Wednesday, April 5, 2006
John 12:27-28 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"
HE CAME FOR ONE REASON
It's about this time of year that you'll find all the "Jesus specials" showing up on television. One after another the documentaries line up trying to "discover" who Jesus really was and what He really did while He walked this earth. Sometimes people ask me if I've seen this program or that one. Usually, my answer is "No." While you might be able to pick up a few historical facts from these shows, nearly all of them completely miss the point when it comes to Jesus. They don't understand who He was or why He was born into this world.
To many, Jesus is nothing more than a nice guy who taught us how to get along with others so we can have a good life here. And yes, Jesus did tell us to love our neighbors, but He didn't come only to preach what we owe to others. The commandments from Sinai had already done that. If that had been the only message of His ministry, it would have been a poor ministry indeed.
He came rather for the scourging, the mockery, the suffering and dying. He came to enter Jerusalem and face death at the hands of the people -- and at the hands of His Heavenly Father, making Himself an offering for the sins of the world. "It was for this very reason I came to this hour," Jesus said.
So there you have it. You don't even need a television show. The Savior Himself tells you the reason He appeared on earth as does all of Holy Scripture. "The Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45).
