Why Did the Savior Come to Earth?

I suppose it's universally accepted among those who identify themselves as Christians that Jesus Christ came to earth where He lived for over 30 years as the Son of Man and ultimately died on the cross at Calvary. But what is NOT universally agreed upon by the membership of "Christendom" is the purpose of Jesus' life on earth. Why did He come here to live among us? Sure, He preached and performed miracles and traveled all over the land of Israel inspiring some and enraging others - we can ALL agree that His life consisted of these different activities - but what was the "end game," the objective, the intended conclusion?

Many believe that Jesus came to set up a physical kingdom on earth, that the original intention of His life was to return the nation of Israel to its former glory, to reign Himself as King in Jerusalem. Of course, this is also what the Jews of Jesus' day expected from the Messiah; they anticipated a davidic King that would overthrow Roman rule and restore Israel's independence and glory. The scriptures are clear that this is what the majority of the Jews assumed...

After Jesus was born, wise men came from the east saying, "Where is He who has been born KING of the Jews?" (Mt. 2:1-2). It is interesting to note that when King Herod heard this, he was "troubled" (Mt. 2:3). Obviously, he interpreted the title of "king" (in reference to Jesus) in the physical sense; a child had been born that would one day threaten Herod's position as king. Perhaps the wise men also had this assumption.

There was an occasion during His ministry when His followers, after witnessing the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, wanted to take matters into their own hands. John 6:15 says, "Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." These actions were not unreasonable, especially in light of the fact that the focal point of Jesus' teachings was "Repent, for the KINGDOM of heaven is at hand!"

Later, the mother of John and James came to Jesus and made the following request: "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom" (Mt. 20:21). There is no doubt that this woman (as well as James and John) viewed Jesus' impending kingdom as a physical one.

In Matthew 21, we find the so-called "triumphal entry" of Jesus into Jerusalem. How was He received? As a King (Mt. 21:4-9)! There is no doubt that when these people hailed Jesus as King that they were anxiously awaiting the day that He would drive the Roman empire into the ground and Israel, not Rome, would be supreme once more.

And then, of course, during His trial, certain Jews "began to accuse Him, saying, 'We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Lk. 23:2). Pilate responded to this charge, turning to Jesus and asking, "Are You the King of the Jews?" to which Jesus plainly replied, "It is as you say" (Lk. 23:3). Just as Herod viewed Jesus as a threat to his position, others perceived Jesus' kingdom as a threat to Rome and Caesar.

Finally, even after His death, burial and resurrection, His own disciples asked Him, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). You'd think the disciples would have learned by this point, but apparently, they, like all the other Jews at that time, viewed the impending kingdom as a physical one, based in Jerusalem.

Many religious folks today have the same concept in mind, and again, this is not completely unreasonable. Not only did Jesus devote much of His ministry to preparing people for the "kingdom of heaven," but He accepted the title of King. Furthermore, many of the Old Testament prophecies foretold a king, a kingdom and the glorification of Israel and Zion. God promised David that His kingdom would be established forever (2 Sam. 7:16). Psalm 2, a "messianic psalm," prophesied a King, the "begotten Son of God," that would be established in Zion (Ps. 2:6-7). Then, just read Zechariah 14! "Behold, the day of the Lord is coming...And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives...and in that day it shall be that living waters flow from Jerusalem...and the Lord shall be King over all the earth" (Zech. 14:1, 4, 8-9). These are only a few of the many verses that prophesied a King that would establish Himself in Zion, would bring glory to Israel, and reign over all the earth! So again, it was not unreasonable for the Jews of Jesus' day to anticipate a physical kingdom, nor is it unreasonable today for certain folks to have this concept in mind.

Having said that, we all know that Jesus did NOT set up a physical kingdom on earth. Instead, He was betrayed by one of His own disciples, arrested, put on trial, beaten, bloodied, tortured, mocked, spat upon and executed in the most gruesome and shameful way, naked and nailed to a splintery cross on Calvary.

Here's the question...

...did Jesus fail?

Some would answer, "Yes!" They would contend that Jesus' purpose was to win over the Jews, become their King, overthrow Rome (and all other worldly kingdoms for that matter), and reign from Jerusalem. That was the plan all along. But...well, it just didn't work out. The Jews rejected their Messiah and consequently Jesus suffered a cruel death on the cross. But it's okay, they say, because God used the death of Christ to bring salvation to mankind and set up the church as an afterthought...."Plan B," if you will.

Is this true? Did Jesus fail?

While some say, "Yes," I say...and let me be clear...I say, "NO!" Jesus did not fail. He absolutely succeeded in every way. Jesus fulfilled His purpose and He became King JUST AS GOD INTENDED!

I'll explain what I mean in another article tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Click here to read "Part 2" of this series...