In my role I have been regularly asking leaders the question, ‘What did Jesus come to do?’ Here are some of the many different answers people have given:

1. Jesus came to show us the Father – ‘All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him’ (Matthew 11:27).
2. Jesus came to fulfil the Scriptures – ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’ (Matthew 5:17).
3. Jesus came to serve – ‘just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Matt. 20:28).
4. Jesus came to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God – ‘But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent’ (Luke 4:43)
5. Jesus came to give life – ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’ (John 10:10)
6. Jesus came to save the world and take away sin – ‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him’ (John 3:17). ‘But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin’ (Luke 19:10).

These answers show that we have a good grasp of what Jesus accomplished while He was here on earth. But what was the overall purpose for His coming?

Throughout the history of Christianity, there have been three main explanations or interpretations of the purpose of the birth, life, work and death of Jesus, which can be expressed under the themes:

• Christ as Victor
• Christ as Sacrifice
• Christ as Example

Christ as Victor

Let’s start our historical overview with what the apostle John stated clearly and emphatically was the reason for the incarnation of Jesus … ‘The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work’. I John3:8

This was the belief and teaching for the first 1,000 years of Church history – that Jesus was on earth ‘to destroy the devil’s work’. John quotes the words of Jesus: ‘The prince of this world now stands condemned’ (John 16:11); ‘Take heart! I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33); and ‘Now is the time for judgement on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out’ (John 12:31). The resounding cry of the people of God was Christ is Victor.

This interpretation was based on a strong understanding of the powers of evil, outlined clearly in the New Testament writings and in the teaching of the early church. All the creeds deal specifically with the defeat of the powers of evil and teach that it was God who became incarnate in Jesus, the second Adam, who defeated the powers ‘for us and our salvation’.

Christ as Sacrifice

During the later medieval era, the theme of Christ as Sacrifice became more prominent than that of Christ as Victor. This change is best understood through the feudal system of the day. Much of the medieval society was made up of manors that were complete societies within themselves. The lord of the manor was responsible for all aspects of life in the manor, including matters of justice. In the event that someone defied the lord of the manor through breaking one or more of the rules of the manor, the honour of the lord of the manor was offended. The offence against the honour of the lord of the manor required satisfaction in order for the person to be forgiven. These satisfactions ranged from beatings right through to death.

Medieval Christianity argued that sin had offended God’s honour and therefore required a form of satisfaction. Jesus offered that satisfaction in his sacrifice, so the primary interpretation of the death of Jesus as a victory over evil was replaced by what’s been called ‘Satisfaction Theory’.

Most of the Reformers continued to emphasise the sacrificial nature of the death of Christ and taught it was a satisfaction offered to God against God’s offended holiness. Because the satisfaction met God’s demand for righteousness, Jesus’ work was sufficient for all who had faith in him. His righteousness, through faith, makes us acceptable to God, grants us forgiveness of our sin, and brings us back into relationship with Him.

Christ as Example

In the modern era, a new emphasis appeared. The focus became Christ as Example with the emphasis on the willingness of Jesus to go to the cross in weakness and humility. For the liberals this was the perfect, non-supernatural way to interpret the death of Jesus. Jesus was a prophet whose mission was misunderstood. He was unjustly condemned and crucified. His death was an example that exerted a positive influence on society and made us turn away from selfishness to a life lived in service of others. 

‘Example Theory: This view sees the work of Christ as simply providing an example of faith and obedience to inspire man to be obedient to God. Those who hold this view believe that man is spiritually alive and that Christ’s life and work were simply an example of true faith and obedience and should serve as inspiration to men to live a similar life of faith and obedience.  Paul Enns ‘The Moody Handbook of Theology’

This theme fits the ideas of modern social progress. Liberals were convinced the world was progressing toward a utopia in which all peoples would live out of the values of the Church, built on the self-giving love of Jesus. Ultimately, God’s reign would be established over the whole world through Christians engaging in good works.

The following is a response from a 21^st century perspective, through an interview with Robert Webber, where he says:

‘Today, postmodernists reject the notion of the idea of progress. The industrial, scientific, and technological revolutions have not advanced civilisation to a new threshold. Instead of facing a steady, upward movement of history that will end in utopia, we appear to be standing on the brink of self-destruction. Our current world situation is in great need of a decisive word from the Church. That word must start with Jesus whose incarnation won a victory over the powers of evil. This does not mean we reject the fact that this was accomplished through the sacrifice of Jesus or deny that He gave us a clear example to follow in how He lived life. The church in the different paradigms of history has emphasised one reason for the work of Christ, but has seldom presented all three reasons in balance’.

Because the Church currently tends to place more emphasis on Christ as Sacrifice and Christ as Example, in the next blog we will need to go a bit deeper into the Biblical material concerning the Victory of Christ over the powers of evil as it has always been a foundational Christian belief.