God's word assures us that the Redeemer we see in the gospels is the same Lord Who enters our lives when we are born again. The same things Jesus did in the first century, He promises to do again for us today. Indeed, Scripture confirms that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Heb 13:8). If the person we call "Jesus" is not as wonderful or powerful as Jesus of the gospels, we are serving the wrong one.

Thus, if we will truly know the real Jesus, we must re-acquaint ourselves with the reasons Jesus came. For His goals for our lives are the same as His goals in the first century.

Jesus often repeated one thought, one primary reason for His coming. He said, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45). Whenever I am reminded of my flaws and failings, the Holy Spirit also reminds me: Jesus came to give His life a ransom for mine.

When we sin, guilt, fear and shame, like kidnappers, hold us hostage in a prison of condemnation. The very things we have done wrong entrap us in the consequences of our actions. We deserve the punishment we receive, yet Christ came to ransom my life from my own failings. He bore my sins. The chastisement for my well-being fell upon Him. In other words, He not only paid my bail; He destroyed the jail!

Sometimes, especially when I am in battle or trouble, I call the Lord by the name "Ransom." When the devil shows me my debt, I show him what Christ paid. I agree, I deserved to die; but Christ died for me. I deserve curse after curse, but Christ became a curse for me. Jesus came to set captives free - people who were trapped in their failings and sins. This is the very reason Jesus came, to release us!

Your soul was ransomed. Your life was redeemed. No matter what battle you're facing or what hopeless situation surrounds you, there is a rescue party coming with the ransom for your freedom in their hand. You were redeemed by the Son of God Himself! This is an awesome truth. The fact that Christ died for us reveals our value to God. No one rescues a worthless person. No one pays so high a price as His own life for garbage. God sees you differently. His death for us says, "Your life is valuable to Me."

This is why the gospel is called "Good News." Other religions provide some form of moral code to which to adhere. But Jesus says, in essence, "My righteousness is the ransom for your sins." There is no greater news in the universe.

TO SAVE THE WORLD
This truth, that Christ came to save sinners, is repeated again and again in the scriptures. He said in John 12:47, "I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." When we think of the terrible things that are done in our world, our immediate response is, "Lord, destroy these sinners." Yet, Jesus says that He didn't come merely to judge, but to save. In all that He does, His motive is to save.

Consider when the disciples were passing through Samaria and met resistance from the Samaritans. James and John asked, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Jesus rebuked them, saying, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them" (Lk 9:54-56).

I utterly love that truth: Jesus did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. No matter what I am going through; no matter what enemies are aligned to destroy me, Jesus is in the mix seeking to save me. Again He reminds us that He came, "To seek and to save that which was lost."

Jesus does not want to destroy the lost; He's seeking to save them. When I was unsaved, I'm sure there were a few hardened Christians that thought the best thing God could do for the world was get rid of Francis. Yet, I clearly recall many the ways Christ reached to me: Christians would walk past hundreds of people on a beach and talk to just one person: me; a sudden storm would force me to take shelter in a church and the one other person inside would talk to me about Christ. The Lord was in pursuit of my sinful, lost soul. Even while I resisted, He was not offended. He simply continued until I surrendered to His voice.

None of us finds Christ through some skill of our own. He drew us to Himself. He says that He calls His sheep by name. We think of ourselves as sinners, trapped in sin; He sees us as we will be when we are filled with His Spirit. We know that He came, not to condemn captives, but to set them free.