I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. John 12:46
Year after year, pastors, songwriters, authors, poets, and others keep coming up with new angles by which to see Christmas… from the perspective of Mary, or Joseph, or the Innkeeper of Bethlehem, or King Herod, or Caesar Augustus, or the magi, or the shepherds, or the wise men, or even the little drummer boy! The best motive for these efforts is to present in fresh ways “The Reason for the Season,” the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to a perishing world.
"However, the best perspective on the reason for the coming of Christ must ultimately come from Jesus himself."
However, the best perspective on the reason for the coming of Christ must ultimately come from Jesus himself. And there are a remarkably high number of purpose statements Christ entrusted to the world in the four gospels. Here are a few of them with some comments.
Christ came into the world:
1. To fulfill the Law and the Prophets: "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." Matthew 5:17
2. To do his Father’s will by saving the elect: “Then I said, 'Here I am-- it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" Hebrews 10:7
"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
3. To judge Satan and all wicked people: "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." John 9:39
"Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out." John 12:31
4. To give us abundant life: "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10
5. To preach in the cities of Israel: Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else-- to the nearby villages-- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." Mark 1:38
6. To testify to the truth and build a kingdom of truth: 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." John 18:37
7. To give light to those who walk in darkness: "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." John 12:46
8. Not to judge the world but to save it: "I did not come to judge the world, but to save it." John 12:47
9. To call sinners to spiritual healing through repentance: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32
10. To feed the world with his flesh: "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:48-51
