Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

The strong warning quickly snapped their straying attention into focus. It was not what they expected to hear. Dropped in the middle of the soothing words offering rewards to those who were humble, repentant, and merciful, the change in tone had them scrambling to sit up straight, pay attention, and mark Jesus’ words. “Don’t be confused about why I came.” Do not be misguided. Do not misunderstand. Don’t allow outside opinions to color the truth. Don’t believe everything you hear from pompous leaders and self-important historical interpreters. Don’t fall for the idea that the coming Messiah will bring social turbulence, war, and religious change. Don’t think for a second that Jesus came to rewrite the laws of God. He didn’t.  He came to uphold them. All of them. Every single one. (Matthew 5:1-20)

God hadn’t changed in the centuries since He carved commandments into tablets of stone for Moses to take to the people. Neither had His rules and regulations. When He commanded His people to love God first, their neighbors second, He wasn’t offering an editable manuscript. When God, through prophets and psalmists and kings, told His people to live humbly, act justly, and react with mercy, He didn’t include an expiration date. No. The blueprint for godly living handed down from Heaven was indelibly etched for every generation of humanity. No one has the power to override them. No one can alter them. No earthly authority can render them void. And no one is required to inhabit a space where adherence to God’s laws is a burden. It doesn’t have to be. That’s the reason Jesus came. (Exodus 20; Mark 12:30-31; Matthew 28:18; Micah 6:8)

It wasn’t currently like that. The laws were their taskmaster. Heavy. Harsh. Binding. Interpreted by religious scholars, the people were forced to obey their ideals. They didn’t know any better. Didn’t have the education to study it themselves. Weren’t aware there could be another way. Religious authorities dangled the carrot of eternal life in front of them, offering it only to those who radically adhered to their interpretation of the law. There was no room for deviance. There was no mercy, no grace, no justice. Paralyzed by ignorance and fear, yet desperate to inherit eternal life, the people bowed under the burden. Until Jesus came. 

Stepping into that world where eternal life was earned, not bestowed, Jesus came. He came to show them a better way. A way of joyful obedience that came from a heart right with God rather than the burdensome drudgery they were currently enduring. Jesus came to save them from their sin. All of it. Graciously. Mercifully. He came to fill their hearts with His peace, joy, and love. He came to give them eternal life. They didn’t deserve it. They couldn’t earn it. No matter how intricate their maze of rules and regulations, nor how meticulously they adhered, the only way to find it was to repent and accept the life-changing forgiveness offered through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. That was the reason He came. (Matthew 1:21, 11:28-30)

No one realized it at the time. As Jesus walked among them, teaching, preaching, healing, and loving, no one thought for a moment one of the reasons He came was to die a horrific death on a rough-hewn cross. No one believed He was going to be betrayed and suffer and die so eternal life could be free. Even His disciples were confused about it. Couldn’t understand it. Refused to believe it. Peter went so far as to reprimand Jesus for saying these things. Poor choice. Jesus wasn’t having it. In strong words of rebuke, he pointed out the error of Peter’s ways. He was thinking like a human. Limited. Fallible. Selfish. Jesus didn’t come for that. He didn’t come to earth to show off his miraculous healing abilities. He wasn’t trying to build His own fame or share His own name. This wasn’t the moment to bring His final kingdom to earth. That wasn’t why He came. Not this time. Jesus came at that time, in that century, to those people, in fulfillment of the prophecies they had heard about for so long. But He didn’t come as a triumphant warrior separating the wheat and the tares. No. He came as the suffering servant depicted in Isaiah. He came to be the sacrificial lamb. For their sins, then. For our sins now. Jesus came to pay the ultimate price so humanity could live. Truly live. Be at peace with God. Be in love with God. Build a relationship with the Father that was so deep their obedience to His commands would come easily. Naturally. They would seek to do His will. First. Long for it. Completely. Jesus came to live a life that would demonstrate how to continue living after He died. (Matthew 16:21-23; Isaiah 53; Psalm 40:8; James 4:8)

This is what the Sermon on the Mount was really all about. Sometimes it reads a little like a secondary list of do’s and don’ts, a more detailed reiteration of the Ten Commandments. It isn’t. Rather, it is a guidebook. A literary pathway for humanity to successfully live in obedience to God without all the legalistic claptrap. It wasn’t about counting steps and carrying cloaks. It had nothing to do with being able to publicly prove you were a rule follower. It wasn’t about doing enough good things to buy your way into Heaven. The Sermon on the Mount was about what is in your heart. Because everything you do comes from there. Obedience. Disobedience. Love. Hate. Whatever is in your heart comes out in your actions. God knew this. So He sent Jesus, the propitiation for your sins, to be mocked and beaten, suffer and die on the cross, so your heart could become His home. You could be cleansed inside and out. You could be filled with the Spirit of God. Your life could exhibit His attributes. His love. His joy. His peace. His mercy. This is the reason Jesus came. (Matthew 5-7; I John 2:2; Matthew 23:26; Ephesians 5:18)

I know. I have said that same phrase more than once. I did that on purpose. Jesus didn’t have just one earthly mission. Not so far as I can see. Although the culmination of His time on earth was death on the cross for the salvation of humanity, Jesus came to do other things too. He came to show us the way to God. Not just through repentance and salvation. Through change. Change in our hearts that leads to a change in our actions. Change that leads to obedience. In the best of times. In the worst of times. All the time. Just like Jesus. 

The Apostle Paul would eventually pen the statement that Jesus obediently gave Himself over to death for our sins, so we could live in harmony and obedience and oneness with the Father. It’s true. He did. But it was so much more. At the beginning of this Christmas season, I was just ending my annual reading of the Gospel of Matthew. The arrest, retention, and crucifixion of Jesus. As I write this, I am more acutely aware of that specific reason Jesus came. Normally, we save that thought for Easter. We need to think on it now. The mocking and spitting. The punching and slapping. The beating and bleeding. The crown of long, sharp thorns brutally stabbed into His brow. The excruciating pain of spikes hammered into His hands, breaking the skin, tearing the flesh. Blood running down in every possible direction. We need to close our eyes, picture that scene, hear the people still throwing insults at Him. We need to hear His cry to God, not for Himself, but for His enemies. We need to feel that final breath leave His lungs. And somewhere, deep in our souls, we need to realize, to understand, all the reasons He came. (Romans 4:25; Philippians 2:8; Matthew 27; John 14:15)

Jesus didn’t come just to die, although that would have been enough. He came to live. In your heart. In your life. He came to call you to repentance. He came to dwell in you, to make you His home, to change you from the inside out. Jesus came to give you the extraordinary opportunity to live every day in close, personal relationship with God the Father. He came to demonstrate true love and mercy, and grace. For you. For everyone. Jesus came to bring you life. Spiritual life. Abundantly. On earth. In Heaven. He came to set you free. From yourself. From your sin. He came to give you the greatest gift of all–Himself. His presence, His peace, His protection. You don’t deserve it. You couldn’t earn it. You could never afford to purchase it. He offers it freely. To change your life. That’s the reason He came. (Luke 5:32; Ezekiel 35:26; Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10; John 8:36, 10:10; I Peter 1:18; Revelation 3;20)