“Why Did My Savior Come to Earth?”
Text: Matthew 1:18-23
I. Welcome
II. Introduction
Perhaps many of you remember singing "Why Did My Savior Come to Earth?" out of the old Christian Hymns Number Two book in preparation for the Lord’s Supper. It was sung almost every Sunday for this purpose in some places. Interestingly, it was not listed as a song for the Lord’s Supper in the back of this hymnal. The other preferred hymn was Break Thou the Bread of Life which was not written about communion but mistakenly used anyway. I wanted to research the writing of "Why Did My Savior Come to Earth?" but could not find any biographical data on J.G. Dailey except for some other songs he wrote. He composed the music for #149 in our books – "Fear Not, Little Flock." But he wrote the words and composed the music for "Why Did My Savior Come to Earth?" in 1892. It has always been a favorite of mine because I continue to ask myself that same question. When I see the Islamic movement’s animosity toward Christianity, I wonder if He died in vain. When I see the moral depravity in our own nation, I wonder why God continues to be long-suffering. When I see the divisions in the Lord's body and the general apathy of many Christians, I wonder why He gave His body for this one. But, deep down, I know I don’t have to look around – just look in the mirror and see myself: He loved me so! This morning, for the next few minutes, I want us to open our Bibles together and simply read some of the reasons why Jesus left the glory of heaven. Hopefully, these will help us to be more like Him and reach the glory of heaven. So I urge you to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 and search the scriptures daily to make sure these things are so.
III. Lesson
“Why Did My Savior Come to Earth?” The first reason is found in our text this morning – in verse 21: To save His people from their sins. Matthew began this gospel with the genealogy of Jesus to show that He was of the royal lineage of David and of the seed of Abraham – He was the promised Messiah. The Jews were anxiously awaiting the Messiah foretold by the prophets. They saw Him as the One who would deliver them from foreign dominion and restore the throne of David. They had misunderstood His kingdom. Jesus came not to save His people from the Roman government but from their sins. That’s why Luke 2:11 was such a beautiful announcement to the shepherds: For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. You’ll remember Peter and John healing the lame man at the gate of the temple in Acts 3. After they were arrested and spent the night in custody, an inspired Peter addressed the Sanhedrin about the miracle the previous day – that it was by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, whom God raised from the dead. Then he concluded his defense with these words in Acts 4:12 – “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” A second reason Jesus came to this earth was to fulfill the law and the prophets. Jesus indicated this early on in His ministry in the Sermon on the Mount. Look at Matthew 5:17-18 – “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Even His closest disciples, while recognizing Him as the Messiah, did not understand His kingdom. Turn to Luke 18:31-34 and let’s read about an exchange Jesus had with the twelve just a couple of days before He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem: Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. Yet, just before His ascension back to heaven, there was a much different exchange between Jesus and His disciples – Luke 24:44-45 – Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Now Jesus states that everything written about Him in the Hebrew canon has been fulfilled. The Law and the Prophets comprised the first two-thirds while the Writings held the final third – with the Psalms being the largest portion of the Writings. This is why we can honestly say that everything written about the Messiah in the Old Testament was fulfilled. And so the inspired apostle Paul could write in Romans 10:4 – For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Our Lord’s words in Matthew 5:18 have become a reality. A third reason Jesus came to earth was to call sinners to repentance – Matthew 9:12-13 – words addressed to the self-righteous Pharisees: When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” You may recall that Jesus began His earthly ministry with this same call in Matthew 4:17 – From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But it was not just the Jews who would need to repent. Paul would write in Romans 3:23 – …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Our Savior’s call continues to be made through the gospel. This is confirmed by 2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Praise the Lord for being patient with us! A fourth reason Jesus came to this earth was to preach. This was one of the prophecies made about Him by Isaiah. Notice Luke 4:16-21 – So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Now glance down at the closing verses of this chapter beginning in verse 42: Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. Jesus came to earth for a fifth reason – to serve. Turn with me to Matthew 20:25-28 – again, shortly before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Of course, we have many examples where Jesus was moved with compassion to heal the sick, raise the dead and feed the hungry. But the great lesson of serving was washing His disciples’ feet in John 13:1-17 – probably shortly before He was betrayed by one of them and denied by another. And He knew they would do so as He washed their dirty feet! A sixth reason Jesus came to earth was to do His Father’s will – John 6:38 – “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Earlier, Jesus had said to His disciples in John 4:34 – “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” It took a very obedient Son to do His Father’s will. Let’s read about His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane – a prayer He made three times. Let’s begin in Mark 14:32 and read five verses: Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.”
He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” And we know He then went to the cross and gave up His life to do the will of His Father as a ransom for many. A seventh reason Jesus came to earth was as a light into the world as He stated in John 12:46 – “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” You may remember that the gospel of John begins with this theme – that Jesus is the light to every man coming into the world – John 1:1-13. Notice His declaration in John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” His light continues to reassure faithful disciples according to 1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. The 8th and final reason we are going to look at today is that Jesus came to this earth that we may have an abundant life – John 10:10 – “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus did not come into this world to give us all the material blessings we want – He only promises us the necessities if we put the kingdom of God first – Matthew 6:33. But He came to give us eternal life – a term John uses in his gospel some nine times – this seems to be what it means to have life, and have it more abundantly. It will never end! There are a lot of competing philosophies and religions in the world – but only one of them is right. Sadly, too many walk away from the only One who can save them. May we remember the words found in John 6:66-69 – From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”
But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That’s why we should all be faithful Christians – as Jesus promises in Revelation 2:10 – “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
IV. Conclusion/Invitation
This morning we have looked at eight of the reasons our Savior came to this earth. I didn’t present them in any order and they certainly weren’t all the reasons He came. But every one is of value to us if we seek to do the Father’s will. Perhaps the most important question we should ask ourselves this morning is: Are we going to receive the crown of life? If we’ve never repented of our sins and had them washed away, we’re outside of Christ. If we’re no longer walking in the light of the gospel, we’re out of fellowship with the Lord’s body and need to come home like the prodigal son. Why not escape the bondage of sin this morning through the blood of Christ as we stand and sing this song of encouragement?
