Why Jesus Came

          The Bible tells us there are several reasons Jesus came to earth.


          I. Jesus came not to bring peace, but a sword.

                                   
                                "Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth.
                                  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."
                                                                                       Matthew 10:34


          "Though the ultimate end of the gospel is peace with God,

                                ('Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
                                I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not
                                let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.')
                                                                           John 14:27

            the immediate result of the gospel is frequently conflict.  Conversion
     to Christ can result in strained family relationships, persecution, and even
     martyrdom.  Following Christ presupposes a willingness to endure such
     hardships.  Though He is called 'Prince of Peace,' Christ will have no one
     deluded into thinking that He calls believers to a life devoid of all conflict."
                                                                               John MacArthur


          "It is true that Christ came to bring peace -- peace between the believer
     and God, and peace among men.  Yet the inevitable result of Christ's com-
     ing is conflict -- between Christ and the anit-christ, between light and dark-
     ness, between Christ's children and the devil's children."
                                                                               NIV Commentary


         II. Jesus came to preach the gospel and testify to the truth.


                         "And He (Jesus) said to them, 'Let us go on to the next towns,
                          that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.' "
                                                                                 Mark 1:38

                         "Jesus answered [Pilate], "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."
                                                                                 John 18:37


          Jesus IS the truth and the only way to salvation.

                         "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.
                          No one comes to the Father except through me.' "
                                                                                 John 14:6


                         "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in Him,
                          'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
                          and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
                          free.' "
                                                                                 John 8:32


          " 'Truth' here refers not only to the facts surrounding Jesus as the Messiah
     and Son of God but also to the teaching that He brought.  A genuinely saved
     and obedient follower of the Lord Jesus will know divine truth and both free-
     dom from sin and the search for reality.  This divine truth comes not merely
     by intellectual assent but saving commitment to Christ."
                                                                                John MacArthur


          III. Jesus came to save His people.

                           (The angel said to Joseph), 'She will bear a son, and  you shall
                           call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
                                                                                Matthew 1:21


     Who are His people?  The ones the Father gives to Him.

                           "All that the Father gives me will come to me,
                            and whoever comes to me I will never drive
                            away."
                                                                                John 6:37


     Jesus gave His life as a ransom for His people.

                          " ... 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."
                                                                               Matthew 20:28


          IV. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

                           (Jesus said), 'For the Son of Man came to seek
                           and to save what was lost.' "
                                                                               Luke 19:10


          Even though we (believers) are God's people, we were His enemies before
      conversion.  Jesus sought us and bought us with His death on the cross.

                         "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were
                          reconciled to Him through the death of His Son,
                          how much more, having been reconciled, shall
                          we be saved through His life!"
                                                                               Romans 5:10


          V. Jesus came to do the Father's will, and His will is that all the ones He
     has given to Jesus receive eternal life.

                        "For I have come down from heaven not to do my
                         will but to do the will of Him who sent me.  And
                         this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall
                         lose none of all that He has given me, but raise
                         them up at the last day.
                        "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks
                         to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal
                         life, and I will raise Him up at the last day."
                                                                            John 6:38-40


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          One day Jesus will return for His children!

                         "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear
                          in the sky, and all nations of the earth will mourn.
                          They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds
                          of the sky, with power and great glory. 
                         "And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call,
                          and they will gather His elect from the four winds,
                          from one end of the heavens to the other."
                                                                           Matthew 24:30-31