What If Jesus Hadn't Come?

What If Jesus Had Not Come

Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

From Adam and Eve’s fall until the crucifixion of Christ, man walked in utter darkness. Their lives were sensual and their imaginations were utterly perverse. With scales of legalism upon their eyes and hearts full of confusion, they groped in the dark of spiritual night looking for a light at the end of their tunnel. No amount of sacrifice and offering would satisfy a perfect and just God. He saw through their wicked hearts and rejected their half-hearted sacrifices. The priests carried the lifeless remains of the halted, maimed, and blemished offerings back out the door of the temple without the smallest trace of fire or smoke upon them.

In spite of the spiritual darkness that had engrossed the people’s hearts, there was still hope. The scripture had promised there would be a deliverer. Holy writ declared a savior would be born, a Messiah that would bring hope, peace and a better kingdom.

Though the people were full of sin, they were excused to some degree. God punished the sins of Israel by afflicting their flesh and disciplining their offspring, but He did not utterly cast them out. The Bible says that God winked at their sin due to their ignorance.

In our text, Christ is dealing with this subject. Christ came to earth to take away the veil that had blinded the people for so long. John said that He was the true light that shined upon every man. Christ came and took away the cloak they were hiding behind. He took away all means of pretense and facade.

Ac 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

God pulled the veil back and commanded everyone to look into the face of Jesus Christ; seeing the glory of God; knowing that Messiah had come.

Jesus was telling his disciples that they would be persecuted for His name’s sake. He tells them they would be hated by all men. Jesus said that in the days of old they had an excuse for not knowing, but now they were without excuse.

He said to them:

Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.

We think of the crucifixion and the miracles being Christ’s means of convincing the Jews, but here Jesus says, “If I had not come and SPOKEN unto them...” He is saying, “You have heard My words. You have listened to My preaching. You should know that I am the Messiah. You are now without an excuse. You must repent.”

This sounds hard and it is to some degree, but there is also great joy in knowing that He came.

Had He not come men would still be in darkness without any hope of light. Had He not come they would not know the feeling of forgiveness. Had Jesus not come man would not know what it means to have fellowship with God. Oh, saints of God! What If Jesus Had Not Come?

If Jesus had not come:

There would not have been an Old Testament. It would be nothing more than a powerless moral code of ethics that are good to live by. Noah and the flood would not have been necessary. The story of the Hebrew boys in the fiery furnace would be without a fourth man and only a legend that no one could prove. The Red Sea parting would be a myth and by no means a type of salvation. Abraham would have had no reason to take Isaac to Moriah.

There would have been no need for the sacrificial lamb. Rahab’s scarlet thread would be meaningless. Naomi could have stayed in the land of Moab. There would have been no brazen serpent to look upon and live. No need for a city of refuge. The golden candlestick, golden altar, nor the laver of brass would be needed. Jacob’s ladder would be a weird dream that no one cared to write down. We would not know who Melchizedek was. The mercy seat would be a piece of furniture. No water from a rock. No sweet water in the waters of Mara. No need for a scapegoat! No need for a tabernacle! No need for a temple! Table and shew bread are worthless! Abel’s offering is wasted! The blood on the door posts would not have saved the Israelites! What if Jesus had not come?

If Jesus had not come the historical books of the Bible would be "history". Had Jesus not come the Psalms would be another book of poems. The book of Proverbs would be placed beside the sayings of Confucius. The Minor prophets would have been worthless because they contained so many false prophecies concerning the Messiah. If Jesus had not come there would have been no major prophets. There would be no book of Isaiah and no Ethiopian Eunuch for Philip to teach the meaning of chapter
53. Jeremiah would not need to cry any tears for Judah. Ezekiel’s wheel and valley of dry bones would have been passed off as hallucinations. There would not have been a book of Daniel. He would have been a snack for some hungry lions.

If Jesus had not come there would be no New Testament. The implications of this are catastrophic. Where would we be without the Sermon on the Mount? What would we do without the Beatitudes? There would be none of the 30 parables uttered from the lips of Christ. Illustration after wonderful illustration would be forever erased and we would remain without a road map.

Without a New Testament we would be lacking the great sea walker, consequently, no “peace be still”! There would be no woman at the well, therefore, no living water! There would be no healing of the woman with the issue of blood! We would not hear Jesus say, “Who touched me?” She would have died on the bed of the physician.

There would be no feeding of the five thousand. There would be no Zacheus in the sycamore tree. There would have been no Lazarus coming forth and no “come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”

If Christ had not come there would be no burly Apostle Peter. He would have died on the sea fighting a fierce storm. Matthew would have continued collecting taxes. If Christ had not come Mary Magdalene would have continued working in the red light district and eventually died at the hands of a barbarian. There would have been no John the revelator, therefore no revelation on Patmos.

Bartimaeus would have died a blind man! The man at the pool of Bethesda would have died at the pool of Bethesda! The ten lepers would have died from leprosy! Nicodemus would have never heard the words, “You must be born again!” There would be no crucifixion. There would be no thief on the cross. There would be no Barrabas. There would be no centurion. No borrowed tomb. There would be no stone to roll back. There would be no resurrection. No conquering of death and hell. There would be no Thomas with his hand in the Master’s nail scarred hands.

There would be no salvation. There would be no mercy. There would be no hope. There would be no heaven.

What if Jesus had not come? If Jesus had not come there would have been no stoning of Stephen. There would have been no Saul of Tarsus. There would have been no Apostle Paul. There would have been no Pauline epistles. We would have no heroes. We would have nothing!!!!

If Christ had not come John Newton would have remained an atheist, therefore, no Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound.” There would be no Pilgrim’s Progress written from the pen of John Bunyan. There would be no martyrs, consequently, there would be no Foxe's Book of Martyrs. There would be no red backed hymnals. No songs of Zion! My bookshelves would be empty.

If Christ had not come there would be no Bethlehem. There would have been no virgin birth. There would have been no stable. There would have been no manger. There would have been no wise men with gifts. There would have been no shepherds. There would have been no star of Bethlehem. There would have been no Silent Night, Holy Night! If Christ had not come there would be no Christmas! No Away in the Manger! No holiday cheer.

Look around readers. Think about it! If Christ had not come what would your life be like? There would be no church. There would be no preaching. There would be no altar. There would be no saints. No need to pray. No need for a pastor. No need for Sunday School.

You would still be sitting on a bar stool. Some would be dead and in hell right now! Oh, I thank God that Jesus come. I thank God that Jesus lived. I thank God they crucified Him. Yes, I thank God they put Him on the cross and lifted Him up. Because He said, “If I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me.”

Understand, everything the church is Christ created it. The church is nothing without it’s head! It is righteous; but it with his righteousness! It is holy, but it is with his holiness.

The world has a sick, perverted view of Christ. A tolerant, blind, ignorant, sensual, long haired, effeminate sissy. He is none of these things! He was the most powerful man that ever lived.

The Revelator said his eyes were as a flame of fire, His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters, seven stars in His right hand, a sharp two-edged sword went out of His mouth, His countenance was as the sun shining in it’s strength. John said, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man.” Does that sound effeminate to you?

We are sometimes good and often bad, but He is always good. He is the Crystal Christ; the Bright and Morning Star. He has all the virtues of the best of men without any of their vices. We are forced to say with Pilate, “I find in him no fault at all.” For 2000 years men have been trying to destroy His character, yet they are gone and He stands like the Rock of Gilbralter in His character. Voltaire said, “In 100 years the name of Christ will be forever forgotten.” But Christ lives on and Voltaire’s name is known by few. The very house in which he spoke those words is now a Bible warehouse.

Jesus came! He lived! He died! He rose again! He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father! Because He lives I can face tomorrow! Listen to what He said in St. John 10:10:

Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I AM COME that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Jesus has come and He has come that we may have abundant life, overflowing. Because He lives we can be so full of God, when the world squeezes us, nothing but God comes out.

David Lamb