Why Did Jesus Come to Earth: Remember the Reason for the Season
Why would the God who created everything—who spoke galaxies into existence, who formed humanity from the dust, who breathed life into His image-bearers—choose to enter a world shattered by sin and filled with people who repeatedly disobey Him? Why would the Holy One step into a story marked by rebellion, idolatry, injustice, and spiritual blindness? Why would He come to live among people who have fallen so far from the glory they were created to reflect?
From the very beginning, humanity has followed a predictable pattern: we fall into sin, cry out for mercy, receive forgiveness, rise again—and then fall once more. This cycle is not merely personal; it is national, generational, and global. Nations rise in righteousness and fall into corruption. Leaders humble themselves before God and are restored, only for the next generation to forget the Lord and return to rebellion. Humanity has never been able to break this cycle on its own.
No nation illustrates this pattern more vividly than Israel. Chosen by God, delivered from Egypt, given His law, and blessed with His presence, Israel nevertheless fell into idolatry again and again. In the book of Judges alone, the nation falls into sin, cries out for deliverance, receives God’s mercy, and then falls again seven distinct times. The same rhythm continues through the wilderness wanderings, the era of the kings, the divided kingdom, the exile to Babylon, and the return to Jerusalem. Israel’s story is humanity’s story: a cycle of rebellion and restoration, sin and mercy, wandering and return.
Yet through every failure, God remained faithful. He never abandoned His people. He never revoked His promises. Instead, He revealed a deeper truth about His character: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20). God’s grace has always risen higher than man’s sin. And in the fullness of time, God did something unimaginable. He stepped into the story Himself. He entered the world not as a distant judge but as a humble child. Not to condemn, but to save. Not to destroy, but to restore. Not to demand sacrifice, but to become the sacrifice.
Jesus came because humanity could not save itself. He came because sin had corrupted every heart, every nation, every generation. He came because the cycle of rebellion could only be broken by divine intervention. He came because God’s love refused to let the story end in darkness. This is the heartbeat of Christmas. This is the reason for the season.
And Scripture tells us exactly why He came.
Below is a 12‑day journey through the words of Jesus and the testimony of Scripture, revealing the purpose of His coming.
The 12 Days of Christmas – Scripture Devotional
Day 1 – The Son of God Is Born
Luke 1:35 – “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”
Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus came as the promised Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, sent to seek and save those who were lost. His birth was not merely a miracle—it was a mission.
Day 2 – Sent to Save, Not Condemn
John 3:17 – “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”
John 12:46–47 – “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”
Jesus did not come to condemn but to rescue. His mission was salvation, not judgment; light, not darkness; restoration, not rejection.
Day 3 – The Light of the World
John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus came to illuminate the path back to God. In a world darkened by sin, He is the light that reveals truth, exposes deception, and guides us into life.
Day 4 – Doing the Father’s Will
John 6:38–40 – “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Jesus came to fulfill the Father’s saving plan—to secure eternal life for all who believe.
Day 5 – Life to the Full
John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Jesus came to restore what sin has stolen. He offers abundant life—life marked by purpose, joy, and spiritual fullness.
Day 6 – Division for Truth
Matthew 10:34–36 – “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter‑in‑law against her mother‑in‑law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’”
Matthew 9:13 – “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus came to confront sin and call sinners to repentance. His truth divides, but His mercy restores.
Day 7 – Testifying to the Truth
John 18:37 – “Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.’”
John 7:7 – “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.”
Jesus came to reveal reality as God sees it—to expose evil and proclaim truth.
Day 8 – The Way, the Truth, the Life
John 14:6 – “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Jesus came to open the only path to God. He is not one option among many—He is the way.
Day 9 – Serving and Ransoming Many
Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28 – “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus came to serve, not to be served. His life was the price of our freedom.
Day 10 – Destroying the Devil’s Work
1 John 3:8 – “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
Hebrews 2:14–15 – “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Jesus came to break the power of sin, death, and the devil.
Day 11 – Adoption Through Redemption
Galatians 4:4–5 – “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”
Jesus came to redeem us and make us children of God.
Day 12 – Grace and Truth Revealed
John 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1 Timothy 1:15 – “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
In Jesus, grace and truth meet perfectly. He came to save sinners and reveal the heart of God.
Closing Reflection
Jesus came because sin abounded—but God’s grace abounded more. He came to save, to restore, to redeem, and to bring us home. This is the true reason for the season.