With the Easter season upon us, I thought we’d take another look at Jesus and His purpose for coming to planet earth. I don’t believe He came because He had nothing better going that weekend. He didn’t just accomplish all the things on His to-do list and then decide he wanted a bigger challenge.
No, I think the Bible is very clear in Jesus’ purpose for coming. He was truly a man on a mission from God!
…the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world.
(Rev. 13:8)
Let’s start off by taking a look at God’s original dream for human beings. The Bible tells us in Genesis that He created us so that we would:
- Shadow Him. (Gen. 1:27)
God made us in His own image and likeness. The Greek word for “image” comes from the word for “shadow.” It’s funny how my kids bear my image and likeness. They look like me (well, sort of—the two that don’t look like me look like Robin) and they have my strong will and a lot of the same habits.
Fill the earth and subdue it, bringing it into subjection under His loving rule. (Gen. 1:28)
They were appointed the guardians and overseers of this new creation.
Have an intimate relationship with Him. (Gen. 3:8)
They walked with God every day in the cool of the day (literally, in the gentle morning or evening breeze). Notice that they were used to Him walking with them. It is normal for a human to walk with God, not to run from Him.
It has been said that we were created to know Him and to make Him known. I believe this was God’s original design for us. If we just stopped there, everyone could live happily ever after.
The problem is that the story goes on. We need to read on and see what happened when God’s dream came crashing down.
Adam & Eve, as the representatives of the human race, rebelled against God’s loving rule (Gen. 3:1-6). He gave them a free will to choose or reject Him…they chose the latter. They believed they could fulfill their own needs better than God could. They thought He was holding out on them—that they would be more of a person, more complete, more alive if they tried it the serpent’s way instead of God’s way.
Well, you probably know the end result; they committed selfish treason against their Creator and because of it, their relationship with Him was broken. When God came calling for them (Gen. 3:9), He already knew what had been done. He was giving them an opportunity to come to Him and find mercy.
God kicked them out of the Garden so they wouldn’t eat of one of the other trees in the Garden—the Tree of Life—and live forever, though separated from Him.
Well, as you have no doubt figured out, their selfish ways and nature have been passed down to us. From generation to generation, man has shaken his fist at God and railed at Him. For some strange reason, we either think He is the cause of our problems or we give Him no consideration at all.
The outcome is the same. In Romans 6:23, the Bible makes it plain that the penalty for this rebellion is eternal separation from God.
Enter The Hero!
God knew from the beginning that he would have trouble with His creation, that we would screw things up. Because He has such great love for us:
- He created us anyway.
- He acted to undo the separation of our hearts from Him, engineering and then implementing the greatest rescue in history!
- He willingly gave up His only Son.
- Jesus laid aside Heaven, complete with 24/7 worship by all the angels and beings in heaven, and came to earth, where people didn’t even care who He was or what He was about.
So what was Jesus’ purpose? In His own words, it was:
- To seek and save the lost
- To give His life as a ransom
- To take my place (Luke 19:10)
(Matt. 20:28). I think it is significant that Jesus made the following statement: “No man takes my life; I lay it down of my own accord.” (Jesus in John 10:17-18)
It removes the possibility that He is just another martyr. He chose to give His life—on His terms.
(2 Cor. 5:21) “God put on Him the wrong who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.” (THE MESSAGE)
He took my guilt.
He took my shame.
…He took my place
It Was an Exchange
When we ask Jesus to forgive us and come be the leader of our lives, a transfer takes place. God takes the stain of all our sin and rebellion away and applies Jesus’ blood, which is able to cleanse our hearts from sin (1 John 1:7-9).
He transfers Jesus’ holiness and purity to our hearts and we are able to have a life-changing relationship with Him. What is so great about Easter? He didn’t stay dead! God raised Him from the dead, as attributed to by more than 500 men and women—many of whom were tortured to death for their faith.
How do I know Jesus is alive today? I know because He lives in my heart. And if he’s alive, it forces me to make some decisions (but that is a message for another day).
So, now you’re left with a choice. You can either:
- Embrace God’s rescue plan—Jesus’ sacrifice for you.
- Say, “No thanks” and walk away.
- Put off the decision (same as walking away).
If you have never given your heart to Christ, why don’t you consider entering a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ today? All you have to do is pray to Him and ask Him to come into your life as your forgiver (for the wrongs you’ve done), your friend (who will never give up on you or abandon you) and the leader of your life (the One who is in control).
If you have walked away from a relationship with Him, simply confess your sins and ask for His forgiveness. First John 1:9 says He will restore the broken relationship and the broken fellowship between you and Him.
Why don’t you come back home where your heart belongs today?
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Jon and Robin Perrin met at Bible school. They have over 25 years of ministry experience. Besides their family, their greatest passion is empowering leaders and mobilizing churches to reach the unchurched.
After resigning from his Associate Pastor position in a mega-church in the north Dallas, TX area, Jon and Robin moved their family to Germany in October 2001 (three weeks after 9/11). There they focused on empowering European church leaders through mentoring and coaching, as well as teaching in seminars, conferences, roundtables and Bible Schools. They also planted a number of churches and youth groups throughout central Europe.
After planting a "church for those who don't do church" in Freiburg, Germany, they returned to the Texas Hill Country in August 2014 to help US churches prepare for the coming Post-Christian cultural shift. Jon's book, The Coming Post-Christian Tsunami will be released soon.
Although they reside in Boerne, Texas, they continue to equip Christian leaders throughout Europe and North America through seminars, classes, consulting and coaching / mentoring, and through their online presence: perrinministries.org. Their mandate is to empower leaders and mobilize churches to reach the unchurched.
Jon and Robin have been married since 1993 and have three children: Ryan, Ashton and Emma.