|
|
|
|
church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut |
|
Home|
Phone |
|
Worship Schedule |
|
|
|
Upcoming Activities |
|
|
|
|
|
Why did my Savior come to earth? We are commanded to teach each other by singing songs (Colossians 3:16), which tells us that songs are excellent teaching tools, provided, of course, that they are in keeping with the Scriptures. One song that is certainly in keeping with the Scriptures is the song by James G. Dailey entitled, “Why did my Savior come to earth?” Think with me about how Jesus Himself answers that question, “Why did my Savior come to earth?”: My Savior came to earth to preach. Jesus Himself said: "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43 ESV). In Mark’s account, it is worded this way: “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for” (Mark 1:38 NASB). In fact, Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be anointed with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of preaching: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18 NASB, which is a quotation of Isaiah 61:1; cf. also Acts 10:38; Matthew 3:16). My Savior came to earth to seek and save the lost. When Jesus went to visit the house of Zaccheus, a tax collector, people grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner” (Luke 19:7 ESV). But Jesus explained: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10 ESV). Elsewhere, Jesus preached: “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray” (Matt. 18:10-13 NKJV). There is another song in our songbooks that says it well: Jesus, my Savior, to Bethlehem came, Born in a manger to sorrow and shame; O it was wonderful, blest be His name! Seeking for me, for me! My Savior came to earth to serve. The apostles James and John once came to Jesus asking that one of them could sit at His right and the other at His left, in His glory. Jesus, in essence, said that the decision was not His, but the Father’s. Then He proceeded to say: "You know that the rulers of the non-Jewish people love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority. But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave. In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28 NCV). For example, we think of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples (John 13:1-7). And I think about a song I sang as a teenager: Make me a servant, Lord, make me like You. For You are a servant. Make me one too. Make me a servant. Do what You must do, To make me a servant. Make me like You. My Savior came to earth to give His life a ransom for many. Listen to Jesus again, “the Son of Man…came…to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28 NCV). “The Greek word [for ransom] was used commonly for the price paid to redeem a slave. Similarly, Christ paid the ransom price of his own life to free us from the slavery of sin” (TNIV Study Bible). And the word “many” in this passage actually means “all.” As Paul stated plainly: “Christ Jesus…gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5-6 ESV). Thus Jesus gave himself for you, and he gave himself for me. And why? As Paul also said, “the Son of God…loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20 NASB). So James G. Dailey was quite right in writing: Why did my Savior come to earth, And to the humble go? Why did He choose a lowly birth? Because He loved me so! He loved me so, He love me so; He gave His precious life for me, for me, Because He loved me so. |