Why did Jesus come as the Messiah: What was his mission
My Redeemer Lives Jesus Christ, Why did Jesus come as the Messiah: What was his mission
Why did Jesus come as the Messiah
I Know That My Redeemer Lives (Jesus Christ), but was he supposed to die on the cross. Evidence and studies show that if he was accepted he expected to build God's kingdom in his lifetime.
The Messiah:
His Advent and the Purpose
of His Second Coming
The word "Messiah" in Hebrew means the "anointed one," signifying a king. The chosen people of Israel believed in the Word of God as revealed through the prophets, which promised that God would send them a king and savior. Such was their messianic expectation. God sent this Messiah in the person of Jesus Christ. "Christ" is the Greek word for Messiah. The Messiah comes to fulfill the purpose of God's work of salvation. Human beings need salvation because of the Fall. Hence, before we can clarify the meaning of salvation, we must first understand the matter of the Fall. Furthermore, since the Fall implies the failure to accomplish God's purpose of creation, before we can clarify the significance of the Fall, we must first understand the purpose of creation.
God's purpose of creation was to be fulfilled with the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. However, due to the human Fall, we have built hell on earth in place of God's Kingdom. Since the Fall, God has been repeatedly working His providence to restore the Kingdom. Being the history of the providence of restoration, human history's primary goal is to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.1(cf. Eschatology 1-2)
Salvation through the Cross
The Purpose of Jesus' Coming as the Messiah
Jesus came as the Messiah for nothing less than the complete salvation of humanity; he was to fulfill the goal of the providence of restoration. Jesus was supposed to establish the Kingdom of Heaven, first on the earth. We can infer this from Jesus' own teaching to his disciples, "You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."2(Matt. 5:48)CEV|KJ|NIAccording to the Principle of Creation, a person who has realized the purpose of creation does not commit sin, because he is in full harmony with God and possesses a divine nature. With respect to the purpose of creation, such a person is perfect as Heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus gave this teaching to his disciples with the hope that they could be restored as people who had realized the purpose of creation and become citizens of the Kingdom. Furthermore, Jesus taught people to pray that God's Will be done on earth as it is in heaven because he came to renew fallen humanity as citizens of God's Kingdom and build the Kingdom on earth. He also urged the people, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."3(Matt. 4:17)CEV|KJ|NI For the same reason, John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way of the Lord, also announced the imminence of the Kingdom.4(Matt. 3:2)CEV|KJ|NI
What will people be like once they have been restored as those who have realized the purpose of creation and become perfect as Heavenly Father is perfect? Such people are fully attuned to God and experience God's Heart within their innermost self. They possess a divine nature and live their life with God, inseparable from Him. Moreover, they do not have the original sin, and hence are not in need of redemption or a savior. They do not need to pray arduously or practice a faith, both of which are necessary for fallen people as they seek God. Furthermore, since they do not have the original sin, their children are naturally born good and sinless and likewise have no need of a savior for the redemption of their sins.
Was Salvation Completed through the Cross?
Did Jesus' crucifixion, which brought us redemption from our sins, fulfill the purpose of the providence of restoration? If so, we would expect that faithful believers in Jesus would have restored their original nature and built the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Yet in the entire history of Christianity, there has been no one, no matter how devout, who lived his life in inseparable oneness with God.Not one person has ever experienced God's Heart in its full intensity or possessed a divine nature. There has never been a believer who had no need of redemption or a life of ardent prayer and devotion. Even St. Paul, a great man of God, could not dispense with a life of faith and tearful prayer.5(Rom. 7:18-25) Moreover, no Christian parent, no matter how devout, has ever given birth to a child without the original sin, who could enter God's Kingdom without the grace of redemption by the Savior. Christian parents continue to transmit the original sin to their children.
What can be learned from this stark review of the Christian life? It teaches us that the grace of redemption by the cross has neither fully uprooted our original sin nor perfectly restored our original nature. Jesus, knowing that the redemption by the cross would not completely fulfill the purpose for which he came, promised he would come again. He understood that God's Will to restore the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is absolute and unchangeable. Thus, Jesus hoped to return and accomplish the Will of God completely.
Was Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for naught? Of course not.6(John 3:16) If it were, Christianity would not have brought forth its illustrious history. Furthermore, our own personal experiences in faith make it plain how great is the grace of redemption by the cross. It is true that the cross has redeemed our sins; yet it is equally true that the cross has not entirely purged us of our original sin. It has not restored us to the unfallen state of perfected original nature in which we would never commit sin, and it has not enabled us to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.
What is an accurate assessment of the extent of salvation through the cross? Unless this question is answered, it is difficult for people in the modern world to properly guide their faith. First, however, we must re-examine Jesus' death on the cross.
Jesus' Death on the Cross
Was Jesus' death on the cross the most desired Will of God? Let us first examine the words and deeds of the disciples as recorded in the Bible. There was one unanimous feeling evident among the disciples concerning the death of Jesus: they were grief-stricken and indignant. Stephen, for example, burned with indignation over the ignorance and disbelief of the Jewish leaders, and he condemned their actions, calling them murderers and rebels.7(Acts 7:51-53) Christians since then have commonly shared the same feelings as the disciples of Jesus' day. If Jesus' death had been the foreordained outcome for the fulfillment of God's Will, then it might have been natural for the disciples to grieve over his death, but they would not have been so bitterly resentful over it, nor so angry at those Jewish leaders who caused it. We can infer from their bitter reaction that Jesus' death was unjust and undue.Next, let us examine from the viewpoint of God's providence whether the crucifixion of Jesus was inevitable as the predestined Will of God. God called the chosen people of Israel out of the descendants of Abraham. He protected them, nurtured them, and at times disciplined them with tribulations and trials. God sent prophets to comfort them with the unshakable promise that one day He would send them a Messiah. He prepared them to receive the Messiah by having them build the Tabernacle and the Temple. When Jesus was born, God proclaimed his advent. He sent the three wise men from the East as well as Simon, Anna, John the Baptist and others to testify widely. Concerning John the Baptist in particular, many people knew that an angel had appeared and testified to his conception.8(Luke 1:13)
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Next, let us examine the words and deeds of Jesus himself to ascertain whether his crucifixion was in fact the way to completely accomplish his mission as the Messiah. Jesus' words and deeds were meant to engender belief on the part of the people that he was the Messiah. For example, when the people asked him what they must do to be doing the works of God, Jesus replied:
This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. -John 6:29CEV|KJ|NIOne day, when he was agonizing over the Pharisees' disbelief and having no one with whom to share his heart, Jesus looked down sadly over the city of Jerusalem. He wept as he lamented the fate of the Jewish people, whom God had so laboriously and lovingly guided for two thousand years. Jesus prophesied that the city would be so utterly laid waste that not one stone would be left upon another. He clearly pointed to the ignorance of the people, saying, "you did not know the time of your visitation."11(Luke 19:44) On another occasion, Jesus lamented the stubbornness and disbelief of the people of Jerusalem, saying:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! -Matt. 23:37CEV|KJ|NIJesus reproached the people who refused to believe in him, even though they were familiar with the Scriptures which testified to him:
You search the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. -John 5:39-40CEV|KJ|NIHow many miracles and signs did Jesus perform in his desperate efforts to lift the people from their disbelief! Yet, even as they were witnessing the wondrous works of Jesus, the religious leaders mocked him as one possessed by Beelzebul.12(Matt. 12:24) In the midst of such a wretched situation, Jesus cried out:
I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me . . . if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. -John 5:43-46CEV|KJ|NI
Even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. -John 10:38CEV|KJ|NIThen, confronting his opponents, he scathingly denounced their hypocrisy.13(Matt. 23:13-36) Through his words and deeds, Jesus tried to bring his people to believe in him, because it was God's Will that they do so. If they had followed God's Will and believed in Jesus as their Messiah, then who among them would have dared to send him to the cross?
From all the above evidence, we can deduce that Jesus' death on the cross was the unfortunate outcome of the ignorance and disbelief of the people of his day; it was not necessary for the complete fulfillment of his mission as the Messiah. This is well illustrated by Jesus' last words on the cross:
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. -Luke 23:34CEV|KJ|NIIf God had originally predestined Jesus to die on the cross, Jesus would have expected to go that path as his due course. Why, then, did he pray three times, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt"?14(Matt. 26:39)CEV|KJ|NI In truth, Jesus offered those desperate prayers because he knew well that his death would shatter the hope of attaining the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. This would be a tragic disappointment to God, who had worked so laboriously to realize this hope through the long ages since the Fall. Furthermore, Jesus knew that humanity's afflictions would continue unrelieved until the time of his Second Coming.
When the Israelites lost faith in Moses on the way to Canaan, fiery serpents appeared and began to kill them. God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole, so that all who looked upon the serpent might live.16(Num. 21:4-9) Similarly, Jesus foresaw that due to the chosen people's failure to believe in him, humankind would be consigned to hell. He foresaw that he would then be nailed to the cross like the bronze serpent in order to save all humankind, granting salvation to all who look to him. Foreseeing this eventuality, Jesus uttered this foreboding prophecy with a mournful heart.
Another indication that Jesus' death on the cross was not the Will of God, but rather due to the disbelief of the people, is that Israel declined after the crucifixion.17(Luke 19:44) After all, it had been prophesied that Jesus would come and sit on the throne of David and establish an everlasting kingdom:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. -Isa. 9:6-7CEV|KJ|NIAn angel appeared to Mary prior to Jesus' conception and made a similar prediction:
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end. -Luke 1:31-33CEV|KJ|NIGod's clear intention for the chosen people of Israel, whom He had led through all manner of difficulty from the time of Abraham, was to send them a Messiah and build an eternal Kingdom on earth. Nevertheless, when the Jewish leadership persecuted Jesus and led him to the cross, Israel lost its qualification to be the founding nation of God's Kingdom. Within a few generations, the people of Israel would be scattered over the face of the earth. They have suffered oppression and persecution ever since. This can be viewed as the tragic consequence of the mistake their ancestors committed when they condemned to death the Messiah, whom they should have honored, thereby preventing the completion of the providence of restoration. Moreover, not only the Jews, but also many faithful Christians have shouldered the cross as their portion for the collective sin of having killed Jesus. Continue
New Revelations will Transform the World:
CHAPTER 1. THE PRINCIPLE OF CREATION15
CHAPTER 2. THE HUMAN FALL53
CHAPTER 3. ESCHATOLOGY AND HUMAN HISTORY79
CHAPTER 4. THE MESSIAH: HIS ADVENT AND THE PURPOSE OF HIS SECOND COMING111
CHAPTER 5. RESURRECTION133
CHAPTER 6. PREDESTINATION153
CHAPTER 7. CHRISTOLOGY163
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My Redeemer Lives Jesus Christ, Why did Jesus come as the Messiah: What was his mission