He Came to Save Us

John 3:17 – “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

I have enjoyed of late taking some time to focus on some “lesser known” verses in the chapters I read. John 3 is well known for verse 16, but even that verse is so much more powerful when you see how Jesus led up to it in verses 14 and 15. Verse 3 and 7 are well known for the command to be “born again.”

But being that it is Christmas time, when we actually celebrate His birth, this verse really brings home the reason for the season, if you will. Why did God send Jesus? Apparently, not to judge the world, but to save it. Verse 18 explains that those without Jesus are already condemned, they are already judged, so Jesus did not need to come to judge, but rather to save.

Don’t get me wrong, when He comes again at His second coming, He will indeed judge based on His word. We’ll see that in chapter 12. But from the time of His birth, even up to today, He came to save sinners. Given that Romans 3 explains clearly that all have sinned, Jesus’ offer of salvation, of saving belief in Him, is open to all who will accept Him. That is why He came, born humbly in some feeding trough for animals in an obscure, insignificant town.

Being that the world was already judged, it is miraculous and remarkable that God would care enough to make a way for Him to save us. And He did that through an incarnation of the divine into human flesh. He showed us how to live as one who truly loves God. He showed us how to respond to the darkness and ugliness that is all around us. He showed us what it means to need to escape judgment. And once He showed us that we needed to be saved, He saved us!