Jesus, the Perfect

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. —2 Corinthians 5:21

Have you ever wondered why Jesus came to earth as a baby? Wouldn’t it have been more efficient if He came at thirty years old to do His ministry and then pay for our sins on the cross?

But He didn’t because our greatest need wasn’t just to have our sins paid for. Salvation requires both the absence of sin and the presence of perfection. Jesus told us “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).

Jesus came as an infant to earn that righteousness for us. He lived a perfect life, from birth to death, so that we might be clothed in Him, the One who has become our righteousness before God (1 Cor. 1:30).

That Infant lying in the manger is the only reason we can be saved. He wasn’t only coming to remove our sin but to earn our righteousness. Through His obedience, we are made righteous (Rom. 5:19).