Mother Mary sat calmly, recovering her strength, while the moon lit the trees and the evening wind chilled her skin. She was awestruck by the little, live gift she held in her arms. Of course, every child is a gift from God.
Despite this, Mary recognized that the baby she was carrying was unlike any other. Her heart validated Angel Gabriel’s statement, “The Son of God is here at my breast.” The angel had said, “Son of God” (1: 35), and that was precisely what he meant.
Jesus came to fulfill the will of his heavenly Father. He came to redeem his world from sins by his existence, sacrifice, and resurrection. His main goal was to reconcile sinners with God so that they might live with Him eternally.
However, the question remained, “Why did Jesus come to Earth?”
Satan Amassed Authority over Humanity.
We believe the solution may be found at the very start of Genesis. We read about how God made a magnificent paradise and how Satan deceived Adam and Eve. The planet was no longer perfect after the fall, and humans could no longer be blameless for their sin. Satan now ruled over humanity.
As they could no longer truly serve God, He gave them the laws to help them live a life with piety and modesty. However, they had to offer sacrifice every year to repent for their misdeeds. They needed to offer sacrifices because they could not conquer the sin that resided within – human nature.
Sin caused a schism between man and his Creator, and since the penalty of sins is death, Satan, who wielded the power of death, enslaved sinners.
Man Descended Further into Sins.
After being expelled from the Garden of Eden, man had to choose between doing right according to God’s will or committing evil and defying God.
Adam and Eve had already been blessed with offspring since they were ordered to reproduce and occupy the earth. Adam’s generation has grown large over the years. A portion of this generation was devoted and committed to God, such as Noah, whereas another section of this age was fundamentally evil.
God’s Flood Punishment
The man had defied God to the point where he began to worship idols. Man became engrossed in earthly pleasures, which are a component of the earthly dominion, and God was dissatisfied. God chose to destroy the evildoers and leave only the faithful ones.
This is beautifully expressed in the account of Noah and the Ark. God poured heavy rain on the planet, wiping out all wrongdoers. Noah and his family survived this catastrophic event.
This was God’s first attempt to rid the world of all evildoers. God then declared He would never destroy the world with floods again.
The Prophets’ Mission
Noah and his family survived on dry ground, and his descendants multiplied until the period of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from whom the 12 tribal groups of Israel descended.
Israelites were God’s chosen Tribe. God showered countless blessings and pleasures for His unconditional love and mercy for Israelites. God desired that the Israelites know, love, serve, praise, and glorify Him throughout their lives. But they mostly, if not always, revolted and defied God.
God began to send Preachers (Prophets) to the Israelites to expose the nature of God’s Kingdom so that they would amend their ways, confess their misdeeds, and return to Him.
The Israelites mocked the messengers rather than seeking forgiveness and submitting to God. They even assassinated prophets and exiled the others.
That is how the prophets’ fates were sealed.
Piety of Jesus Weakened Satan’s Strength
From Heaven, Jesus and His Father witnessed people battling with sin. Jesus yearned to share God’s message and what he had learned in Heaven with his people. But how could Jesus transcend the abyss that separated the earth and the heavens?
There was just one way—someone needed to come down to Earth and defeat Satan. And Jesus was sent down with God’s will.
He took on human form with a sinful nature and lived a perfectly triumphant life by the hand of God! Since Jesus never strayed, Satan’s authority over humans had stripped away when Jesus was crucified!
The Purpose of Jesus’ Life
Scholars Joel Beeke and William Boekestein present 31 explanations of why Jesus Christ came to earth in “Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation“.
Here are the five explanations that we loved:
1. Save the Sinners
“The saying is true and deserving of complete acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to redeem sinners” 1 Timothy 1:15
“For else, he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the beginning of time.” But, as it is, he has arrived once and for all at the end of the centuries to atone for sin via his own sacrifice.” 9:26 (Hebrews)
2. Lighten up the Dark World
“I came into the world as light so that whomever believes in me will not be in darkness.” 12:46 John
“They would not have been guilty of wrongdoing if I had not arrived and talked to them, but now they have no justification for their transgression.” 15:22 John
3. To Testify to the Truth
“Then Pilate said, “So you’re a king?” “You claim I am a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this reason, and I have arrived into the world to testify the truth. Everyone who is truthful hears my voice.”’18:37 John
4. To Preach the Teachings of the Gospel
“The Lord’s Spirit is upon me, for he has chosen me to bring good news to the underprivileged.” He has sent me to announce freedom to the imprisoned and vision to the blind, to set free those who have been enslaved, and to declare the year of the Lord’s favor… “I must proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom to the other towns as well,” he told them, “since I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4:18–19
5. To Showcase God’s Glory
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” 1 John 1:4
Our Final Thought
Why did Jesus come to Earth? Perhaps, he came down to rescue humanity. God leaves that option to each individual, but everyone should learn and follow God’s word.
God made us in His likeness. He knows exactly what we will do from the moment we are born till the day we die. We are all sent down for a purpose, and we must strive to find the righteous path. We should utilize our abilities while serving, praising, and glorifying God.
