Marcus Mecum - Why Did Jesus Come? - Part 1
So, what we wanna do real quick is we put together a message, a presentation, if you will, we’re going to go back and forth between a couple stories and that I’ll introduce in just a minute, but really we wanna answer this big question, we’re here because of course Jesus, God came, became flesh and he dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory as the only son of the begotten. But why did he come? Why did he come? And I think, in church life a lot of people miss this at some point and kinda get away from this important reason. If you would underline it all, why he came, we’re gonna do that tonight and by the time you leave here, you’ll understand a little bit more about why Jesus came, and I hope it’ll bless you and speak to your life and that you’ll leave better and encouraged tonight as a result. So, let’s check it out.
If you were to by chance to stumble upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem, you would experience a very peculiar scene. We read about it, but you’d have to imagine that the stable would stink, as stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep would reek in the air. The ground would be hard, the hay would be scarce, cobwebs would cling to the ceiling, maybe even a mouse would scurry across the floor. A more lowly place for a birth could not exist. When you think about this scene that we read about in the Christmas story, you can hardly read about it or hear about it without whispering in your mind, and your heart, «Why»? Why did he come? Why would God come to this messed up planet we call earth?
Those hands were so tiny, and so tender. Those hands clenched in an infant’s fist, they would not be destined to hold a scepter away from some palace balcony. They would never touch gold, they would never feel satin. Instead these hands would be reserved for something much more, they would touch the open wound of a leper, they would wipe the weary tear of the widow, they would break bread with the outcast of society. They would claw the ground of Gethsemane. Eventually they would be reserved for a Roman spike and be nailed to a Roman cross. Heaven, as we know, would be interrupted by this big announcement in the form of a baby.
Our planet was changed in the announcement of God coming to this earth in the form of a child, or a baby, but why? Why was this baby in Bethlehem born and why did God come to this planet? Well, the first thing we have to consider is that the baby did not stay a baby. As babies do, Jesus grew up. The Bible says that he grew in wisdom, and stature, and favor, with God and with man. So, we know that Jesus did not stay a child, but he grew up and he experienced this world, so he would see our nakedness because we could not clothe ourselves. He would see our sin that we could not escape, he would see our sickness that we could not heal. And it’s important that we understand whatever our situation is, God completely and fully understood it.
The Bible says, he was a God that’s touched with our infirmities. Ultimately, he would pay the price for our sin by dying on a cross, and then he would be raised on the third day, and come back to life, proving he was God, but why? So, together we’re going to look at two stories simultaneously. The first story we’re going to look at is an encounter that Jesus had with a man by the name of Zacchaeus, in Luke 19. The second story is one that’s more familiar to the day that we live in. It’s about two brothers, the McCullah brothers, who are a part of this church. These are amazing men who had a life transforming experience, and we want you to hear their story, as well. The most important thing is that in both instances, they found out why Jesus came. And so, let’s go check out these stories.
Isn’t it amazing how God could even find you in a club? If you read the story of Zacchaeus or you walk through the story of the McCullah brothers, there’s two primary obstacles in these two stories, really there’s, these two obstacles in every person’s life in this room. The first one would be the crowd in Luke 19:3, it says that, the crowd hindered Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus. It’s the same with you, the crowd always has a way of hindering you from seeing Jesus. It’s so easy to get lost in the crowd isn’t it? Maybe it’s the party crowd, you could choose the type of crowd you wanna talk about, even a religious crowd like this. Crowds all across the world on Christmas. People will be in the crowd, but somehow, some way, they’ll miss catching a glimpse of why he came.
You see, the Bible says that the crowd would cry out for a release of a known criminal by the name of Barabbas. That same crowd would then cry out to crucify the Son of God, who was innocent, but they yet would cry out to crucify him. Even in the Christmas story, the Bible says that Joseph was wanting to put Mary away, or divorce Mary secretly, because of public disgrace. He was afraid of the opinion of the crowd. Crowds are not always wrong, but they’re not always right either.
Exodus 23:2, says, «Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong». Matthew 7, gives us the picture of a road that leads to life, but it’s a narrow road, and few people find it. And then there’s another road, that’s on its way to destruction. And it says that that road is a wide road it is filled with the multitudes, and the masses. There’s just something about a crowd that many times Carries us to places, that maybe we wouldn’t have gone to any other way. That’s why Jesus would always call people out of the crowd, and say, «Follow me». And then he would send us back to the crowd to be fishers of men.
The Bible teaches us in Revelation 13, that the antichrist or the beast will rise out of the sea, the sea is symbolic of the masses, and the multitudes. And this is the point, that the collective brain of the crowd can get it wrong, that the very antichrist will come out of a crowd. It’ll be a popular thing, it’ll be a famous thing, he’ll have answers for some of the world’s problems, but the crowd will get it wrong. Jesus is in a crowd of a hundred, and he notices one that’s missing, and so he leaves the 99, and he goes after the one. Really that’s what we’re doing tonight. We’re leaving the normal Christmas crowd because we know Jesus is on the search for one. Somebody here tonight, he’s on the search for you.
Zacchaeus had to move past the crowd, the woman with the issue of blood, an incurable blood disease, and the crowd was keeping her from her breakthrough, and her healing. And she had to push through the crowd, and grab a hold of the hem of his garment. We constantly talk about this church, and to the people that attend this church, that the most important thing you could ever give this place is your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The greatest thing you could do is just say, «I’m gonna serve God, no matter what. I’m gonna keep focused on Jesus, no matter what». Because at some point you’ll stand before him and when that day comes, the crowd won’t be there, 7 hills won’t be there.
Whatever church you’re a part of won’t be there. You’ll stand before him on your own. The crowd won’t speak up for you, the crowd won’t rescue you in that moment. You’ll have to stand before him as an individual, face to face. The second obstacle that many people face is, the Bible says that Zacchaeus was little in stature, or he was short. He was successful in life, he was wealthy, he was well known, but the Bible says, «He was short». And it’s important that we realize, no matter how successful you are in this world every person is short in some area of their life or another. The Bible says, «All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God».
Whatever your liability is tonight, whatever area you’re insufficient in, whatever area you think that you lack, know this, that your greatest liability could become your greatest asset. That being short is the very thing that drove Zacchaeus to look for a tree. It was his handicap, it was his liability, it was his problem that caused him to look for the tree. The very thing that he had cursed his whole life, being short, was the very thing that led him to the place where he would experience the greatest miracle of his life, and that was meeting Jesus. His liability became his asset.
So important that you understand that not only did the area Zacchaeus was short in, not only was Jesus not turned off by that, he was attracted to it, and not only would Jesus change his life, but the Bible says, «Salvation came to his entire house». The thing I love about Jesus, is our liabilities the areas we’re short, the areas we struggle, are the very things that God wants to come in. He’s drawn to those things, he’s not repelled by them, he’s drawn and attracted to those things.
I found out a long time ago that when I’m weak that’s when he’s strong. I found out that his strength is made perfect in my weakness, I want us to continue to look at the story of Zacchaeus, I want us to continue to look at the McCullah brothers, how they overcame some of these obstacles together. As they answered why he came, as they discovered why Jesus came. Let’s check it out.