Why Did Jesus Come Series

Why did Jesus Come

Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously. - Luke 2:48.

I have preached dozens of Christmas sermons. Each time I preach the arrival of Jesus Christ I have to ask myself the same question, “Why did Jesus come to the earth?” When Jesus was in the temple sitting with the scholars, imagine the fear and frustration of Mary as she questioned the young adolescent Jesus, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you” (Luke 2:48). He responded with a question of his own. Why did you seek me? “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49b).

Why did Jesus come to planet earth? Throughout the Bible we will ask that question often. It will become indisputable why Jesus came, “according to God’s will.”

Our story begins eight days after the birth of Jesus. (Luke 2:21) The new parents were fulfilling the ritual activities of their religion. They took their son to the temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice. “Mary and Joseph were proceeding with all the usual Jewish customs in connection with this most unusual infant.”

Two unique and godly people were in the temple worshiping, praising, reflecting, praying, watching, and anticipating to hear from God. On this day their long expectant wait was over. Separately, these two would receive a message from God about the baby they saw with their own eyes…God’s answer to their longing!

Simeon and Anna would come upon them and both would recognize the importance of this child for the future of all people…Jews and Gentiles. We know very little about Simeon or Anna.

Simeon, according to Luke’s gospel, was just, devout, waiting in prayerful expectancy for help for Israel’s spiritual good. One other important note, “and the Holy Spirit was on him” (Luke 2:25). He was a servant of God waiting for instruction and refused to leave his post until it happened!

Simeon was overwhelmed by the power of the Holy Spirit and he swooped the baby Jesus up into his arms then gave a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the child. In that moment of thanksgiving, his search for the promised messiah had ended. He had now seen for himself the light of the world. Simeon prophesied that Mary’s heart would break because her son would be rejected. But the rejection would cause humanity to see with honest eyes what he had come to do!

The other character in our text is Anna and she is called a prophetess. She broke into an anthem of praise to God and talked about the freedom that would come to Jerusalem because of the child Jesus. Why did Jesus come?

I. Jesus came to be the fulfillment of prophecy (Luke 2:26a).

And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. - Luke 2:26-27

The prophets were individuals called by God to reveal his purpose. Their proclamation included the holy and divine word of God through either judgment or grace. John Walvoord wrote, “The fundamental purpose of prophecy is to give believers the necessary facts to plan wisely for future events that will eventually take place.”

The commissioned prophet declared apocalyptic events and predictions of the future, but never forgot that it was in the light of “word of the Lord” and was relevant to their present situation. Prophecy could take place in the immediate future or hundreds of years if not more later.

Wilfred Winget declared that the New Testament writers saw in the whole pattern of Old Testament history, as well as specific statements, God’s promise of the preparation for God’s climatic saving revelation in Jesus as the Christ revealed in his life, death, and resurrection.

Both Simeon and Anna were probably students of the prophets and anticipated the one who would come to deliver Israel out of its moral fog. I do not believe they were concerned with their peers’ concept of a warrior king opposing Roman domination, but rather the one who would oppose Satan, hell, evil and sin…the spiritual warrior king.

These two saints of God were prophets in their own rights as we will understand later on.

II. Jesus came to be the Messiah (Luke 2:26b).

He would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Luke 2:26b.

The word “Messiah” is derived from the Hebrew word Messiah and means “anointed” or “the anointed.” The Greek term for “Messiah” is “Christos” and to us in English it is “Christ.” John Riley, wrote that “On the early pages of the New Testament, ‘Christos’ occurs with the definite article, ‘the Christ’ “(as in Matthew 16:16; Matthew 27:22; John 4;29; I John 2:22 and I John 5:1). These writers wanted us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the “anointed one”…the only one who comes directly from heaven and God’s heartbeat.