Copyright © 2006 by The Voice of Prophecy

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SECOND COMING #2

Ransomed

Many years ago, short story writer O. Henry created a piece entitled, “The Ransom of Red Chief.” It was the cute little tale of two criminals who kidnapped a wealthy man’s son and demanded 1500 dollars if the father wanted him back.

Well, little did the kidnappers know what a handful this young lad would turn out to be. A few days after they sent their ransom demands, the following note came back to them:

“Gentlemen: I received your letter to-day by post, in regard to the ransom you ask for the return of my son. I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby make you a counter-proposition, which I am inclined to believe you will accept. You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands.”

One kidnapper says to the other, “Sam . . . what's two hundred and fifty dollars, after all? We've got the money. One more night of this kid will send me to a bed in Bedlam.”

The story ends with the kidnappers paying the father money to take the kid back!
Of course, how silly a story!

I, however, can imagine one kidnapping story every sillier. Suppose some kidnappers nab a child and demand a five million dollar ransom. The father sells just about all that he has to get the money, pays it--and then doesn’t go get the child?

Ridiculous! Or at least just as ridiculous as “The Ransom of Red Chief.” But I bring these two ridiculous accounts up in order to lead into something much more serious.

Our series this week is on the Second Coming of Jesus. We saw yesterday just how clear the Bible was about Jesus coming back. We looked at just a handful of what are hundreds of texts regarding His return. But the question I want to look at now is, What certainty can we have about the Second Coming of Jesus? Sure, the Bible tells us about it, but what reasons does it give to help affirm for us that it will really happen?

Plenty. Let’s take a look, and I’ll show you what I mean.
I want to begin with two verses.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men” (1 Timothy 2: 5, 6, NKJV).

“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" (Mark 10:45 NKJV).

Notice, both texts say that Jesus He gave his life as a “ransom.” A ransom? What does that mean? Have we been kidnapped?

Well, friend, in a sense I would say, Yes, we have all been kidnapped --kidnapped by sin, by suffering, by death. These are intruders, criminals who have entered into our lives and taken us away from our true home—a world without sickness, evil, suffering, and death. But Jesus came, and with His own life paid the ransom, the price, the debt in order to get us back to our true home.

A man had been in jail for a number of years and was released. As he was interviewed, he said that “now I have paid my debt to society, I can be free.”

That’s a funny phrase, “debt to society,” but it captures the idea that if we violate one of the laws of society, if we do something against it, then we owe it something, we owe it a debt. In this case, that debt was paid by the person himself, and he paid it by going to jail.

In the same way, God has a law, and we all have violated that law. That’s what called “sin,” for the Bible says that “sin is transgression of law” (1 John 3:4 KJV). It’s one of the fundamental teaching of the Bible that all human beings have sinned, that we’ve all violated God’s law.

After all, friends, let’s be honest here. Have you ever done something wrong? Or outright evil? I’m not pointing the finger at anyone. I’m just stating a plain fact, and that is—we all have done wrong!

I’m a Christian minister, and I believe many of the doctrines I do on faith. I admit that. But there’s one Christian teaching that I don’t need faith to believe in, and that’s the sinfulness of humanity. Open up your newspaper, watch the news, read history, and you’ll see that you don’t need faith to believe in the Christian doctrine of human sinfulness.

And just as a criminal who violates a law of society owes a debt to society, we have violated God’s law, and we owe a debt to God. And yet it’s a debt we can’t pay--except with our lives. “The wages of sin,” Scripture says, “is death” (Rom 6:23 NKJV). The debt owed to God for violation of His Holy law is death, eternal death.

But now, friend, here’s why Christians call their message of Jesus Christ “good news.” Though you owe this debt, Jesus has already paid it for you, at the cross.

Have you stolen, have you lied, have you committed adultery, have you been greedy, unkind, selfish, a blasphemer? Regardless of who are you, or what you have done, Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for you. He fulfilled the debt you owed, a debt that you could never pay yourself.

Catch that last part. Jesus paid for you what you could never pay yourself. That’s why those texts we looked used the word “ransom.” It depicts the idea of someone being helpless; they were kidnapped, so they couldn’t save themselves. They couldn’t get the money; someone else had to pay it for them. And that’s exactly what Jesus did—He paid it for us because we could never pay it ourselves!

Yes, friends, the debt was paid, the ransom was paid, in our behalf. And what a price too! Look at how the Bible expressed it: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God . . . made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to earth-- even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8 NIV).

Look at what it cost to redeem us. The one who was in “very nature God” became a human being and gave His life for us. Talk about a costly ransom!

Now, let me ask you a question. Could you imagine such a high price being paid for us, such an expensive ransom being delivered for us—and Jesus not coming back to get what cost so much?

Of course not! That’s more ridiculous than a father who paid a five-million dollar ransom for his son but then didn’t come back to get him.

Don’t miss this point. Coming back to get what He ransomed—at the cost of His own life--is what that Second Coming of Jesus is all about. Yes, the Second Coming is Jesus getting what He paid for 2,000 years ago on the cross!

While many people expect to go sailing off to heaven immediately at death, Jesus’ promise was to return and take people back with Him to heaven. Until then, like everyone else, His people rest; Then, at the Second Coming, Jesus raises them to immortality. Paul makes it clear that if at the Second Coming the dead aren’t raised, then “those also who have fallen asleep in Christ Jesus are lost” (1Co 15:18). However, at the Second Coming, they are raised to eternal life and taken to be with Him: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1Th 4:16, 17 NIV).

And so shall we be with the Lord forever.

Yes, Jesus will come back and get what He paid for with His life. That’s what the Second coming is, Jesus collecting on the ransom He delivered.

Why do I believe so strongly in the Second Coming? It’s because I believe so strongly in the first coming. The main purpose of the first coming was to prepare the way for the Second. It’s only at the Second Coming that everything Jesus accomplished for us at the first coming is fully realized. If Jesus doesn’t come back, then everything He did at the first coming, from His incarnation into humanity, His sinless life, His death on the cross--was all futile, a waste of time.

And I don’t believe that, no, not for a minute. Can you imagine Jesus—suffering what He did on the cross, paying with His life the ransom for our souls, and then not coming back to get what He paid for? I can’t either. The surety of the first coming is my utter guarantee of the Second, a guarantee sealed in blood, the “precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19).

Yes, friend, as sure as I am that 2,000 years ago Jesus died for my sins is as sure as I am that one day soon this same Jesus will return, to pick up what He bought with His own blood. You can be as sure that He will return to retrieve what cost Him so much just as you can be sure that a parent who pays a hefty ransom for a kidnapped child will go get that child.

I read the other day about someone who paid 104 million dollars for a Picasso from the famous Sotheby's in London. One hundred and four million dollars! Now, could you imagine whoever paid that money not coming to get what cost so much?

Please!

We’re worth more than a painting to God. That’s why He’s coming back to get us. And that’s the promise to each of us, the promise of the Second Coming. Yes, friend, that’s how precious you, yes, you are to God. He paid that ransom for you. He’s coming back, and He wants to take you with Him. Dwell on that promise, and claim it for yourself because it was meant for you, too!
This is Lonnie Melashenko reminding you that it’s always true, friend, God loves you.