John 5 Lesson

WHY DID JESUS COME TO EARTH?

There are many ways to answer the above question.

A good place to start is with the following scripture found in the Gospel of John:

• “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” – John 5:30.

JESUS WAS SELFLESS

Jesus was selfless in His service to God the Father.  

He did not come to serve Himself; He came to serve others and to bring glory to His Father.  

Consider these words spoken by Jesus, as recorded in the Gospel of Mark:

• “Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:43-45.

Jesus did not live an easy life.   He suffered, even before the cross.   But no matter the situation that He found Himself in, He never stopped following God’s plan and serving others.

FOLLOW JESUS

Jesus’ example of obedience and service is one that all Christians should strive to follow.

There is a reason the expression, “What would Jesus do?” is so popular.

Jesus said:

• “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” – John 6:38-40.

There are many scriptures that talk about the importance of following Jesus. For today’s lesson, we have highlighted these three:

1. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’” - Mathew 16:24,
2. “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;  and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.” - 1 Peter 2:21,
3. “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’” - John 8:12.

DO NOT FOLLOW THE WORLD

God warns us repeatedly not to follow the sinful ways of the world. 

If we do not listen to Him, there will be eternal consequences!

Following Jesus’s example pleases God because those who follow Jesus are more concerned with glorifying God and serving others than pleasing themselves.

That is a rare thing in today’s world, and that is ok. As Christians, our behavior is supposed to shine a light on the darkness of the world.

The following two scriptures describe to us the dangers of following the world and its evil ways:

1. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” - 1 John 2:15-17,
2. “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” - James 4:4.

CONCLUSION

Every day that we are alive presents us with an opportunity to follow Jesus or follow the world.  

What will we do with this opportunity?

Will we spend our time as the rest of the world does, trying to accumulate “things” and seeking fleshly pleasures?  

Or will we serve a higher purpose?  

If we follow the example of Jesus, we will spend our time glorifying God and serving others. When we do that, our reward in Heaven will be great!

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture. These are the same words that we hope to be able to say when our time on Earth is done. Following Jesus is how we do that!

• “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” -2 Timothy 4:7-8.