Why Christ Came Part 2

John 18:37

Pastor Darrin Wright – December 23, 2007

 

 

Introduction

            One great preacher remarked:  “If you want to understand Bethlehem, you must go back to a time before Bethlehem.”  What did he mean?  He meant that the life of Christ did not begin in a manger.

Micah 5:2(NASB) – “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.  His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

            Jesus’ entrance into our world was unique.  It was both a birth and an advent (coming).  As a man, He was a Child Born  and began to exist at Christmas; as God, He was a Son given and existed long before Christmas.

            So why did Christ come?  The Bible tells us over and over the reasons why Christ came at Christmas.  The father sent the Messiah on a mighty mission which one author has called the “Christmas Commission.”

 

 

 

 

I.  To Testify To The Truth.

A.     You and I are never more like the devil than when we tell a lie.

B.     John 8:44 (NASB) – “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

C.    Jesus – in glorious contradistinction – is the faithful and true witness (Rev. 3:14) who came into the world to bear witness to the truth (John18:37).

D.     Twenty – five times in the Gospel of John He introduces momentous truth with absolute assurance.

E.      Jesus never said “In my opinion”…as good scholars sometimes do.  Jesus never said “Thus saith the Lord”…as great prophets always did.  Jesus said, “But I say unto you”.

F.      The word of the lord came to Jeremiah, but Jesus is the Word of the lord come to us.  The prophets spoke for God, but Jesus spoke for God and as God.  The scribes loved to quote great authorities, but Jesus spoke with great authority.

G.    The scribes spoke by imitation, the prophets spoke by inspiration, but Jesus spoke by incarnation.

H.    Jesus did not say “I tell the truth”; he said, “I am the truth”.

I.        John 18:37(NASB) – “Therefore Pilate said to Him, So you are a king?  Jesus answered, You say correctly that I am a king.  For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

 

II.  To Destroy The Works Of The Devil.

A.     1John 3:8(NASB) – “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.  The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

B.     True temptations will come – though we should seek to avoid them and pray not to enter into them – but when they come, we must resolve by the grace of God, that they will come and go.

C.    We must remember whose we are, and whom we serve.

D.     Romans 13:11-14(NASB) – “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.  The night is almost gone, and the day is near.  Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.  Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

E.      Jesus Christ came to earth to champion the cause of mankind in its struggle against the forces of darkness.

F.      Biblical scholars call Genesis 3:15 the “First Proclamation Of The Gospel”.

G.    Genesis 3:15(NASB) – “And I will put enmity Between you and the Woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

H.    American Comedian: “The devil made me do it”

I.        The devil can tempt us, but he cannot make us do anything.

J.        Augustine:  “It is the Devil’s part to tempt; it is ours to resist.”

K.     James 4:7-8(NASB) – “Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.”

L.      Illustration  “Augustine, it is I!  Exclaimed a woman of ill repute, recognizing him from years gone by.  I know it is you, but it is no longer I!  Exclaimed the great theologian, running in the opposite direction.

M.   “A good run is better than a bad fall.”

N.     In fleeing temptation, don’t leave a forwarding address.

 

 

III.  To Sympathize With Struggling Souls.

A.     Twelve times in the first three gospels we read that Jesus had compassion for others, most often the multitudes.

B.     Compassion – your pain in my heart.

C.    God became man to identify with men in their crisis.

D.     1 Timothy 2:5(NASB) – “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

E.      Question:  Who can better represent man before God than God Become Man?

F.      Christ Jesus hungered as a man and fed the hungry as God.  As a man he was thirsty, and as God He said:  “If any man thirsts let him come unto Me and drink.”  He was weary and is our rest.  He wept and dries our tears.  He was sold for thirty pieces of silver and redeems the world.

G.    Some Jewish people write down their heart’s desire on a piece of paper and stick it in a crack in the Wailing Wall, fondly hoping their special request will be granted.  Christians have a better method.

H.    Hebrews 4:14-16(NASB) – “Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

 

 

IV.  To Serve Others.

  1. The Gospel of Mark is the Gospel of the Servant.
  2. The key word immediately occurs forty two times, helping us appreciate the demanding schedule of Christ as He went all over helping one person after another.
  3. In Mark 10, the disciples get into a big fight over who was the greatest.  Jesus helped them define true greatness.
  4. Mark 10:42-45(NASB) – “Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them.  But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
  5. Jesus, the suffering servant who came to serve, even to the point of supreme sacrifice.
  6. Christ made Himself of no reputation.  All of His thoughts were for others.
  7. Philippians 2:5-8(NASB) – “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
  8. Skiing is a sport where you have to start at the top and work your way down.  The Christian life is a lot like that:  Many of us want to start at the top, and God has to help us work our way down.
  9. Success in life is a lot like tennis:  If you are going to win, a lot depends on how well you serve.
  10. We are so self centered that too often we put ourselves ahead of everyone else.  We need to honor and serve others, and draw attention away from ourselves.
  11. Bill Gothard – “A servant is somebody who gets excited about making somebody else successful.”
  12. One Pastor’s Prayer:  “Forgive me, Blessed Master, for my self seeking success and give me Spirit – sent service.”

 

 

V.  To Bestow Abundant Life.

  1. Life without Christ is an empty existence.
  2. Lord Byron – “Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.”
  3. John 10:10(NASB) – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
  4. Life was Christ’s life work.
  5. God was sorry that He made man (Gen.6), but nowhere do we read that God was sorry that He redeemed man. 
  6. Job cursed the day of his birth (Job 3), but no man ever cursed the day of his new birth.
  7. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. – “I have never known a man upon his deathbed who confessed I am sorry I have received Christ as my Savior and lived the Christian life.”

 

 

 

VI.  To Light The World.

  1. John 12:46(NASB) – “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”
  2. Christ broke upon us like morning light.
  3. The region of Galilee engulfed with the darkness of Assyrian captivity, would one day come into great favor with God.
  4. Isaiah 9:2(NASB) – “The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will whine on them.”
  5. The birth of Christ lit up the night sky over Bethlehem, signifying that the darkness is past, and the true light now shines.
  6. 1 John 2:8(NASB) – “On the other hand I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.”
  7. Illustration:  “I have heard that near the North Pole, the night lasting for months, when the people expect the day is about to dawn, some messengers go up to the highest point to watch; and when they see the first streak of day they put on their brightest possible apparel, and embrace each other and cry, Behold the Sun and the cry goes through all the land, Behold the Sun.”
  8. That’s what the Angels proclaimed.
  9. Unfortunately, many are afraid of the light.
  10. John 3:19-21(NASB) – “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

 

 

VII.  To Take Away Our Sins.

  1. Chinese Proverb:  There are two good men on the earth:  one has already died and the other has not yet been born.
  2. In other words, there is not a perfect person on earth.  Man is imperfect, only Jesus Christ is perfect.
  3. 1 John 3:5(NASB) – “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.”
  4. Hebrews 7:26(NASB) – “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.”
  5. As long as you and I live in these mortal bodies, we will have a problem with sin.  But our whole orientation is dramatically and dynamically different since salvation.
  6. Jesus did not come to save us in our sins but from our sins:  He has saved us from the position and penalty of sin; He is saving us from the pollution and power of sin; He will save us from the possibility and presence of sin.  He completely saves.
  7. If our greatest need had been health, He would have sent us a physician; if our greatest need had been education, He would have sent us a professor; if our greatest need had been welfare, he would have sent us a politician.  But because our greatest need was forgiveness, He sent us a Savior.
  8. Matthew 1:21(NASB) – “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people form their sins.”

 

 

VIII.  To Call Sinners To Repentance.

  1. Mark 2:17(NASB) – “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
  2. “Folks who postpone repentance often fall gently to sleep in the lap of the devil.”
  3. “Those who plan to repent at the eleventh hour, usually fall asleep at ten thirty.”
  4. Religion drives respectable people to hell in droves.
  5. Christianity is reality, not religiosity.  It is a relationship, not respectability.
  6. Hebrews 3:12-13(NASB) – “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.  But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called Today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
  7. Matthew 7:21-23(NASB) – “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?  And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; Depart from Me, You who practice Lawlessness.”