There are over 60 reasons as to why Christ came and died. In an article in TIME magazine that came out after the film “The Passion of the Christ”, all sorts of views were alluded to in answer to that question. Some of the views had no room for an atonement (ie. payment for man’s sins), and I would believe that many of those who did not believe in the necessity of Christ’s death for our sins would also not believe that He is coming back
But He has to come back.
He had no doubt that He would come back. He had doubts about faith on the earth but not about His return (Luke 18:8). He promised to return (John 14:3), but what guarantees? The promise and fulfillment of His first coming is the ground and confidence for His second coming. Scoffers say “Where is His coming?”, but I would rather trust an open-ended promise made by Jesus Christ than the cynicism of a skeptic, appearances notwithstanding. As Peter says in 2 Pet. 3:5-7; 9,15, delay is not to be interpreted as faithlessness, but rather, on the contrary, patience and longsuffering. It is not the case that He set a date for His return and failed to show up. If that were the case we would have adequate grounds for skepticism. He said no one knew the date of His return but the Father (Matt.24:36). If the Father had put the date in the Bible then the whole world would know, but the fact is He didn’t make it a part of His revelation (Deut. 29:29). The fact that men have set dates for Christ’s return and Christ hasn’t shown up is not the fault of the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus said no one knows, but various men, lifted up with curiosity and pride, and pretending to look into things they cannot look into, and pretending to knowledge that no one else has, have set dates. Men said He was coming back in 1000A.D. John Wesley said that Christ would come in 1836: William Miller said he was coming back in 1843 and then 1844. Joseph Smith said in 1835 that Christ would come in 56 years (1891). Charles Taze Russell (founder of the J.W. movement) said Jesus had come invisibly in 1874 and then changed it to another invisible coming in 1914. His successor, Joseph Rutherford, changed it to 1925. His successor, Nathan Knorr set the date for Sept. 5, 1975 and after that miscue changed it to October 31. After five failures by the previous leaders of the J.W. movement, it’s no wonder the next leader, Robert Jackson, would give no new guess, but not being able to help himself said in 1995, that we are now living in the time of the end.
One would think that people would give up when every single prediction has proved false but no – pride springs eternal in the human breast. Hal Lindsey set 1988 as the date and because of his imagination bumper stickers appeared on cars: In case of the Rapture this vehicle will be unmanned. Another, Harold Wisenant, published a book entitled, 88 reasons why Christ will come back in 1988. Billy Graham said in 1950 We may have another year, maybe two years. Then he opted for the 1988 date. But by 1990 Graham was taking off his prophetic mantle and admitting that he didn’t know. No wonder people get disillusioned with the Bible and think Christ is never coming back. But Christ said he is coming back – He just didn’t say when. The promise hasn’t been disproved and the promise still stands.
What man having decided to build a tower gets to the foundation stage and no further? That can happen but not with the Lord. He finishes what he starts. He came to conquer death and yet it is still with us – the cemetery proves that. He has accomplished much for He conquered spiritual death by His death for the remissions of our sins, but life, in its entirety, includes bodily life and that’s just as true of eternal life as it is now. As Paul said in 2 Cor. 5:1ff, we don’t want to be disembodied spirits (unclothed spirits) – we want mortality swallowed up by life. So now we enter into life in Christ, now we become children of God, but we continue to live as strangers and pilgrims in this old world of sin. We live, we fight the good fight of faith, we bury our dead, we die ourselves. But we do all this with future glory in prospect. This life is not all there is. If it is then Paul is right in 1 Cor. 15:19 when he says, if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied! There is unfinished business – the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15:26).
But the two comings of Jesus Christ are completely different from one another. This is hinted at in Heb. 9:27,28 (Rom. 8:3). The first coming was very low key – important to His identification with the human race. I would suggest your coming into the world was low-key too. A few people knew of your mothers’ pregnancy and were in anticipation of your birth. You have a birth certificate to prove you were born at what place and what time and to whom. It maybe received a few lines in a column toward the back of the local paper. When Jesus came into the world the inn-keeper had no idea that the young couple he put out in the stable were parents of the Son of God. A few shepherds were told about it and a few wise men from the east. But He was just another baby boy born that day as far as the few residents of Bethlehem knew.
He humbled Himself and that first coming was in keeping with His humiliation. He came for the sin problem – to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. His second coming will be different, for between His first coming and His second coming there has been a coronation (Phil. 2:5ff). He’s not coming back for the sin problem – that was the first trip. The second trip will be different. He won’t be born of a virgin or laid in a manger – He will come in the clouds of Heaven (Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7). He’s coming back to finish what he started. The first visit opened up the way of salvation but the second trip will be to see who entered into that way and the culmination of the eternal life that lies at the end of that way. Both visits are different from one another, but they have this in common – the accomplishment of the Father’s will.
He’s coming back to judge the world (2 Tim. 4:1). The first time He didn’t come to judge the world (John 3:6,17). He came to rescue it. But having done all that he could and all that was necessary on His part to prepare the world for judgement, short of forcing people at gunpoint to obey the gospel, Christ is coming back to judge. He Himself will be the standard of judgement (Acts 17:31; Acts 10:42; John 12:48). His first visit didn’t bring about the need for the second visit – it was the other way round (cf. Jude 14,15). When God made man he made him accountable – God was always going to judge the world. The second visit necessitated His stepping in for a prior visit so that the second visit wouldn’t be a complete disaster. We understand the principle:- there are two great events in the farmer’s routine – sowing and reaping. But farmers know that if they just sow the crop and walk away and pay it no attention till the harvest, harvest is not going to be very good. So they weed, they spray, they irrigate. There are two great events in the life of the cosmos – creation and destruction. What happens in between is crucial to the outcome. God was One who rose up early (Jer.7:25 etc.; Luke 13:1-9) warning man of his peril and sending a Saviour. A judge saved a young man from drowning on one occasion, only to have that same young man appear before him on a serious charge. He was found guilty and pleaded with the judge, Don’t you remember me? You saved me from drowning some time ago so won’t you release me now? The judge replied, Young man, on that occasion I was your Saviour, but today I am your Judge!
He’s coming back to raise the dead. He showed he can do that by His own resurrection. He also raised others like Lazarus to show He had power over the grave. Marshall Keeble used to like to say that the reason he said, on that occasion, Lazarus come forth!, was because if He hadn’t specified Lazarus all would have come forth (John 5:28,29).
He’s coming back for His bride. The figure of a wedding celebration comes up more than once in the New Testament. One day the Father will say to the Son, Jesus, go and get your bride. What is His bride? It is the church (Eph. 5), or if you prefer, the Kingdom (Matt.16:16-19; Col. 1:13). And he’s coming back to hand the kingdom back to the Father (1 Cor. 15:24). How can you hand something back if you do not have it, or if it does not exist? He’s not coming back to be enthroned as King of His kingdom – he’s already King and has been reigning for some 2000 years. That’s how He can hand it back to the Father, the One whom entrusted Him with it. Note Mark 1:15: The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Who got it wrong? – the Father, the Holy Spirit, Jesus or John the Baptist. I suggest they all spoke with one voice. God doesn’t get things wrong. John the Baptist was no false prophet as we can see by Jesus’ praise of him in Matt.11. The constant theme of the ministries of John and Jesus was, Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. If they got that wrong, then why believe anything else they said?!
The day Jesus returns will be a grand day and also a day of terror (2 thess.1:8ff). There will be no second chance, no opportunity to change things. If we are found faithful in Christ it will be a wonderful day, but if we are not faithful in Christ it will be a day of unimaginable despair. What sort of day will it be for you?