A saviour is a person who rescues or saves a person or several
from serious trouble or extreme danger, from which they had no way to
rescue themselves. How is Jesus a Saviour? We must make this clear.
There are many claims made for Jesus in the New Testament Scriptures to
be the one appointed by God to be the Saviour of those in dire trouble
of the worst kind. Let's take a look at a few of them from John's
Gospel. We shall need to see the great difficulty people are in, and
then how Jesus rescues them. We shall take a look at how, if he was able
to help people in the past, there might just be good reasons for
accepting he is still able to do that today.Here is one; Jesus
said 'I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me' (John
5:43). These words come in a passage where Jesus is challenging his
many hearers. This is a large claim. Jesus is saying he has come, not
merely as a prophet speaking God's word, but that he has 'descended from
heaven' (John 3:13). He has come as the eternal Son, veiled in our true
humanity, appearing as a man with all the authority of Almighty God and
yet he was rejected. That tells us a lot about God's great mission in
sending his Son into this world, despite which he was met with hostile
unbelief. Do you know where that dark unbelief comes from? - Right from
our fallen, sinful human hearts.
The second saying of Jesus I am sharing is when he said, 'For judgement I
came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who
see may become blind' (John 9:39). Jesus came for this; a 'judgement'
that is not the final judgement on the last day, but a condemnation that
takes place when people hear Jesus' words, and especially when they
hear the gospel of his grace.So, what's going on? We all start
on the same level; spiritually blind not recognising who Jesus really
is, not really seeing him, or seeing our great need of forgiveness of
sin and receiving peace with God. This is an eternally serious subject.
Many, who hear the good news of Christ's love in giving himself into the
condemnation we sinners deserved, begin to see the precious truths,
they embrace them and trust in Christ and so receive God's gift of
eternal life.
Others, however, hearing the same truths, view them
through their pride and self-sufficiency, and see no need for them.
These people who think they have sight 'become blind'. Their rejection
of Jesus Christ and the glorious good news of salvation, only confirms
them still further in their terrible blindness of mind and heart towards
God's final good news for a perishing world.
So, if you are
rejecting Christ, be warned; you are in the most perilous position. If
you persist in that blindness you will enter a lost eternity cut off
from God and from life for ever. Now then, is the time to turn to God,
to repent and urgently seek his mercy. Ask him to open your eyes to see
the glory and wonder of God's love revealed at the cross, where Christ
died for the ungodly.
The third and final saying of Jesus for this article is; 'I came that
they may have life and have it abundantly' (John 10:10). In a nutshell,
now we know why Jesus came. He came from heaven in his Father's name; he
came to open blind eyes to see their great need of salvation, and he
came to give life, even an abundant fullness of it. Be clear though,
there is no life in Christ apart from the good news of his death and
blood-shed in sacrifice on the cross. Christ, the sinless Son of God
died that all who turn to him might receive eternal life, life in its
fullness that begins in the here and now. And there is also no life in
Christ without the new birth, about which Jesus said to the learned
Nicodemus 'You must be born again' (John 3:7).
When you are clear as to why Jesus came, then you must settle the vital
question of did he come for you. I must press home that question with
you. You may have come to the conclusion after hearing the good news of
Jesus Christ that he came to die for sinners, and you may have some
understanding of what that means - that in his death, Jesus took the
place of others who deserved to die under God's judgement, or in some
vague religious way 'he died for the sins of the world' and so died for
them as their Saviour.But how will you ever say 'I am sure
Jesus died for me'? You will need to turn to God, turning away from sin
and unbelief, and put simple trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, that he
died for your sins to reconcile you to God. Reject all your confidence
in your good deeds and personal kindness, as if they offered merit to
God. Trust in Christ and him alone, and follow him. Then you will know
that he came for you, to rescue you from the worst of all perils - 'a
Saviour, who is Christ the Lord' (Luke 2:11).
That is life, freely received from the only Saviour there will ever be - a real Saviour for today and for ever!
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