WHY DID JESUS COME?
TEXT: 1 Timothy 3:16
INTRODUCTION: 
1. What is the reason for Christmas?  Why did Jesus come?  Why was he
born in the manger?
2. God became a man, how can it be?
3. Jesus was the Word made flesh, the God-man.
Phil 2:6-8
4. The condescension of Jesus is almost unbelievable.
5. The question I am asking today is: “Why did he do it?” 
6. Why did God not find another way to redeem mankind.  Or, why did not
God simply allow humanity to continue in his rebellion and face the
consequences of his actions?
THESIS: God became man because His love required Him to redeem mankind,
and the only way to redeem mankind was that He become a man himself.
TRANSITION: I suggest three answers to the question, “Why did Jesus
come?” First of all . . . 
  I.  JESUS CAME TO SHOW GOD TO US
1. Jesus was a picture of God.  He came in order to truly reveal God to
us.
2. Jesus was a man, but he was truly God.  
(1) John 14:8-9
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9
Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast
thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; 
(2) Heb. 1:1,2
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto
the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by
[his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the
express image of his person,...
(3) 1 Tim 3:16. . . great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest
in the flesh . . . 
3. Anyone who has seen Jesus has seen the Father.
 Joh 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in
me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the
Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I
[am] in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the
very works' sake.
4. The prophets talked “about” God, but Jesus demonstrated God.  He was
a walking object lesson.  He was God’s version of “show-and-tell.”
5. We cannot fully understand God in his infinite being, but we can
understand his true nature -- we see him in Jesus.
6. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. 
In Jesus, you will see his HOLINESS
In Jesus, you will see his LOVE
In Jesus, you will see his FAITHFULNESS
In Jesus, you will see his WISDOM
In Jesus, you will see his POWER
In Jesus, you will see his TRUTH
In Jesus, you will see his JUSTICE
7. John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full
of grace and truth.
8. In the actions of Jesus we see:
(1) God as CREATOR
Walked on water
Made a fig tree wither
Calmed a raging storm
Turned water into wine
Restored a withered hand
(2) God as SAVIOR
He said to the sinner, “Go and sin no more
And, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”
(3) God as HEALER
The blind see, the lame walk, etc.
(4) God as LIFE-GIVER
“Damsel, arise.’
Widow of Nain’s son
“Lazarus, come forth.”

 II.  JESUS CAME TO SHARE HUMANITY WITH US
1. God became man not only to reveal himself to us, but also to enter
sympathetically into our human condition.
2. Not only was Jesus “truly God,” but he also was “truly man.”
3. God became one of us.  Jesus was tempted in all points like we are,
yet without sin (Heb. 4:15).
4. Somehow, the incarnation opened a new dimension of sympathy and help
for mankind.  God actually experienced human pain and alienation.
5. From within humanity, the Son of God now intercedes on our behalf.
Heb. 7:25  He ever liveth to make intercession for us.
6. We can come boldly to the throne of grace, because we have a high
priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities (Heb. 4:15).
7. Whatever you feel today, Jesus felt it; he understands.
Like us, Jesus experienced hunger.
Like us, Jesus experienced pain.
Like us, Jesus experienced temptation.
Like us, Jesus experienced weakness.
Like us, Jesus experienced persecution.
Like us, Jesus experienced betrayal and abandonment.
Like us, Jesus experienced loneliness.
Like us, Jesus experienced alienation from God (on the cross).
Like us, Jesus experienced death, and even hell itself.
8. Jesus’ experiencing of humanity began at his birth.
He left heaven to be born in a dirty stable.
He departed from the bosom of his Father to be placed in a bare manger.
He stepped from his throne above the stars to lay down on the straw.
He forsook the company of nine angelic choirs to be found among the
sheep and the goats.
The one who sent down fire upon Mt. Carmel is now shivering in the cold.
The one who set the earth in motion is now dependent upon others to
carry him about.j
The one who walked on the golden streets of heaven is now wrapped with
rags.
9. Jesus said in John 16:33, In the world ye shall have tribulation, but
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
10. Jesus is able to come to our aid because he suffered the same
temptations that we suffer (Heb. 2:18).
III.  JESUS CAME TO SETTLE OUR DEBT FOR US
1. God became a man to redeem us from our fallen state.
2. John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Luke 19:10 “the son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost.”
3. Man was created in the image of God, but he rebelled against his
creator.
4. Man is born in sin, bound by sin, and dies in sin.
5. Man was powerless to solve the sin problem.
6. Jesus was born sinless, the second Adam.  He succeeded where Adam
failed.
7. Jesus paid the debt that we could not pay.  What debt? The debt of
sin.
8. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and Jesus tasted death for
every man (Heb. 2:9).
9. He did not suffer and die for himself, but he bore our sins in his
own body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24).  He was . . . 
wounded for our transgressions
bruised         for our iniquities
chastised       for our peace
striped         for our healing
he bore         our griefs
he carried      our sorrows
10. Jesus was born to die:
Those little hands      nailed to the cross
That little mouth       “my God, my God, why hast thou . . . “
swaddling clothes       pierced with a spear
Born under star         sun refused to shine
no Christmas lights     only the torches of the soldiers
no jingle bells         30 pieces of silver in Judas’ pocket
no punch or egg nog     vinegar mixed with gall
11. You cannot truly love the baby of Bethlehem until you have been
saved by the sacrifice of Golgotha.
12. Through death Christ destroyed him that had the power of death (Heb.
2:14)
13. Jesus has released us from the bondage of sin and from the power of
Satan (1 John 3:8).
CONCLUSION: 
1. Why did Jesus come?  To show God to us, to share humanity with us,
and to settle our debt for us.
2. The heavenly Father announced the good news: the fullness of time has
come, time send the Son of God to earth to redeem mankind.  The angels
said, Let us weave you a golden robe, but Christ shook his head.  Let us
take all the pearls from the sea and build you a stairway down to
Jerusalem. No.  Let us deliver you in a chariot of fire.  No.  Let us
encircle the globe and blow our heavenly trumpets. No.  Let us call 1000
eagles to carry you on their wings. No.  Jesus laid aside his crown,
removed his royal robes, stepped down from his glorious throne, leaned
his golden scepter against the arm of the throne, and took his place in
the humble manger of Bethlehem.
3. Why?  Because he loves you.
4. One Christmas eve a woman and her children started off to church, but
the husband would not go.  He was not a Christian, and he did not
understand the incarnation--all that stuff about God becoming man. 
After his family drove away, the snow began to fall.  As he read the
newspaper, he heard something hitting the window;  it was a flock of
birds, caught in the storm and seeking shelter.  He remembered his barn,
and thinking it would be a warm refuge from the snow, he went outside
and opened the doors.  The birds would not fly into the barn, so he put
out breadcrumbs to lure them, then he tried shooing them in, but to no
avail.  “If I were only a bird for a few seconds,” he said, “I could
lead them to safety.”  At that moment the church bells rang.  He sank to
his knees in the snow and said, “Now, God, I know why you had to become
a man.”
-- 
Lee R. Martin
Adjunct Faculty in Old Testament and Hebrew
Church of God Theological Seminary / Cleveland, TN 37311
Pastor, Prospect Church of God
Web pages http://earth.vol.com/~lmartin/