Articles
“The Appearances of Jesus”
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8
The Bible describes two “appearances” of Jesus. The purpose of his first appearance was to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:8), to “once for all… put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Heb. 9:26). Through his self-sacrifice, Jesus offers salvation to all who would receive it: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” (Titus 2:11) This sacrifice was given in love so that those who are dead may live: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (Jn. 3:16-17) Therefore, Jesus appeared to save sinners, but this salvation can only be accessed by faith in him (Rom. 1:16-17).
Now we await his second “appearance,” when Jesus will return in glory and judgment (2 Thess. 1:5-12). How we meet Jesus at his return depends entirely on how we respond to his first coming (Titus 2:11-14). “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Heb. 9:27-28)
Christians who are preparing for his return are “waiting for and hastening the coming day of God” by living “lives of holiness and godliness” (2 Pet. 2:10-11). We resolve to live in vigilance, wakefulness and sobriety so that we can obtain the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1 Thess. 4:13-5:11; 1 Pet. 1:3-9).
Jesus appeared in the past to save us from our sins by offering himself in love as a once-for-all sacrifice. Jesus will appear again in the future to complete our salvation and judge evil once-for-all. The salvation he has already provided and the judgment he promises to bring have the power to transform us in at least three ways:
- The appearances of Jesus change what we do — Because Jesus appeared to take away sins “no one who is born of God makes a practice of sinning.” (1 Jn. 3:9) In view of his past and future appearances, we learn to practice righteousness and love in the present (1 Jn. 3:10, 16-18).
- The appearances of Jesus change how we think — Even more fundamental than the change in behavior is the change that is wrought in our thinking. Because of Jesus’ appearing, we want to do right. This “renewal of [the] mind” (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10) comes to us via Jesus’ appearing: “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us… according to his own mercy…” (Titus 3:4-5) The appearance of this grace trains our minds “to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives…” (Titus 2:11-12)
- The appearances of Jesus change who we are — Deeper still is the transformation of our identity. Those who repent and believe the gospel no longer identify with Adam, the first man characterized by sin and death, but with Christ, the second man characterized by grace and life (Rom. 5:12-21). In him, our situation is reversed from darkness to light, slavery to freedom, condemnation to justification, brokenness to renewal.
A changed identity leads to changed thinking which, in turn, leads to a changed life—all this because Jesus appeared to take away sins and he “will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Heb. 9:28)
