Hello everybody and welcome in to episode #253 of the Bible 2021 podcast. We are reading 1 Timothy 1 today and our focus is on  Why Did Jesus Come To Earth? + Who Wrote the Most Books of the Bible and Who Wrote the Second Most Books of the Bible?  We are a daily 10 minute podcast, where we will dig in to the truth of the Word of God by reading one Bible chapter a day and discussing it. Welcome to new listeners in Bihar, India, Copperbelt, Zambia, Al Qahira, Egypt, Queensland, Australia,  Groningen, Netherlands, Thuringia, Germany, St. Paul, Minnesota, Birmingham, Alabama, Hartford, Connecticut, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania,and Quincy, Illinois. Our goal is to encourage DAILY Bible reading, so you can jump in at any time and join with us. We want to invite as many people as possible to join us in daily Bible reading, so help spread the word and share the podcast! Don’t forget about our web-page, Bible2021.com – contact page, show notes, transcript and more– Click here for our Bible 2021 reading plan\

Back to the New Testament today, and I open with trivia question. Of all the Bible writers, who wrote the biggest portion of the Bible? The answer is Moses, who wrote/edited and compiled the Pentateuch, Genesis-Deuteronomy, and who also wrote a Psalm. (I note here that Deuteronomy records the death of Moses, so there was obviously an editor who finished that book.) Moses is the only biblical author to have contributed over 100,000 words to the Bible. Behind him is Ezra (1 and 2nd Chronicles and Ezra), then Luke (author of Luke-Acts, and slight maybe Hebrews, which would put Luke ahead of Ezra) then Jeremiah (Jeremiah and Lamentations) and then Paul, who wrote 13 books. In terms of who wrote the most books in the Bible – the answer is, of course, Paul, with 13 books total. Here’s a question that can stump most Bible scholars, though the answer has a bit of an asterisk: Who wrote the SECOND most books in the Bible? The answer to that question, if you include co-authors, and you totally should – is none other than…TIMOTHY! Who co-wrote 2nd Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2nd Thessalonians and Philemon, for a total of six books. Not many people know that about Timothy – he is very much an unsung hero in the Bible – a mighty man of God who was incredibly fruitful for God’s Kingdom. Over the next couple of weeks, we will spend a lot of time in Paul’s first and second letter to Timothy, which basically boils down to advice on church leadership and pastoring and teaching from the apostle Paul.

Here’s our opening question. Why did Jesus leave His Heavenly throne and come to earth? The Bible gives several answers, including:

1. To give abundant life, John 10:10 “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.“
2. To preach good news to the poor and set the captives free and open blind eyes, so says Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
   because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,“
3. Jesus came to do God’s will – so says John 6:38, ““For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.””
4. Jesus came to proclaim and bear witness to truth, so says John 18:37, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.””
5. Jesus came to destroy and undo the works of the Devil, so says 1 John 3:8, ““Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.””
6. Jesus came to bring judgment to those who do evil, so says, John 9:39 ““Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” “
7. Jesus came to serve AND give His life for many people, says Mark 10:45, ““For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””
8. Jesus came to call sinners to God, says Mark 2:17, ““And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.””
9. Jesus came to die, according to John 12:27, ““Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.””
10. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, according to Luke 19:10, ” For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””

So you can see that Jesus came for more than one reason. He came for a myriad of reasons – all of critical importance to humanity. Paul is going to tell us one other reason Jesus came today, and it won’t come as a surprise, but it is worth our attention, thanksgiving and adoration:

¹⁵ This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” 1 Timothy 1:15

Why did Jesus come to earth? He came to save undeserving sinners like you and I. The good news is pretty well encapsulated and summarized in Romans 5:8, “⁸ But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What a joyful truth that NOBODY is excluded from, because nobody is not a sinner. TO avoid the double negative, let me restate and say, we are ALL sinners and Christ Jesus CAME FOR US. Amazing, literally humbling, and wonderful. Do yourself a favor – find a list of the reasons Jesus came from Scripture and meditate on those reasons – reading it over and over and letting those reasons penetrate deep into your thinking. It will do wonders for our  soul to do that!

One last snippet – notice what Paul immediately says after this most wonderful truth: ¹⁵ This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. ¹⁶ But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life. ¹⁷ Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

What a marvelous attitude and example of humility for us. Brothers and sisters – much of what the world is seeing from the church right now is not pretty – it’s angry, haughty, prideful, ugly, resentful and more. Debates about politics, vaccines, masks, etc. I see very LITTLE humility in Christians posting on social media, and that is heart-wrenching. Consider your attitude – and imagine what your friends who aren’t Christians think about you based on your stances on social media. Are you a freedom fighter? A Democrat basher? A president-decryer? A person sounding the alarm that a big fight is coming, and you and your fellow Christians are ready to fight whomever the enemy is?

OR – are you a Christ proclaimer? – doing so with the humility of Paul, who knew he was a chief of sinners and an example of the extraordinary patience of God. Words to ponder as we read our passage.

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Bible Memory verses for the month of September: 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 

The Bible 2021 Podcast Is a ministry of Valley Baptist Church A Church in Salinas, California.

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