Jesus Came to

Jesus Came

1 Timothy 1:15 KJV 1900

15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

1. He came to fulfill the Law.

He did not come to destroy the word of God, but to free it from the way the Pharisees and Scribes had wrongly interpreted it.

Matthew 5:17–18 “17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

2. He came to seek and save the lost.

The entire account with Zacchaeus gives us a remarkable who, what, where, when, why, and how of receiving Jesus.

· Who Jesus wants to receive Him: those lost.

· What Jesus wants with those who receive Him: relationship.

· Where Jesus wants to go: to Him.

· When Jesus wants you to receive Him: immediately, quickly.

· Why Jesus wants you to receive Him: to be with Him

· How Jesus wants you to receive Him: joyfully.

Luke 19:10 “10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

3. He came to serve.

Real ministry is done for the benefit of those ministered to, not for the benefit of the minister.

Mark 10:45 “45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

4. He came to give His life in payment for our sins.

This is one of the great claims Jesus made about Himself and His ministry. He is the one who stands in the place of guilty sinners and offers Himself as a substitute for them.

Matthew 20:28 “28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

1 John 3:5 “5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

Jesus takes away our sin in the sense of taking the penalty of our sin.

We cannot take away the penalty of our own sin. It is impossible to cleanse ourselves in this way. We must instead receive the work of Jesus in taking away our sin.

Jesus takes away our sin in the sense of taking the power of sin away.

We cannot take away the power of sin in our lives. This is His work in us, and we respond to that work. Someone who comes to Jesus does not have to clean himself up first, but he must be willing to have Him take away his sin.

Jesus takes away our sin in the sense of taking the presence of sin away. This is a work that will be completed when we pass into eternity and are glorified with Jesus.

We cannot take away the presence of sin in our lives. This is His work in us, ultimately accomplished when we will be glorified with Him.

5. He came that we might have abundant life.

John 10:10 “10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

. “The Greek word for ‘abundance,’ perissos, has a mathematical meaning and generally denotes a surplus…The abundant life is above all the contented life, in which our contentment is based upon the fact that God is equal to or above every emergency and is able to supply all our need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.” (Boice)

Abundant life is a life of satisfaction and contentment in Jesus.

6. He came to reveal the Father.

Matthew 11:27 “27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.”

John 14:9 “9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

Christ declared himself to his disciples to be the everlasting God

7. He came to separate believers from non-believers.

Matthew 10:34–36 “34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”

The message of Jesus – as reflected in the Sermon on the Mount – is indeed a message of peace. Yet since it calls the individual to a radical commitment to Jesus Himself, it is a message of peace that divides between those who choose it and those who reject it. The division between these two choices explains how Jesus did not come to bring peace but a sword.

The dividing line between those who accept Jesus and those who reject Him would even run through families. The sword Jesus spoke of would sometimes cut through families. 8. He came to proclaim truth.

Joh 18:37  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 

With the truth there is knowing;

The truth in which thou must believe;

9. He came to give us a pattern of holy living.

1Pe 2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 

Jesus gave us an example to follow

10. He came to ignite a spiritual fire.

Luke 12:49 “49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?”

Opinions of Bible scholars vary about the exact meaning of fire in this passage, but all agree it is a strong statement from the One Who truly set the world ablaze with His words and works here on earth.

It may be that the fire Jesus spoke of was judgment to come upon the Jewish people in the following decades. “In Jewish thought fire is almost always the symbol of judgment. So, then, Jesus regarded the coming of his kingdom as a time of judgment.” (Barclay)

· It may be that the fire Jesus spoke of is the power of the Holy Spirit that could only come after He had accomplished His work on the cross (I have a baptism to be baptized with).

· It may be that the fire Jesus spoke of is the spread of the good news and the coming expansion of the work of His kingdom across the globe, which could not happen until He had accomplished His work on the cross.

11. He came to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8 “8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

Hebrews 2:14–15 “14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

that he might destroy the works of the devil; and the devil himself, and all his dominion and power, and particularly his power over death, and death itself; and especially the sins of men, which are the works of the devil, which he puts them upon, influences them to do, and takes delight in; and which are destroyed by Christ, by his sacrifice and death, being taken, carried, removed away, finished, and made an end of by Jesus

The full realization of the devil's defeat will be at Christ's Second Coming. See Hebrews 2:5-8  12. He did not come to judge, but He came to bring judgment.

John 3:17 “17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

John 9:39 “39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”

John 12:47 “47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.”

Not the act of judgment, but its result. His very presence in the world constitutes a separation, which is the primitive idea of judgment, between those who believe on Him and those who reject Him.