April 20 Easter Why did Jesus come? Colossians 2:13-14
Redemption: the action of gaining or regaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.
To shorten the discussion, let’s agree to three assumptions:
Assumption #1: Jesus is eternal. John 8:58; Colossians 1:15-17
Assumption #2: Jesus is God. John 10:30; 14:7; Colossians 2:9
Assumption #3: Jesus lives in heaven. John 17:3, 13; Ephesians 1:20
Here’s what the Bible says about a person apart from Christ:
Dead Romans 5:12 Alive!
Separated Isaiah 59:2 United!
Blind 2 Corinthians 4:4 See!
Enslaved 2 Timothy 2:25-26 Free!
tetelestai: paid in full
God’s charges against me:(The CROSS needs to be right behind me, in the light(are lights refocused yet???)
I don’t know if you’ve read the book by Victor Hugo or seen the Broadway show or the movie, Les Miserables. (pic) The title sets the plot: Les Miserables. The anglicized translation is “The Miserable Ones.” But there is a better translation, that being, “The Dispossessed.” What an incredible story. It is set during the early 1800s. The main character is a man by the name of Jean Valjean. He has been in prison for 19 years because he stole some bread to feed his starving sister and her family. When he gets out, he’s angry. He’s bitter. Because he is a convict and the papers he had to carry indicated such, no innkeepers will take him in. He sleeps on the street until he decides to knock on the door of a local bishop who gives him food and a bed to sleep in. Valjean ends up stealing some silverware and leaving. When he is caught trying to peddle them, he’s arrested and returned to the Bishop—who ends up covering for Valjean. He tells the officers that he gave the silverware to Valjean, and adds a couple of silver candlesticks to the silverware. This act of kindness, this act of mercy, this act of grace, this act-of-redemption haunts Valjean at 1st—and then changes him forever.
What a great story of redemption. We love stories of redemption, don’t we? In Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol, (pic) we love how it ends: Ebenezar Scrooge is redeemed from a life of miserable greed to a life of joyful generosity. In The Wizard of Oz (pic), the Tinman is redeemed from a life without a heart, the Scarecrow is redeemed from a life without a brain, and the Lion is redeemed from a life of cowardice….Courage! (little diddy from woman on bike)
Redemption. That’s not a word we toss around much in our culture anymore.
Redemption: the action of gaining or regaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.
This morning we begin a new series entitled Vintage Jesus. We are going to spend the next four weeks examining the life and times of Jesus, and answering four classic questions about Jesus of Nazareth. So turn to the book of Colossians
And the first question of the series is: Why did Jesus come? There’s no denying Jesus was an historical figure. Even most atheists now acknowledge that Jesus was a real guy. They would agree that He was and is a religious figure. They would not agree, however, that He was who He said He was and did what the Bible says He did. And maybe that’s kind of where you are this morning. Someone has dragged you here this morning, or you dragged yourself because you feel somehow you should be here. But when you think about this Jesus, you still have a lot of questions that need to be answered. Well, this series is for you.
So the question for us to ponder this morning is: Why did Jesus come? Now the answer to that question would take about 3 days of constant teaching to fully answer. So I need to truncate the answer into the time I have this morning. To do so I’ve got to ask you To shorten the discussion, let’s agree to three assumptions:
Assumption #1: Jesus is eternal. No beginning & no end. You want to debate that another time, ok. But Jesus makes this claim about Himself and other Scripture backs that up.
John 8:58 “ Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.”
Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.”
Assumption #2: Jesus is God. Again, if you want to debate that another time, I’m game. But for the sake of argument this morning, let’s accept the assumption that Jesus is God. Jesus makes this claim about Himself and other Scripture backs that up.
John 10:30 The Father and I are one.” John 14:7 “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.”
Colossians 2:9 “For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ.”
Assumption #3: Jesus lives in heaven. Let me talk about heaven for a moment. In the Bible, Heaven is portrayed as a place. You might ask, “Where is this place?” Well--it’s wherever God is! When Jesus was conversing with God the Father in His final prayer right before He is apprehended and crucified, Jesus said, “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent —Jesus Christ. Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them.” John 17:3, 13
Ephesians 1:20 “He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens.”
(Restate the 3). So now let’s go about answering the question: Why did Jesus come? Why did He leave heaven, a place that is perfect and pristine and glorious; why did Jesus leave that place and come to this hell-hole called earth where there is murder and sexual abuse and sex trafficking and dictators like Syria’s Bashar al-Assad who has exterminated 100s of 1000s of his own people without any fear of retribution and Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un who has tortured and starved millions of his own people?
Why? Because We are a world in need of redemption. This is why we love stories of redemption. We are a people in need of redemption. I am a person in need of redemption.
Here’s what the Bible says about a person apart from Christ:
Dead Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Separated Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you.”
Blind 2 Corinthians 4:4 “In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Enslaved 2 Timothy 2:25-26 “Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth. 26 Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil’s trap, having been captured by him to do his will.”
This is the hardest thing for somebody who is not in Christ to grasp: Their lostness and their need for redemption. Now don’t get me wrong, most everyone agrees that they are not perfect. Anyone think you’re perfect? And probably most people would accept the notion that they are a sinner. But where I find most people get hung up is in the idea that their personal sin renders them dead spiritually, separated from God eternally, blinded to the truth, and enslaved by Satan. Sure, Assad needs redemption. Kim Jong Un needs redemption. The sex trafficker needs redemption…but me? Nah!
Let’s say that you sinned no more than 10 times a day. Think about that: no more than 10 times a day you did something selfish, said an unkind word, thought something less than holy. Just 10 times a day—you’d be a saint! Wow. You’re way better than me. I’m sure my tally runs into the 100s a day!! For the sake of making the math easy, let’s say you only sinned 3 times a day. 3 times a day you did something selfish, said an unkind word, thought something less than holy and pure. Multiply that by 365 days a year and how many sins would that be in one year? Over 1000. Multiply that by your age. Man! If you got hauled into court with 20k, 30k, 50k transgressions against the law, what would they do to you? They’d throw you into prison, never to see the light of day again! How much more would a holy and just God do to someone with that much transgression?
We are a people in need of redemption. Instinctively, we know it. We have to deal with our brokenness every day, don’t we? As many as 1/3 of us are on some kind of meds to help us cope. Alcohol and prescription drug abuse are on the rise. If you’re married, chances are your marriage is way less exciting and fulfilling than what you thought it would be when you stood at the altar. Women are quickly catching up with men in their addiction to pornography—and pornography is a cancer that eats away at our souls. We are enslaved to guilt, enslaved to fear, enslaved to emptiness.
We are a people in need of redemption. This is why Jesus came! To redeem us, to rescue us.
Dead Romans 5:12 Alive!
Separated Isaiah 59:2 United!
Blind 2 Corinthians 4:4 See!
Enslaved 2 Timothy 2:25-26 Free!
Now look at this. Look in your Bibles. Colossians 2:13-14 “And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.”
(uncircumcision: circumcision was the sign of dedication to God; uncirumcision meant unholiness or unwholesomeness)
Certificate of debt. In ancient and medieval days, when you broke the law, they took the charge and the penalty and wrote it on a piece of parchment like this (need 5 parchments, letter size; black marker). They would nail or attach it to the cell where you were. Charge: theft. Penalty: 3 years. Charge: assault. Penalty: 5 years. So that the jailer would make sure you stayed in there until you paid it in full. When you had paid your debt, they would right across the parchment, tetelestai: paid in full. And then give it to you to prove you had paid in case someone questioned you.
When Jesus died on the Cross, His last words were “It is finished.” Guess what the Greek word is there? You’re right: tetelestai: paid in full.
Isn’t that amazing? Back to Col. 2:14: “He erased the certificate of debt, with it’s obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.”
What are the charges against me? 1st/foremost: pride. I think I know better than God; I want my way over His way. Lust and adultery. Jesus said if you lust after another woman, you’ve committed adultery. Thievery. He said if you covet, you’ve stolen. Murder: he said if you’ve gotten angry, you’ve murdered. Idolatry. To put it plainly, I seek pleasure and purpose from other people and other things instead of God. I could go on and on…scroll! Penalty for each of these? Death. Separation. Blindness. Slavery.
But what did Jesus do for me when I surrendered my life to Him? He wrote PAID IN FULL on it and then took it and nailed it to the cross (need hammer and nails). I needed redemption and He came to redeem me. Hallelujah!
Have you been redeemed by the Lamb of God? This is why Jesus came. He came to redeem—YOU. He paid for your sin on the cross and conquered it when He walked out of the tomb that 1st Easter morning.
(Band comes out) In the worship folder is a place for you to write down just a few of God’s charges against you. As we sing in a few moments, write those down and then-- if you want to surrender your life to Jesus and ask that His death pay for your sin, then right PAID IN FULL over it. And then, as a bold step of faith, step out and come bring that sheet as a demonstration that you take accept God’s provision and payment for your sin and bring it to me and I’ll nail it on the cross.
SONG
