Why He Came
Why
He Came
He did not come to condemn the world.
I've heard it and seen it a hundred times. I've cringed and thanked God not to have been on the receiving end. That full-body blow-up complete with flying hand gestures, idioms and insults that rip up one side and down the other. The face full of indignation and fury. All the while the recipient hangs his head and looks at the floor and holds their hands up in a "I surrender" gesture.
May be you've seen this exchange happen while in traffic, or seen a student treated this way in front of her teacher, or a child beneath the finger of a parent, may be even an employee under the wrath of his employer. Regardless of where, it's been ugly, and whether the recipient deserved such a scolding or not, you're glad it wasn't you.
But, we've all been called out at one time or another. We made a mistake, may be even an intentional one, and we were found out. We did a less than satisfactory job and others weren't pleased. Personally, I hate that feeling of being called out for having done a bad job. So I have been known to drive hard to do a good job so that others have no place to deride my hard work.
When Jesus entered the world of man, this is where his people were. The religious were demanding perfection of God's people so that God would be pleased and deliver them from the oppression of foreign rule. In their estimation, the silence from heaven and the Romans were the equivalent of a divine and severe scolding. And, given Israel’s history, God would be justified in condemning and rejecting his people for their failure to keep his commands.
But God doesn't come to them like a burly fourth grade teacher with a ruler ready to smack delinquent fingers.
"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."
John 3:17–18
God sends a gift. A care package to meet our exact need. Yes, Israel deserved judgement. Yes, we deserve judgement, but instead, he gives us the Savior from judgement. The Savior who will take the ruler to the knuckles, the fury of God's wrath on all our sin and mistakes. He takes the chastisement that should be directed at us, and instead brings us peace (Isaiah 53:5).
How driven are you by the fear of being chastised?
How likely are to be the one chastising others?
How ought someone saved from such chastisement address others who have failed or sinned against them?
Merry Christmas!