Why Did Jesus Come?

INTRODUCTION

Good morning and welcome to First Christian Church. I am Pastor Shane and I am so glad that you are with us today to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are in the last week of our series, Jesus 101! We have taken the past 3 weeks to answer some of the “W” questions around Christ. We first started with Who Jesus is, What was so important about Him, and last week we looked at the when and where Jesus was born. I have mentioned that we would include the “how” question too, but I don’t think the pulpit is the place to explain the birth process, so just go with me here, we know he was born just like any other human person. Of course, the conception of Jesus was miraculous, in that the Holy Spirit was involved in the process, but he was physically birthed like any other person. Mary labored just like every mother before or since has.

This week we are closing by asking “why?” did Jesus come?

If you are a parent, or have ever even been around a child, you know that they hit a certain age where the word why is the most important think in their vocabulary. They ask you a question, you answer, and they immediately hit you with “why?”. How far is the drive, you answer, but why? Well, that is how roads and travel work. Why? Or sometimes they get deep on you. Why didn’t God put five fingers on our hands? Because that is what God decided. Why?

Thankfully today, while we may be asking our heavenly Father why, there is an answer better than us human parents can supply at times. My why reply is often given in frustration and on the line of anger, but when we ask God why, He responds in the way only a loving father can.

Would you pray with me this morning as we get started.

PRAY

WHY DID JESUS COME?

I cannot speak for you, but there are times when thinking about what Jesus and what He did for me, and I wonder why? Why would God leave Heaven, come to earth, and suffer in my place? Why would he allow himself to be beaten, crucified, and died for me?

Well, when that happens, I am reminded of a few different scriptures. And today I think they will help us answer this question. This may be the most important question we ask today. Or ever in our life!

One of the first pieces of scripture that comes to mind is found in Philippians 2.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8

This gives us more descriptive information around the incarnation, or the birth, of Jesus. Jesus was and is God, but empties himself and takes on the form of the servant, and is born in the likeness of men. He is born into a human form, and humbles himself to the point of an excruciating death on a cross.

Can we wrap our heads around this information? It can be overwhelming at times to consider that the God of the universe, the creator of all things, humbles himself to be born as a man. That he would be obedient to the point of death on the cross. But the words we read in Philippians 2 are true. Jesus did this. He came to this earth to die for our sins.

And this is the starting point for our answer to why. We first understand some more of the how this was done. God didn’t just send Jesus down one day to be the sacrifice, and return to heaven. He did do a quick day trip down to earth to fulfill what God desired, and go right back. Jesus empties himself, he lays aside the right he has as God to become a servant, lives his life on earth to fulfill the law, and die in our place.

Why would he do that though? Why would Jesus humble himself? Why would he be a servant? Why would he put aside his rights as God to be a servant?

Luke 19:10 gives us a clear answer to the why:

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Why would Jesus come to earth? Why would he become a servant? Why would he humble himself? Why would he come and set aside his rights as God?

To seek and to save the lost. There it is clear as could be in Luke. He came on a mission to seek and save the lost. He came to fulfill what the Messiah would do, save the people from their sins. Redeem the world, die for the sins of man, and offer a path back to God. These 7 words, funny how God uses the number 7 to show completion, perfection, wholeness, and here we have 7 words that give us the why of Jesus coming to earth.

Now, in my own head, I would have some more questions. If he came to seek and save the lost, then who are the lost? Who is he looking for? Who are these people.

In Luke 15 we are given three parables. Each one is pointing us to the answer of the lost, and the significance of the lost being found. For the full perspective, all three are important to read together. I want us to see the similarities and the importance of what Jesus is trying to teach through these parables. So, turn to Luke 15 with me as we are going to read through each story.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The Parable of the Lost Coin 8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The Parable of the Prodigal Son 11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. 17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. 25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ “

Luke 15:1–32.

Ok, we can all take a deep breath because I know that was a lot of scripture at once. But that is ok! There is a real possibility that even if you had never been in church before you have heard of the prodigal son, the last of the three parables we read. We have maybe even heard the other two as well, or at least the concept of Jesus leaving the 99 to pursue the one that was missing.

All three of these parables are teaching the same message. That something of value was lost, it was searched for, and there was rejoicing it was found.

SOMETHING LOST

Each parable starts with something that is lost. And each lost thing builds in value. We begin with a shepherd that has lost one sheep. Out of the 100 he had; one has wondered away. Now, in human terms, that seems like an ok thing to lose. If you have 100 things and you lose one, it feels like you would be ok with that. You still have the 99. You have only lost 1% of your things, of your sheep, and you still have 99% of it. 99 is good!

In the parable of the lost coin, the woman has lost one of ten coins. Ok now we have upped the importance. We have upped how much value it is. One out of ten, 10% of what you own. But these were not just 10 coins. Not just pocket change that she threw into a jar on the counter. Each of these coins would have amounted to a days wage. And a Jewish girl at this time would have saved and worked hard to get these ten coins, and would have hung them on string and worn them as a necklace or headband. And these coins would have been the only property that she would have brought into the marriage. It would have been a sign of her being a married woman, like a wedding ring would be today. To lose one of the coins was a big deal, an emotional occasion, it would have elicited a large response.

Finally, we get to the parable of the prodigal son. If we started with losing a sheep, while it sounds trivial it is still an animal you were trusted over and more than likely it wasn’t your animal you were taking care of, and built to the very important coin that the woman had, then this would probably be the most important thing that was lost. A father has two sons, and one leaves. He asks for his inheritance, something that even in this time was only awarded at the death of the parent. This is the young son looking at his father and saying, you worth more to me dead than alive. A lost sheep can be replaced, a lost coin could be replaced, but how do you deal with the loss of a son. You cannot replace the grown child.

Each of these things that are lost are important. We understand that. And if something that is important is lost, then we know that the next thing we have to do is search for it.

SOMETHING SEARCHED FOR

Each parable includes someone looking for what is missing. In the lost sheep, the shepherd leaves behind the 99 other sheep to seek after the one lost. And when he finds it he doesn’t just nudge it along back to the fold. He lifts it up and places it around his shoulders, rejoicing. He pulls the sheep in close. He places it on himself. This would have been a way that shepherds disciplined in a way, they caused the sheep to become used to being close to the shepherd. They learned to stay close to the one that rescued them and not wander away. There is a whole other sermon built into that.

We see the woman turning over her house looking for this coin. She lights a lamp, meaning it is night and she is using precious oil when she would not normally do so. She is seeking diligently, looking under every piece of furniture. Checking the whole house. This would have caused anyone in the house to be involved as well. Imagine if you lost your wedding band, you would turn over everything in the house to seek that one thing. Even though she has 9 other coins, she does all she can to find that coin.

While the parable of the prodigal son does not show us the father turning over the house looking for his son, or going out into the world looking for him. We do see that the son makes the decision to return home. After squandering the inheritance, taking care of the pigs, which for a Jewish man would be the lowest of the low, he realizes that the servants at his dad’s house get treated better than this. He returns home and it says that while he was still a long way off, his father sees him and takes off running to embrace him. While he wasn’t out searching the world for him, he was looking for him. Even while a long way off the Father see’s the son returning. He is looking and scanning the horizon for his son to come home. Even with the last interaction being horrible, the father still loves the son.

How do they react when the thing they lost is found?

REJOICING WHEN FOUND

The shepherd, woman, and father all celebrate the finding of the thing that is lost. The shepherd brings his friends and family over to rejoice. The woman calls here friends and neighbors over to rejoice with her. The father puts a new robe, a ring and shoes on the son and plans a party to celebrate the finding of the son. The father doesn’t just welcome the son back as a servant, but brings him back as his heir. He returns him to his position.

All three of them are rejoicing over finding the things that have been lost. Not just happy, but rejoicing. Gathering those that are around them together to throw a party for the finding of the lost item.

So, what do these stories have to do with why Jesus came. Because these parables are pointing to us. We are the lost thing. The sheep that has wondered away from the shepherd. We are the coin of great value that is missing. We are the prodigal son who has walked away from their father and squandered all they had. We are lost but carry a value.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to live and to die to make a way back for us. We are the lost that he came to save.

Why are we lost? Because our sin has separated us from God. Romans 3:23 says that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That sin separates us from God. That sin creates a division. It means that we are lost, we are sheep that have wandered from the shepherd. But the good news in these parables, and the good news for us, is that the shepherd, the woman, the father, and God did not abandon us. He did not leave us to be just lost. He didn’t leave us without a way back to him. He sends his own son to this earth. He comes with a mission, to seek and save us. To die in our place. To take the punishment we deserved.

When we, like the prodigal son, come back to the father, he doesn’t just let us back in. No, like the shepherd he draws us close. Like the father he covers us with the righteousness of Christ, not our own. He places us back at the table, he makes us a co-heir with Jesus. Our sins are forgiven, washed away, placed as far as the east is from the west. And there is rejoicing.

The lost sheep and lost coin end with Jesus describing the scene in heaven when one lost sinner repents and turns back to God. The rejoicing on earth cannot compare to the rejoicing happening in heaven as people turn from sin and turn to God. As we turn from trying to save ourselves, turn from thinking we can earn salvation through our works, and turn to a God who lovingly sent His own son to be our savior. There is rejoicing as even one sinner comes to salvation and faith in Jesus.

Luke 15 starts with the Pharisees and scribes grumbling, complaining, that Jesus was with the tax collectors and sinners. Asking why he would do this. Rather than just an answer, Jesus teaches them. Why did he come to earth? Why does he spend time with sinners? Why did he die for sinful people? Why did he do this? Because he came to seek and save the lost! Because heaven rejoices over the life that is changed by God. Because even once soul saved is worth it.

And Jesus did this for you and for me. Jesus came to this earth to take my sin and your sin. To die in your place. To die for us. So that we could come back to Him. Why did he come? For you. Why did he die? For you.

Keep your mind occupied with this certain truth: He is come to save that which was lost, and there is no lost one so far lost that Jesus cannot find him and cannot save him.

Andrew Murray

I want to end today asking you the question, who is Jesus? Who is Jesus to you?