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Book: Luke
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Luke 19:10 The Purpose of His Coming
To Save the Lost
Intro. Crowds have been filling the malls, lights are strung on the eves
and the front yards of many houses. The decorations are out and
preparations are in full swing. What is all the fuss about?
I. A child that was born in Bethlehem almost 2,000 years ago.
A. We recognize immediately that this was no ordinary child.
1. Cards reminding us of His birth are sent with words of
love and greetings.
2. We see the nativity sets of the mother and Child, with
the adoring shepherds and we read the stories of the
wise men, coming from afar to worship Him.
3. What does it all mean? Who is this Child, what makes
Him so important that wars have been stopped for a day
to acknowledge His birth?
B. The Bible tells us that this Child is the Son of God, the
promised Messiah.
1. John declared, "In the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was God, the same was
in the beginning with God, all things were made by Him
and without Him was not anything made that was made.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth."
2. The angel in announcing to Mary that she had been
chosen by God to bring His Son into the world declared,
"That holy One that shall be born of thee, shall be
called the Son of God."
II. Why would God send His Son into the world?
A. Because He loved the world.
1. The world that He loved was not as He created it, parts
of it that were once covered with vast forests are now
frozen waste lands.
2. Where once there were beautiful lakes with dinosaurs
roaming along the shores, there is now barren deserts.
3. His love was not for the physical world, but for man
who lived in this world.
4. But man was not as he was originally created.
a. God did not create man to hate and destroy one
another through wars, and fighting.
b. God created man that he might know God and
know the sheer delight and joy of
fellowshipping with God.
c. God did not intend that man should seek to
take by force that which belonged to someone
else.
d. God did not intend that man should be ruled by
his greed.
e. Mankind was lost and far from fulfilling the
purposes of God.
B. So God sent His Son to seek and to save those who were lost.
1. In Luke 19 we read how that as Jesus was passing
through Jericho one of those who was so lost, a man
hated by all was curious to see Jesus, but because he
was small and could not safely mingle with the crowd,
climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus.
2. Jesus came right up to that tree and called him to
come down for Jesus wished to come to his house to
dine.
3. When the religious leaders saw that Jesus was going
to his house for dinner, they murmured against Jesus
saying that He was going to be the guest of a man who
was a sinner.
4. In response to their complaint Jesus said, "The Son
of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
lost."
a. On another occasion Jesus said, "Those who
are well do not need a doctor, but those who
are sick."
b. Again Jesus on still another occasion said,
"I did not come to call the righteous but
sinners to repent."
5. Paul writing to Timothy said, "The Messiah Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
6. Before Jesus was ever born the angel told Joseph that
the child that Mary was carrying was conceived by the
Holy Spirit and he was to name Him Jesus for He would
save His people from their sins.
C. So that when we think of this Child and celebrate His birth,
we must always remember why He came into this world in such a
unique way.
1. He came to seek and to save men from the lost world,
He came to call the sinners to change from their
empty futile lives to a life that was rich and
fulfilling.
2. He came to restore man back to the image of God so
that the original intent of his existence might be
fulfilled.
a. You can use something for purposes other than
for which they were made.
b. Trucks are made to haul things in but you can
use them as flower pots. In the front yard of
a house in Kuiai there is a rusted truck with
no tires that is filled with dirt and
a flower garden growing in the dirt.
It works as a flower pot, but it is not
fulfilling it's original intent for being
created.
c. You can use your bodies for many things, but
you are only abusing your body and not
fulfilling the reason why you were created.
d. God gave you a mind so that you might know
Him, a voice so that you might praise Him.
Eyes so that you could see the glories of His
creation so that you would be drawn to worship
Him. You can use your body for many things,
but until you use it to bring glory to God
you are not fulfilling the purpose for which
it was made.
3. It is only proper that we celebrate His birth with
great rejoicing, singing, and worshipping God such as
we are doing here today.
4. Paul said, "Thanks be unto God for His indescribable
gift." So we give thanks.
III. Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him would not
perish, but have everlasting life."
A. Can you think of any greater love?
1. Paul said that for a righteous man one would scarcely
die, if you had a truly good man some might dare to
die for him, but God commended His love towards us in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for the
ungodly.
2. John said, "In this was manifested the love of God to
us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into
the world that we might live through Him.
3. Love is often measured by it's gifts. Note the gift
that God gave to us because of His love for us.
4. A gift is measured by what it cost the giver.
a. Some gifts may be very expensive, but did not
cost the giver very much.
b. Often times after a funeral the people would
say to me do what you want with the flowers,
so I would take home bouquets to Kay that
cost several hundred dollars, but it was not
meaningful because it didn't cost me anything.
5. To show His love God could have given you diamonds,
but that would not be very meaningful because He
could make galaxies of diamonds. The same is true for
gold or silver.
6. To show His love He was willing to give His only Son.
7. Now I could see giving His Son to reign over man in
power and glory, every soul being subject to Him and
worshipping Him. Seeing His Son thus exalted I could
understand Him giving Him.
8. But He gave His Son to suffer and die for our sins.
That kind of love is beyond my ability to comprehend.
9. He so loved the world, to the extent that He gave His
Son to save those whose lives were ruined by sin, to
restore them again to His original intent, to give
them a life full of meaning and purpose.
10. That little child in the manger will change the course
of history.
a. Not only will He die for mankind, but in the
years after His death, millions will die for
Him.
b. Doctors will give up lucrative careers to work
in far off jungles to save the lives of the
hurting people, just for the opportunity of
sharing with them that Jesus loves them.
c. Millions will give up their lives of comfort
in their homelands to live in foreign
countries with different cultures to share
the story of this child who can transform a
savage cannibal into a loving neighbor.
d. We have watched Him change drug dealers, and
gang leaders into ministers.
11. He has not just changed the history of the world, but
He wants to change your life, He came to seek and to
save those who were lost, and if you do not know Him
as your Savior, you are lost.
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