or to exercise more regularly, or to read all the way through the bible.  These are all good resolutions, and if you’re still keeping your resolution even up to this early point in the year, you are doing well!  After all, research conducted by Strava, a social media network for athletes, reports that most people in their network have lost their resolve by January 12.  Others continue on in their resolution for several months, and some even make it through the whole year.

But as helpful as New Year’s resolutions may (or may not) be in changing certain behaviors and habits, they cannot bring about a true transformation – the transformation of the soul in the inner person.  Human resolve and sheer will power cannot change a person’s nature from being bent towards self and against the One True and Living God.  Only by the supernatural working of the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) can such a radical transformation take place in a person’s heart so that they turn from self-centered and even self-destructive ways to truly loving God and others.  This supernatural transformation is what Jesus was referring to when he said to Nicodemus (a religious teacher in Israel), “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).   This spiritual rebirth, also called regeneration, is a work of God the Holy Spirit to make people new from the inside out so that they become a new creation.  As the Apostle Paul states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

But if such a transformation is the work of God, how can you tell if it is something that you have truly experienced or not?  While more could be said, the Apostle Paul gives a few indications in 2 Corinthians 5 that reveal such a spiritual transformation has actually taken place.  First, in verse 16 Paul writes, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.”  There is a change in how a person views other people and in how they view Jesus Christ.

Before Paul was regenerated, he viewed Jesus Christ as merely a man who led a radical sect and was crucified for his crimes.  To Paul, Jesus was the chief cause of disturbance among the Jews in his day, which is why Paul persecuted the Christian church.  But when Paul was confronted by the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9), he was reborn and given spiritual eyes to see that Jesus is not merely a man but the Son of God and promised Messiah who loved His people by dying on the cross not for any crimes or sins that He committed, but to take the wrath and curse of God against the sins of His people.  Paul came to see that this Jesus has been raised from the dead and is now the Lord of glory.  Paul realized that Jesus is the only Savior of sinners and only hope for all of humanity.  Paul came to see other people not according to outward circumstances or worldly standards of status and reputation, but as people made in the image of God who have all sinned against their Creator and in need of the loving grace and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ alone.  Paul’s spiritual rebirth resulted in faith or belief in Jesus, that He is all that He claimed to be: the Christ who came to save sinners and bring about a new creation.

The Apostle Paul also describes those who have experienced the new birth as those who “no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15).  Not only is there a change in belief as described above, but there is a change in life and purpose.  The goal of life is no longer to live for oneself.  Before Paul’s regeneration, he lived for himself, seeking to climb the ladder of the religious establishment by his strict external observance of the traditions of the rabbis.  But after his spiritual transformation, Paul’s one goal in life was to please his Lord Jesus Christ and to serve Him in whatever way the Lord saw fit.

These are a couple of the indications that the new birth has occurred:  there is a change in how a person views the Lord Jesus Christ and other people, and there is a change in a person’s purpose in life.  Someone who has become a new creation is truly transformed so that they see Jesus as their Savior and Lord of the universe, and desire in all things to please Him.  Have you experienced this new birth?   If not, I pray that you may know true transformation this year.

John Miller
Grace Baptist Church
Carlisle, PA

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