To the friend who thought she was good enough to go to Heaven, I asked, “If you can be good enough to get there on your own, what was the purpose of Jesus coming earth?”

She looked at me blankly.

To the one who said he hoped he just might possibly be good enough to slip into Heaven, I asked, “Then, what was the point of Jesus coming to earth if you can do this by yourself?”

He’d never thought of that.

So many people are confused about why Jesus came to earth.  Even a great many of the most religious people, those who hang His image on their walls and bow before statues dedicated in His honor or who populate the kind of churches I’m in every weekend, seem not to be clear on why He came to earth.

One would think that would be of the highest priority, to know why Jesus came and thus to align one’s life with that.

What follows are three statements of Scripture, inspired by the same Holy Spirit but delivered by three different writers at various times, with all echoing the same life-altering truth. They state clearly and simply what Jesus accomplished by coming to earth, and thus should be known and treasured by every disciple of the Man of Galilee.

One.  “…Our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).

1) By the “gospel”–that is, the death/burial/resurrection of the Lord Jesus, He abolished death.  He neutered it. Nullified it. Robbed it of its power.

2) Then, Jesus brought life and immortality to light.  Those realities had been in existence all along, but in a veiled kind of way. Now, by the death-burial-resurrection of our Lord, life and immortality have been “brought to light.”  They are present possessions of all who are in Christ Jesus, the Great Shepherd who said “I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

“He who believes on the Son of God has everlasting life” (John 3:36).  In spite of what the obituaries say, we do not begin to live eternally there when we breathe our last here.  The moment we place trust in Jesus and He enters us, we are part of eternity.

Two. “He Himself partook of (flesh and blood), that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

1) Through His death, Jesus “rendered powerless” the devil.  He “disarmed rulers and authorities” and then “made a public display of them, having triumphed over them” (Colossians 2:15).

How would one go about “rendering powerless” a Goliath?  Would you behead him, as David did, or perhaps just beat him up good and rob him of his weapons and leave him humiliated?  Make him a toothless tiger.

2) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus delivered those who were enslaved by the fear of death. No more fear of death means no more paralysis and a life of boldness and joy.

We all know how fear of dying strikes terror into the hearts of people across the world.  But to defeat the devil and empty death of its sting means “setting the captives free,” the promise our Lord made in His opening sermon (Luke 4:18).

Let your mind dwell on Satan powerless and death de-fanged.

As Paul celebrated, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (I Corinthians 15:55).  Can you hear him gloating and rubbing it in?

Three. “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).

In the two scriptures above, we rejoice that Jesus defeated the devil and left him powerless, abolished death, and set the captives free.  Now, we read that Jesus came to destroy the  works of the devil.  What works are those?  Look around you. They are everywhere.

Scripture calls us “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Get that?  Jesus came to defeat the devil, take back the people he had held captive, rob death of its power, and liberate people who were paralyzed by the fear of death.

Death out of business.

Devil out of power.

And mankind out of jail.

Perhaps, as some have pointed out, these teachings are in the “now/not yet” category.  For instance, Ephesians 2:6 says the Lord has “raised us up with (Christ), and seated us with Him in the heavenly places.”  Is that a reality yet?

Romans 8:30 says He called us, justified us, and glorified us.  Are we glorified yet? We don’t have our new body, made in the likeness of Christ. Not yet, anyway.

However, these are such dead-certain realities that we may take them to the bank with us, so to speak, even though we do not possess them yet.  His promises are solid gold. Therefore, Scripture speaks of them as though they’re already in place.

Speaking of His purpose in coming to earth, our Lord sometimes stated his mission to earth in a number of other ways over the three years of His ministry.  These are worth looking at also.

–“not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it” (Matthew 5:17)

There is so much legalism in the world today; it did not need any more.  Jesus came to set us free.

–“not to be served, but to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

So many religious leaders expect to be waited on hand and foot, to be adored and honored.  Contrast that with the Savior who had nowhere to lay His head.  Jesus said, “I am among you as One who serves” (Luke 22:27).

–“to preach to other cities, for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43).

Some wanted the Lord to remain in one spot until all the needs were met before moving on to other places. Jesus came for everyone.

–“to cast fire on the earth (and how I wish it were already kindled)” (Luke 12:49).

There is so much trash and underbrush in the world today that needs the fire of His judgment.  Jesus came to torch the trash.

–“to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

There is so much lostness in the world today.  Most of what moral and righteous people decry about worldliness is just lost people acting lost, the blind stumbling about because they are sightless, the wanderings of the clueless.  Jesus came to find the stumblers.

–“not to judge the world but that the world should be saved through Him” (John 3:17).

There is so much condemnation in religion today.  The Lord did not come to add to that, as tempting as it must have been.  Ever since, His preachers have dealt with the same overwhelming temptation, to heap condemnation upon condemnation.  Jesus came to save.

–“For judgment came I into this world,that those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind” (John 9:39).

This little paradox flew right past the spiritually blind and inept, but makes sense to those who say, “I once was lost but now am found; was blind but now I see.”  Jesus came to show us our situation first, then to be our Healer.

–“That you might have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

There is so much death in the world. The Original Giver of life came to “give it again” and this time, once and for all, for eternity.

–“not to judge the world, but to save it” (John 12:47).

Is this contradictory to the statements that Jesus did not come to judge?  By studying all the statements, we know He was saying a) He was not here to condemn but b) He had come to drive a stake through the heart of the enemy.  As He faced the cross, Jesus said, “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out” (John 12:31).

–“To bear witness of the truth” (John 18:37).

There is so much untruth masquerading under the cover of religion today.  Jesus called Himself “the Truth” (John 14:6).  “Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). He came to tell us the truth about ourselves and God.

–“to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (I Timothy 1:15).

In a nutshell, there it is.  I’m a sinner–like Paul, we each feel that we are the worst of the lot–but we are saved in Jesus Christ.  To Him be eternal glory and thanksgiving.

Again, however, nowhere is Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth stated more succinctly and with greater force than in those three texts– 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 2:14-15, and I John 3:8.

I recommend that we who are called disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ memorize these three Scriptures in particular and quote them to ourselves often, particularly when we are tempted to fear death, grant power to the devil, and cringe before the devil’s works.

The enemy is defeated–his weapons of choice are found to be playthings and his frightening no more threatening than an old movie–and Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father!

And, we might add, to the everlasting relief of humanity!