Why He Came

This past Sunday I preached out of John 6.1-21, the feeding of the 5,000 and the walking on water. At the end of the service we took communion. I hadn't really planned what I was going to say for it, I found myself in one of those situations where I just trusted God would give me something.He did, but sadly I can only remember bits and pieces of it.

The people wanted Jesus as their King because He had feed them. They saw in Him, someone who could meet their needs. They had no interest in His way or the plan of God, they simply wanted Him because He had filled their bellies with bread. And these same people who now wanted to make Him King, would in a little over a year cry out for His crucifixion. Jesus knew that they only way they could ever really be satisfied was to have His body be broken for their sin. He had to take the punishment that their sin, and ours, deserved. He allowed His body to be broken so the world could freedom from sin.

But it wasn't enough for sin to deal out it's punishment, it had to be paid for. For that His blood had to be shed. Death was the only thing that could pay for sin. Romans 6 tells us that the wages of sin is death. Jesus couldn't simply take the punishment for us, He had to purchase us back.

The cross was the whole reason that He came to earth. On Christmas Eve during college I did something most people probably wouldn't do. I watched The Passion of the Christ. It was during college that I finally began to get it. The cross what why Jesus came. Jesus came to be King, but not one who was elected by popular vote; He came to be crucified that way. He came not to compromise and save the world by becoming like the world; but to life the world up to His level, to call the world to a higher standard, a higher quality of life.

Jesus came so that we could have life abundantly (John 10.10). He came to earth to show us how God would have us to live, to show us what God is like, and to make it possible for us to live in relationship with Him. Jesus came to bring us back to God, and to help us live as God would live life.

As December begins and the countdown to Christmas really starts, let's not forget the real reason we celebrate this time. God came down to save a lost and dieing people. He came to take our punishment, to buy us back, and to transform us into the people He created us to Be. Jesus made it possible for us to be Holy, for us to be Christlike. That is what we celebrate when we take communion. That is what we remember at Christmas.

Peace be with you