JESUS’ PURPOSE OF INCARNATION
God the Father sent His Son Jesus into the world with a purpose. So, the incarnation of Jesus had a purpose. He came to redeem the world and save the people who had deviated from the covenantal relationship with God. Other leaders in Israel, like the priests, the prophets, and the kings, came to realize their role only when, after they were born, God selected them for their mission. Starting with Adam, God revealed the arrival and mission of the Messiah. The Angel Gabriel revealed the mission of Jesus to Mary, “He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk 1:32-33).
Quoting from Isaiah 61:1–2; 58:6, Jesus said, his mission was “to bring glad tidings to the poor … to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19).
The prominent leaders and even some members of the public had misunderstood the purpose of Jesus’ ministry. The primary goal of Jesus was to preach the gospel and prepare the people for the new kingdom that he was going to inaugurate on the day of Pentecost. His second priority was to help those who were in misery, making use of his divine power. Providing acts of mercy without conveying the gospel message should not be the Christian missionary goal. However, his listeners had the freedom to accept or decline his message and bear the consequences.