Beloved, you can hear in that song we just sang, and in so many places in the Old Testament, the Old Testament Church yearning, looking forward to the coming of their Savior, the Messiah. Now, of course, not everybody in the Old Testament Church was doing so. They had settled many into form and custom, just going through the motions, as it were. But there were always believers, there was always a Church of God who were looking forward to the Messiah. As you know, this time of year, many churches celebrate what we call Advent. It is a season prior to the remembrance of the birth of Christ. Now, whether that birth happened on December 25th is a whole other question, or whether it even should be. Commemorated then is another question, but nevertheless that is the practice of many Christians throughout the world, that at some point or other to look forward not to the first coming of our Lord, which has already happened, but to the second coming of our Lord, the next Advent. In that light, we have already heard in our perusal of the four Gospels, we've heard prophecies about the coming of Christ, we heard angels speak about the coming Christ, we heard Anna, and we heard Simeon, and we heard Zacharias, and we heard Elizabeth, and we heard Mary. We heard many people testify about who this Christ is and what he would do when he came. But I don't know if you ever had, boys and girls, where you were in a discussion with somebody And the one person says, well, he said this. And the other person said, no, he said that. And then back and forth they go, no, this, no, that. And then finally somebody says, well, let's just ask the person himself what he said. Well, this morning, with God's help, we want to consider Jesus' own declaration. five different reasons why he came into this world. And as we celebrate in the Lord's Supper his suffering and death, that is the capstone of bringing together all that he came to do, offering himself as a perfect sacrifice. But as we're also going to hear toward the end of our time together, the Lord Jesus himself told us, I am not come to send peace on the earth, but a sword. And we'll see how the gospel not only unites sinners to God, but divides saints and sinners from each other. We're going to have several different texts this day, this morning, but I'm just going to read John 10, verse 10 again to begin. Jesus said, the thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, that they might have it more abundantly. Our theme is Jesus' self-proclaimed mission. One of the purposes he came is to fulfill the law. We'll see that from Matthew 5. Secondly, to save the world, John 3. To give life, as we just read in John 10, 10. To bring light, John chapter 12. And then to divide, Luke chapter 12. first to fulfill the law. We have begun in recent days our study of the Sermon on the Mount, the character of the true Christian being described in the Beatitudes. Jesus would go on to talk about how true believers would be an influence for good in the world. They would be a city set on a hill, they'd be salt in the earth, they'd be light upon a candlestick. And then concluding that section, he said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. All those whose lives have been changed by the grace of God, not only shine forth the grace of God in their lives, but because of their nearness to the Lord, their communion with the Lord, they realize by the same grace how far we fall short of the very law that we read this morning and of the many commands which we read in the Gospels and in the Epistles and in the Old Testament. And that is probably why Jesus would say in the Sermon on the Mount, think not that I am come to destroy the law and the prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. And as we're going to see if we are spared together, going through the Gospels, Jesus and his disciples were often accused of breaking God's law. And they were accused by the hypocritical leaders who pretended to keep the law outwardly, but who really never did inwardly. They concluded he was out to destroy the law of God. Well, Jesus says, I am not come to destroy, In fact, he's going to honor the law of God, how? Chiefly by fulfilling it. Yes, he would explain the law, its depths, its application in the Sermon on the Mount, but chiefly, he came to fulfill it. He would keep the law of God perfectly, and not just avoid any sinful thoughts, word, and deeds, but he would literally do all the good that presented itself to him to do. And that's why later on in the epistles, there's so much written about the righteousness of Christ. That simply means, boys and girls, the rightness of Christ's life, the fulfilling of the law by Jesus, and that is given, that perfect obedience to the law is given to believers as they trust in him. So we're saying that we are trusting his perfect obedience to the law as our covering because of our sins and our imperfect keeping of God's law. So are we covered? Are we covered? Are we looking to Christ, His perfect life, His perfect and infinitely valuable sacrifice to cover our sins? Or the opposite is what the Jewish leaders were doing. We call it self-righteous. They thought they were righteous because of what they were doing, because of how good they were. As God's shown us, that we aren't just missing the mark here and there. but that apart from the grace of God we are actually spiritually bankrupt. We don't have any righteousness. Isaiah says our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Now none of you would want to go home after church and put on something that's utterly filthy, a rag that's all dirty. Isaiah says that's what we look like in the sight of God if we're not trusting in Jesus. So may we come to the table of the Lord, dear believer, consciously closed in that perfect righteousness, knowing that as the Lord looks at us at the table, he doesn't see all our flaws and sins, but he sees that perfect Son of God covering us, committed no sin, neglected no duty, and he gives that to his people. And then as we leave this service this morning, as we leave this Lord's Day this week, let's keep in mind what James says. He's given us this perfectly spotless robe of righteousness. James says, let us take heed not to have our garments spotted by the world. Because it's really sad to confess that we believe in the Lord Jesus and his perfect righteousness, to believe we're adorned in it, but then to wallow like a pig in the mire. to wallow in sin and in the frivolities of this world. No, Jesus says, so let your light shine that men may see your good works and glorify the Father which is in heaven. Well, what else did Jesus come to do? So in the first place, to fulfill the law for sinners like us. Secondly, obviously, to save, but in John 3, 17, to save what Jesus says is the world. We go back in our minds to the time when Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus in chapter 3, a Jewish leader. After telling the man that he had to be born again, that we all need to be born again by the Spirit of God, Jesus then showed him, pointed him to the cross, just like the serpent lifted up on the pole, so Jesus would be lifted up on the cross, that whosoever believed in him would not perish, but have eternal life. And John 3.16 is quoted very often in our day, and rightly so. But how seldom do we think about John 3.17, the very next verse. Jesus said, for God, speaking of his Father, sent not his Son, speaking about himself, sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. So the Son did not come to go around pointing out people's sins to condemn them, but rather He came to bring salvation to the condemned, to save the condemned. Now, the fact that God would condemn the world, that would have been no surprise to Nicodemus or to us, because by nature the world is alienated from God, strangers of God, living in sin. Of course, God would condemn them unless they repent. But there's a word in here that in the culture of Jesus' day would have been shocking to Nicodemus and to the other Jews, and that is the word world. He came to save the world. Now in our mind we think of the world, we think of the globe, we think of all the nations, we think of all the people. But what Jesus was saying, I came not just to save the Jews, and up until this time for a couple thousand or more years, it was the offspring of Abraham who were saved. It were the few people to whom the Word of God came outside of that covenant community, like Nineveh. And most of the time, if anyone was going to be saved, they would be brought into the Jewish nation to become part of that covenant community. Now, Jesus is saying, no, far beyond that. I am come not just to save some of the offspring of Abraham, I am come to save the world. And do you realize, boys and girls, it's exactly why we're sitting here this morning. We are living proof of what Jesus just said. We are the world. We are not, most of us, are not offspring of Abraham, physically. We can't trace our genealogy back to Abraham. But Jesus says that's not necessary. Because now, instead of bringing people into the covenant community, I'm bringing the covenant community to the world. I am breaking down the boundaries of darkness. One nation after another, one people after another, and here we are. 21st century North America and Jesus' words are fulfilled. I am come to save the world. Again, do we see ourselves in one sense as the world by nature? When we look around at our neighbors, when we go to the stores, when we go to the malls, when we go around, in our workplace and we see these people cursing and swearing and breaking the Sabbath and so many other sins, that we kind of think to ourselves, well, I'm sure glad I'm not like those people. You know, I read my Bible, I pray every morning, and I go to church twice on Sundays, and you know, I live a pretty good life. Well, dear friends, that's not how God sees us. Apart from Jesus Christ, we are the world. No, we have many privileges being part of the Church. We get to hear the Word of God, we get to hear about Jesus Christ, we have parents who love us, who bring us the Gospel, and so on. But, unless we are born again, like he said to Nicodemus, we are lost. Except we believe personally in Jesus, we are condemned with the world. But Jesus said, no. I will take your condemnation. I will stand in your place. I will take the full wrath of God which you and I deserve so that you would not be condemned. So that you, in fact, would be saved. And so, as we see in Jesus' ministry here on earth, it was the very outcasts of society It was the lepers. It was the untouchables. It was the thieves, the traitorous, the corrupt, the tax collectors. He saved them. The immoral, sinful ones living in open sin. He saved them. Those whose lives are completely taken over by Satan. He saved them. The needy of every kind, the helpless of every sort. He saved them. So are we sitting here today thinking, I don't qualify. Well, if we are sinners and we're aware of it, and we want to tell the Lord we deserve His condemnation, but we are looking to Christ, then we are saved. And let's not be so proud as to not accept the label of the world if we're not believing. He came to save the world. And what's amazing Even the Samaritans, as we've seen, confessed this is indeed the Christ, Savior of the world. They got to know Him. They got to experience His grace. They heard the beautiful words and they trusted, after only two days of being in the company of Jesus. How many days have we not been in the company of Jesus, both under the word of God's influence at home and here at church? If we want to be saved, we don't come to the Lord's Supper to get saved, but we come to the Lord's Supper to remember him who is salvation for us. Thirdly, not only did he come to fulfill the law, to save the world, but in the third place he came to give life. In John 10, We read earlier that he talks about himself as the good shepherd, the one who gives his life for his sheep, not like the false ones who came before him, pretending to be saviors and deliverers. No, this is the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep, and those who know him hear his voice. And children, you may wonder, well, how can I hear the voice of Jesus today? Well, you're hearing it every time we read the word of God. You're hearing it every time your parents explain it to you. You're hearing it every time it's preached. It's the voice of the Lord. And then, after talking about his being the shepherd, verse 10 is kind of the summary. The thief, talking about the false shepherds, the thief doesn't come but to steal, kill and destroy. That's what Satan does. This is a perfect explanation of Satan's work, to kill, to steal, destroy. If you're ever tempted to turn aside from God. You can know that's the voice of the devil or our own wicked heart saying that. It's not the voice of God. But what does Jesus say? Beautiful. I am come. That they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. What a contrast. Kill, steal, destroy, steal your hope, kill your soul, destroy your witness in the world. Jesus says, I am come that you would have life. Now, think about that just for a second. If he says, I've come to give life, that means that by nature we're not alive. If he has to give us life, spiritual life, then by nature we're not spiritually alive. But he says, I am come to give you that life, and not just a little. I'm here to give it abundantly, more abundantly. You may have it to the full. So if we're sitting here this morning and we have no sense of spiritual life whatsoever, if the only life we know is this life, a life of play, a life of eat and drink and sleep, learning a few lessons, but we have no earthly conception of connection with God or delight in prayer or reading the word to learn of him and to commune with him, then Jesus has something you need. I've come to give life, and not just a little, but as I said, abundantly. So he is the one through whom we receive spiritual life. We come to God through Jesus. We come to the Good Shepherd. Lord, I am a lost sheep. I am constantly wandering from the good paths of the Good Shepherd. All we like sheep have gone astray. we read in Isaiah. Everyone turns to his own way. This one to this way, that one to that way. I am come as the shepherd of lost sheep. I am here to gather you. I am here to give you life. I am here to fill you with life. So let's no longer live, as it were, in spiritual death. but let us rejoice in the gift of abundant life in Christ. Fourthly, not only fulfill the law, not only to save the world, not only to give life, spiritual life abundantly, but then to give light. The conflict, the battle between light and darkness came to a fever pitch by John chapter 12. Verse 37 in that chapter says, though Jesus had done so many miracles before them, yet they didn't believe on him. And even though a couple, three maybe, of the Jewish leaders did believe on him, they wouldn't confess him because they were afraid. And Jesus says, they like the praise of men more than the praise of God. but in the midst of that darkness, in the midst of that battle between him and the forces of darkness, these unbelieving leaders, Jesus says this remarkable statement, I am come a light into the world that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness. Now, hopefully, children, you've never had the experience of being lost. Maybe you're on a hike, And you kind of wander off the path, and you're looking around like, where's my family? Where's the path? How do I get back to where I belong? That's an awful feeling. Now imagine that at night, and you don't have a flashlight. Which way do I turn? How do I dare take the next step? I might stumble off of this, or I might run into that. It's very scary. Sometimes you can have that even at home. Power goes out, everything's dark, it's nighttime, where's the door, where's my bed, where's the dresser? You have to kind of go around, trying to feeling your way where you are. Jesus says, that's a picture of life without me. Stumbling around, looking for meaning, trying to find pleasure, joy, life, Jesus says, you need light. You need light to see where you're going. You need to see what life is worth living. You need spiritual light so that you can see the beauty that is in Christ, so you can see the way to God through Christ. And he says, I am that light. I am come a light into the world. Now, you know what's sad, children? There are lots of people who just love living in darkness. They don't want to be seen. They even hide in church. They act nice, they look interested, but they're not. They really are interested in their life of sin, a life of material things, joys and pleasures of the world. Jesus says, I am come a light into the world that whosoever believes on me should not abide in darkness. We would feel sorry for somebody who loves to be lost, who wanders around aimlessly and doesn't know where he's going. We'd say there's something wrong with that person and we pity them. But that's our picture. That's our picture without Christ being our light. Isn't it a wonderful thing? Go back to the woods again. You're lost in the woods. It's a pitch dark at night. You don't know where to turn. Can you imagine how you would feel if all of a sudden you see a flashlight shining into the woods and your dad or your mom or a friend calling your name? Are you there? Are you there? Your heart would leap. Yes, I'm here. And you follow that light. You go to the light because you know there you're going to be saved. You're going to be rescued from the darkness. Jesus is saying quit wandering around in the dark. Quit living in the shadows. Come out of the darkness. Come out from being lost. Come to the light. I am the light. I will lead you to safety. I am safety. Could you imagine, children, when you finally reach the person with the flashlight? If it's your dad and mom, you would just want to hug them. It's like, oh, I'm safe. Well, the picture's even better than that in the gospel. It's Jesus who's coming after us in the woods and who embraces us. Remember how Jesus took children up into his arms and he put his hands on them and blessed them? But sadly, finally, in addition to fulfilling the law, saving the world, giving life more abundantly, and being the light, all of those good things, Jesus warns us, if you continue on in your way despite all this, I come to divide. In Luke chapter 12, after talking about the second advent, when he comes again in glory at the end of the world, in verse 51 of that chapter, he says, suppose ye that I am come to give peace on the earth. I tell you nay, but rather division. And then he goes on to say not only division between nations, a Christian nation, let's say, and a Muslim nation, Hindu nation, no, more than that. He says not even just groups of people, but even families. There will be a father against a child, and a child against his parents, and sons-in-law, and mothers-in-law, and all of those divisions. He says there'll be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. Is that happening in our home? Are there so many believers in our home and so many unbelievers? Do you push back, children, when your parents are encouraging you? to read your Bibles, to pray to the Lord, to be obedient as unto God? Is there something in you like, no, I don't want to do that. I don't want to obey. I don't want to follow the ways of the Lord. I want to do my own thing. I want to do it when I want to do it. Are you dividing your home? There's nothing more beautiful than a united home in the Lord, where everybody's pulling together to the glory of God. encouraging each other to follow the Lord in his ways. That's a very sad thing, as Jesus describes here, a family that's divided. And just look at the world today. How many Christians aren't beaten? How many Christians are put out of work? How many Christians are kidnapped and tortured and killed simply because they're Christians? Now thankfully we're not facing that yet, but don't think that couldn't happen. one against another. A great separation. But you know, children, the separation you see in the world now between Christians and others, that's just the beginning. At the end of the world, there'll be this enormous final separation that if we're not trusting in Christ as our salvation, as our light, as our Savior, we're going to be separated from the entire Church of God forever. We will be in darkness forever. We will be lost forever. There will be no flashlight. There will be no one calling your name. You will be calling out in misery, oh, that I had listened, that I had repented when there was still time. And others will be joyfully welcoming the return of the Lord in glory. Praise God, he's here at last. An eternal dawn will begin. And righteousness will cover the earth as the water covers the sea. So as we close this brief meditation, are we sheep? Is he our shepherd or are we goats? Because in Matthew 25, when he talks about that final separation, he says the sheep will be on my right side, the goats will be on my left side. And he will say to the one, come ye blessed of my father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the beginning of the world. But to others, depart from me ye cursed." In other words, go away into perdition. But beloved, what we cannot do, what you and I cannot do, God is so gracious. We heard about it in the scriptures. We heard about it in the Lord's Supper form. We're going to see it in the Lord's Supper itself. But we could never do. Jesus did. And he's continuing to be these same things. He's continuing to be the fulfiller of the law for sinners. He's continuing to be salvation for the worldly. He's continuing to give life to those who sit in darkness. He's continuing to give light to the lost. And we pray that in our church family, there will not be this division between believer and unbeliever. And certainly we hope not at the end of time or more personally, not at the end of our lives. Amen.