Jesus was sent to save people from sin as the Saviour of the world. The Apostle John was inspired to write these amazing statements, 1 John 4:9 “…God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him”, verse 10 “…that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins” and verse 14 “and we have seen and do testify that the father sent the Son to be the saviour of the world.”
The word “sent” comes from the Greek word “apostello” from which we get the word apostle. It means to be set apart, to be set free to go out on a special mission to achieve a special purpose. Jesus did not have to be forced or persuaded to come to earth. Jesus came delighting to do God’s will as the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Hebrews 3:1; 10:5-10; 12:2.
The sender was God the Father who we see was motivated by love; divine agape love, love that chooses to act in mercy and grace toward those who deserve eternal punishment.
The gift sent was the Only Begotten Son who came to be the propitiation for our sins. Jesus came to take our place before God, to bear our sins, to become sin for us when He knew no sin, neither was there sin in Him. God punished His Son Jesus in our stead and so Jesus completely and satisfactorily paid for our transgressions. God the Father raised Him from the dead and set Him on the right hand of the throne on high.
The beneficiaries of this Sent One, this Sent Gift, are the people of the world; the people of this kosmos; the inhabitants of this creation, all those created in His image. How wonderful that God has not left us in our sin and condemnation but planned for a Saviour, a Deliverer, a Rescuer to visit our planet to set us free.
This Christmas let us celebrate the sending of Christ, the Sender of Christ and the salvation we may receive through Christ. Let us also consider who we can send or how we can be sent to the lost and dying multitudes of earth to tell them of this world’s Saviour.
This article appears in the December 2009 Open Bible Bulletin. Download it here!
Leave a Reply