In this devotional series, we have been reviewing why Jesus said he did not come in order that we might better understand the reason for his coming. Four points have been presented thus far:
- Jesus did not come to counter-balance the Father. The Father and the Son were not in conflict, but they were in covenantal union regarding their mission. All three persons of the Godhead are holy, just, angry, loving, and compassionate. All are interested in building the Kingdom of Heaven and filling it with redeemed sinners. As one God in three persons, they are perfectly in-sync. Jesus did not come on his own, but he came in accordance with the will of his Father.
- Jesus did not come to bless the Jews alone. It is because God loved the world, and not merely the Jews, that the Son of God came to save the world.
- Jesus did not come to lessen the ethical requirements of the Father. Jesus told his disciples, “If you love me, keep my commandments;” and the commandments he gave differ not from God’s Old Testament ethical code. Never could man merit justification by keeping the Law of God, but once one found himself atoned for by the Son, regenerated and filled by the Spirit, and justified by the decree of the Father, worship was required. And good worship looked like agape-love which was considered a wonderful summation of God’s Law by the Teacher.
- Jesus did not come to provide earthly peace to all. While being the Prince of Peace, he became the most divisive man in human history. Time is divided by his coming, and humanity is divided by his calling. Men are either for or against him; there is no neutral ground. And those who are against him are hot with hostility.
Therefore, we are now ready for our fifth point. Jesus did not come to judge and condemn. Most clearly he stated this in the Gospel of John:
As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (John 12:47)
When the pre-incarnate Son of God gave the Law to Moses upon Mt. Sinai, he gave not suggestions but commandments. The Law of God presented not only the immutable character of God, but also the divine expectations he had for his subjects. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit expected men to do all that God commanded, abstain from all that God forbade, do so with the attitude of worship, and do so for all his law, all the time, without exception. External, internal, exhaustive, and persistent obedience was the expectation of the God.
God is all-present, all-wise, and always; he is omnipresent, omniscient, and eternal. Therefore, is very cognizant of the thoughts and actions of his subjects. These he sees, notes, and never forgets.
In addition, God is perfectly pure and holy. He loves righteousness, and as a result he is angry with the sinner each and every day. (Ps. 7:11) Oh, how God abhors Lucifer, the demons, and all who blaspheme by walking in Luciferian fashion.
And God’s anger will be poured out one day. At the Second Coming and the Great Judgment, his righteous indignation will be seen without filter. He will purge the earth and the guilty will not go unpunished. The soul that sins, it will die. Satan, his angels, and his followers will be cast into the Lake of Fire, and there will be great weeping and mourning when the Son comes for the second time.
However, at his first coming, the Son did not come to judge and condemn. Let us read the text yet again:
As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (John 12:47)
No, by the time the Son came, all men were found guilty through the actions of Adam and Eve. Original Sin had been passed down to all men, and Total Depravity was the result. He who “looks down the corridors of time,” he saw our nature and the actions which must flow forth from such a sinful soul. By the time Christ came, you and I were already found guilty. You and I were already headed for destruction. You and I were already objects of wrath deserving death. You and I, according to the eternal heavenly tribunal, were already judged, condemned, and sentenced.
Jesus came not to do that which was already a known fact.
Jesus came not to do that which would occur again at his Second Coming.
No, Jesus came not to judge and condemn, but to save sinners like you and me who were without hope, but not without a divine lover.
Unfathomable Grace 