Why did Jesus come to earth?
Have you ever wandered why Jesus came to earth? What was His purpose? And how did He fulfill it? Why Jesus came all the way down to earth from His throne in heaven to be born as a baby in the lowly village of Bethlehem. Did Jesus actually tell us the answer to these questions?Lets look at some of the actual words of Jesus, in which He stated the purpose for His coming. Then we will look at how Jesus accomplished His purpose. Next, we will look at some correlated Old Testament prophecies, which were written hundreds of years before Jesus came. We will also look at what the writers of the New Testament wrote on the subject. Finally, we will explore why the Bible declaration of these things is true, and why it should be believed.
Please note: In this article you will notice the terms “Son of Man” and “Son of God”; these titles are Biblical names for the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus frequently used both terms in reference to Himself. In the New Testament, Jesus was called the Son of man as well as the Son of God.
Please note: All Bible references are in Blue; all Bible verses are in Red, and all the words of Jesus are in Bold Red. All scripture references are taken from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.
What did Jesus say concerning His purpose in coming to earth?
Jesus came to earth to declare the truth. John 18:37 “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Do you desire to know the truth? If you are sincere seeker of the truth, it is important for you to consider the words of Jesus to find out His perspective.
Jesus came to earth to give His life as a ransom. Matthew 20:28 “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Do you ever feel in bondage to sin? Jesus came to earth to set you free from everything that holds you cap-ve. He gave His life as a ransom.
Jesus came to earth to save those who are lost. Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.” Have you ever felt lost to God or desired a relationship with God? Jesus came to seek and save all men who are lost.
“That the world through Him might be saved” Please read these verses carefully to understand Jesus’ prophecy concerning His own crucifixion and death on the cross. John 3:13-18 “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses liIed up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be liIed up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that beliveth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
How did Jesus accomplish His purpose of saving the world?
Let’s study these prophetic words of Jesus again. Let’s look at these verses, one verse at a time, in order to be able understand exactly how Jesus can save us.
1. Jesus has Divine Power. John 3:13 “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” The purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth is better understood when we realize who He really is. Jesus was speaking on earth, and He claimed that He was also in heaven at the same time. Jesus is omnipresent (everywhere); He was in heaven and on earth simultaneously. The Bible teaches that Jesus was fully man and fully God. Please refer to our article, “Who is Jesus?” for a comprehensive study on the Bible’s declaration of the Deity of Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus was lifted up. Jesus prophesied His own crucifixion and death on the cross. John 3:14-15 “And as Moses liIed up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be liIed up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
In order to understand this verse you must understand the Biblical and Historical context of what Jesus was talking about. When Jesus said, “as Moses liIed up the serpent in the wilderness”, He was referring to an Old Testament account in Jewish Bible History. The Jewish people were under the judgment of God for the sin of unbelief, and so God sent venomous serpents to bite these rebellious people. Many people died and many more were dying. God commanded Moses to make a brass serpent on a pole and lif it up among the people, so that whoever would simply look at this serpent on the pole would be healed from the poisonous venom of the snakebite. Moses did as God commanded, and lifed the brass pole in the air so that everyone who was bitten by the snakes could see it. God miraculously healed every person who believed and looked at the serpent on the pole.
In the context of John 3:14, Jesus was talking about being lifed up on the cross. In another place in the Gospel of John, Jesus talked about being lifed up on the cross to die. John 12:32-33 “And if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said signifying what death he should die.” Jesus was lifed up just like Moses lifed up the serpent in the wilderness. Whoever will simply believe and look to Jesus will be saved and forgiven of their sins.
3. God’s love makes salvation possible. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God the Father loved the world enough to give His beloved Son, Jesus, to die for us. Jesus loved us enough to come personally and die for our sins. 1 John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:”
4. Salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. John 3:17-18 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that beliveth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Jesus Christ claimed to be the only way to God. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me.” John 10:9 “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.”
What did the prophets write before Jesus’s time concerning the Messiah’s purpose in coming to the world?
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Read Isaiah 53:1-12 “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his genera-on? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Read Isaiah 53:1-12 “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his genera-on? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
The Old Testament contains 332 specific prophecies, which were literally fulfilled by Christ’s first coming. Let us look at just a few of these. Micah 5:2 foretells His place of birth– Bethlehem; Genesis 49:10 says that He is to be of the tribe of Judah; Zechariah 9:9 tells us that He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey; Isaiah 53:3 proclaims that he would be rejected by his own people; Zechariah 11:3 prophesied that He would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver; Psalm 22:16 foretold that His hands and feet would be pierced; Isaiah 53:12 says that He would be crucified with thieves; Psalm 22:18 foretold that lots would be cast for His garments; Psalm 34:10 says that none of His bones would be broken; Isaiah 53:9 prophesied that He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb; Psalm 16:10 promised that His body would not see corruption; Psalm 68:18 even said that He would ascend to God. (This paragraph was taken from the book “Path to truth and Freedom” by Gene Gurganus Page 10. Used by permission)
What did the Apostles of Jesus Declare concerning Jesus’s purpose for coming to the earth?
The apostle Paul wrote; 1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accepta-on, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” Before Paul’s conversion, he persecuted the Christian churches; this is why Paul considered himself the chief of sinners.
The Apostle John wrote; 1 John 3:5 “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. John also wrote that Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil”. 1 John 3:8b “For this is the purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
In the book of Hebrews, God gives us additional clarity. Hebrews 2:9 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:14-15 “Forasmuch as the children are partakers of the flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same; that though death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; 15. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Notes on the validity of Isaiah 53
Chris-ans ofen call Isaiah 53 “the Gospel of the Old Testament”. Remember the Book of Isaiah was wriDen about 700 years before the time of Jesus. Isaiah 53 is so clearly speaking of Jesus that some people have alleged that the Christians added it to the Bible, But this is impossible because many Jews didn’t receive Jesus as their Messiah, and yet they still have the same passage of scripture in their Torah. The unbelieving Jewish Rabbis certainly would not allow such a change in their Bible. Also the Hebrew Dead Sea scrolls, which were recently discovered in Israel prove that this Chapter in the Bible was not a later addition into the Bible. The Dead Sea scrolls are dated before the time of Jesus.
In Conclusion:
Jesus came to earth for the specific purpose of dying for the sins of humanity. Jesus came to earth to bring eternal life to a dying human race. We all are sinners, and the penalty for our sin is death and eternal suffering in the lake of Fire. (Sin is the act of violating God’s laws, which are found in the Bible; including sins such as worshiping idols, lying, stealing, coveting, comminng sexual sins etc.)
God’s perfect law condemns us to die for our sins, but God sent His only Son to take our awful punishment. Our sins have indebted us with a debt that we could never pay, but Jesus came to earth to pay our sin debt; He gave His life as a ransom for us. God is a just judge, and His jus-ce demands that a perfect payment be made for our sins. Jesus is the only one who is perfect. He is the only one who could pay our sin debt.
By dying, Jesus destroyed the works of the evil one, the Devil. By rising again from the grave three days later, Jesus proved His power over sin, death, and the Devil. Jesus faithfully fulfilled His stated objective in coming to earth by dying on the cross. His resurrection proved that His mission was successful. The resurrection proves that Jesus has power to save us, who are under the curse of death. Jesus has the power to give us eternal life!
Jesus came from heaven to earth to save you! The Gospel is the account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. (Gospel means good news.) The good news is that God offers the gift of eternal life to all who will believe in Jesus. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (To perish means to die without Jesus and spend eternity in the lake of fire.)
Jesus offers you everlasting life! All you must do is repent (turn to Jesus alone as your only God and Saviour), believe in Jesus, and receive Him into your life. This is the most important decision you could ever make! Why don’t you believe on Jesus and pray to Him today?
Romans 10:9 13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
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