There are also several secondary purposes for Christ being born into the world as a human infant. Jesus, as the Son of God, gives us the perfect embodiment of how we, as humans, are to live out our lives while we are here on the earth. The writer of Hebrews notes: “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses―as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope” (Hebrews 3:1-6, ESV).

       But why did Jesus, God himself, have to be born on the earth in the flesh of a human? The system of sacrifices from the Old Testament Law only 'covered' people's sins until the Messiah could come to make the 'real' payment. To use a current day analogy, think of a credit card. The sins of all the people of the Old Testament were put on credit, if you will, until the debt could be totally paid off in the future. When Christ came, he paid the debt in full on the cross for all the sins that had ever been committed at that time, and all the sins that would be committed in the future. It is written in Galatians 3:13 that, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us―for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”” (ESV). Think about what the Apostle Peter stated to the Israelites in Acts 5:30-32: “The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (ESV).

       Now in the Old Testament, God predicted that Jesus would indeed come into the world as a human. One famous example of God predicting Christ coming into the world is found in Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7. This text states, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:6-7, ESV). Now, up to this time in human history, only the first part of that verse has been fulfilled. Jesus will not establish his earthly kingdom, which is for the Jews, until his 1,000 year reign, which occurs after the Rapture of the Church and the Tribulation period, in which the Antichrist rules and reigns.

       Christ became the one time payment for all sin when he died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day. In order to see this change in action, let us remember what Jesus said to the woman at the well in the Gospel of John. I want to consider what the Apostle John penned. Turn with me to John 4, and we're going to consider verses 19 through 26. I am picking up in the midst of the conversation between Jesus and the woman. The passage states: “The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he” (John 4:19-26, ESV).

       First I want to discuss the question of ‘Why did Christ come into the world?’ Before I answer this question, we need to look at the setting of the time. Was Jesus' coming a random event in human history? Well, when coming to the Bible, one needs to understand that the Old Testament, that is, the times before Jesus Christ, were God's relations with the Nation of Israel, who is his chosen people. You see, not long after the beginning of time, God chose a group of people to be his beloved. We know this people today as the Jewish people. God gave Moses, the leader of the Israelites, the Law by which God's people were supposed to live by. In order for a person to be pleasing to God, the Israelite, or accepted foreigner, had to follow this Law. But when Christ died of the cross, around 30 A.D., this Law was fulfilled in the new way of the Spirit of God. That is, in order to be pleasing to God, people no longer had to follow the strict guidelines laid out in the Old Testament law and offer sacrifices for their sins.