Mission of Christ in His Own Words

As we kicked off our study of the Truth Project, I was struck by one thing: The question Dr. Tackett asked his class in the first part of the lecture: “Why was Jesus born? Why did He come?”

I suppose that I’ve thought about this some, but it’s difficult to articulate in words another person might understand.

I think, too, we stumble over an answer to the question because it’s difficult for us to formulate the words around our own answer.

Jesus, Himself, has answered this question in His Word concerning the reasons why He humbled Himself and “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:7)

Here are a few of the ways He describes His mission:

·         Matt 5:17 “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.”

·         Matt 10:34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.' “

·         Luke 12:51 “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.”

·         Luke 12:49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”

·         Matt 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

·         Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

·         Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

·         John 12:47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.”

·         1 Tim 1:15 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.”

·         1 John 3:5 “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. “

·         Mark 1:38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."

·         John 9:39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

·         John 12:46 “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

·         Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

·         Matt 9:13 “But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

·         Mark 2:17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

·         John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

·         John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”

·         Heb 10:7 Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'"

·         John 12:27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”

·         John 15:22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.”

·         1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.

·         1 John 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

·         1 John 4:10 “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 

·         1 John 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true-even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

·         John 18:37 “You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

So, Jesus came to:

·         fulfill the law and the prophets.

·         heal the spirits of sinners.

·         do the right thing even if that means division and swords.

·         act as a judge.

·         give life in abundance.

·         be a light in a dark place.

·         be in the world.

·         save the world.

·         go out of the world back to the Father

·         take those who are His with Him.