-December 15, 2022-
Good morning, happy Thursday,
“Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”
(Matthew 9:35-36).
We have looked at why Jesus came, now let us think about would this world we like if He had not come. It is not a pleasant thought for world and for every person in it. How different life would be when we woke up this morning. In the famous movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the main character played by Jimmy Stewart was so down and discouraged, and saw no reason to live. So many bad things had happened to him. God sent an angel to show him what life would be like without him.
Sometimes this happens to us, when have a serious of losses, reversals, tragedies, mistakes, and or failures. All these happened to Job, but God turned things around in the end, and his beginning was better than his ending. Only God can save and restore, reconcile, and redeem; but none of those things would have happened if Jesus had not come. Everything would be as it was, and we would be the worse for it. We would not be any different than those who are lost. We would be just like lost lost sheep without a shepherd, with no direction, no purpose, no spiritual life, hope, peace, forgiveness, or joy. We would still be separated from God.
There would be no one to teach us, preach the gospel to us, and we would be sick and diseased. There would be no peace on earth or goodwill to men. There would be no Christmas and no Easter if Jesus had not come. It is such a sad, depressing thought! We would have nothing to live for and when we died, only hell would be in our future for all eternity.
John the Baptist would not have burst onto the scene to announce Jesus as the Lamb of God. After John was imprisoned by Herod for marrying Herodias and committing adultery, he sin, he sent some of his disciples to Jesus to find out if He was really the promised Messiah. He told them to take word back to John His message, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matthew 11:5-6).
What comfort and encouragement John must have felt deep in his soul. His life, sacrifice, and commitment had purpose and was worthwhile. Jesus was the Messiah and brought light and life to this dark, sinful world. Jesus fulfilled all the prophesies of the Messiah. John as the forerunner of Christ who pointed people to Jesus.
If Jesus was not the Messiah, He would have been an ordinary man, religious, well intended; He would have been a teacher and philosopher, like so many others. The blind would still be blind, the lame would still be lame, the lepers would still be defiled in their flesh, the deaf would still be deaf, and the poor would still be poor without the good news of the gospel. There would have been no virgin birth, no perfect life, no crucifixion, and no resurrection. Paul would still be Saul. There would be no NT. In 1 Corinthians 15:14 Paul wrote, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.” Worse yet, as he said, “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:16-17)!
Thank God Jesus did come and we do not have think of what it would be like if He had not come. We can rejoice, give thanks to God, and worship Him. Have a blessed day and Christmas season. Stay safe and healthy.
Thankful that Jesus came to save us,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 