When Mary was informed that she was going to be with Child, she was told that His name shall be called “Jesus”. This name was not chosen because it had a nice sound to it, nor was it a matter of it being in the top 10 boys’ name for that year. The reason for this is because He “will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
At the divinely appointed time the Lord Jesus Christ commenced His public ministry at the age of thirty (Luke 3:23). The Lord Jesus Christ experienced intense temptation from Satan (Matt 4:1-10 and Luke 4:1-13), yet despite this reality, He never sinned nor was He ever inclined to (Heb 5:15). In the four gospels we are exposed to the precious and life changing words that flowed from His lips. During His ministry He preached and taught “as one who had authority” (Matthew 7:29). In His preaching He demanded repentance (Matt 4:17), and offered forgiveness of sins (Luke 5:20). He performed many signs and wonders, which served the purpose of authenticating and affirming that He was who He said He was. His miracles pointed to the reality that He is the eternal Son of God. His life was an open book for all to see who He was. There were no failings, no secret sins, no scandals, no lies, no let downs, and no pride. He lived a life where it could be said that He was “holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners” (Heb 7:26). He lived a perfect life, something that no other man has ever done. He needed to live a perfect life in-order to be a perfect sacrifice. This perfect life is the life that you and I have failed to live. This life was evidence that He alone qualified to be a substitute for us.
Jesus was then sentenced to be crucified. He knew that this is why He came. At the appointed time in His ministry, “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51 NKJV). It is there where He will be tried by sinners, and will ultimately face something fiercer – the very wrath of God! The time comes when He is tried and arrested. In the process of His trial, many abused and mocked Him (Matt 26:67-68). After further trial He was scourged with a whip that consisted of bones and metal that tore His very flesh from His back and was then sentenced to crucifixion (Matt 27:26). Yet in the midst of this horror, the Scripture says that He was not ashamed (Isa 50:6-7). He is finally nailed to a wooden cross and publically ridiculed and shamed. Yet despite all of this, He maintains His commitment to His task. In the midst of ridicule He utters the words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). After He had received the full outpouring of God’s wrath and drunk from this cup of suffering to the final dreg, He declared, “it is finished!”And bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). During the trial and the act of crucifixion, Jesus was horribly mistreated and mocked. Though such wicked mistreatment and mockery occurred, something far weightier happened. The very wrath of God was poured out on Him. He willingly endured this as a sacrificial substitute for us. This means that when it comes to the judgment of God He stood in our place. He died in our place. He is the substitute for all sinners who would come to Him by faith and trust Him alone for the forgiveness of their sins. All of our sins that separate from our holy and majestic Creator were placed upon Him and He was punished for us.
The purpose of His coming into the world was to be a selfless sacrifice for us. Because of our sin, all humanity is under the just judgment of God. The Bible tells us that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). In this act, Christ Jesus (who is the eternal Son of God), became man – and yet remained God. Why was this done? Christ took on human flesh, so that He might take upon Himself human sin. It was necessary that the Lord Jesus Christ had to become a man in-order to represent fallen mankind. If He was not a man He would not be able to die as a substitute for His people – the very ones He came to save. His entrance into the world was without sin (2 Cor 5:21), a perfect baby who came by means of a miraculous entry. He was born to die so that we may be born again. This is the greatest of gifts that we could ever receive.
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