As I have been studying this week for Sunday I came across the following in a sermon from Mark Dever and thought is was wonderful. The following is a quote from one of his sermons.

In the last twenty-five years, there has been a scientific theory gaining ground called the “anthropic principle” (after anthropos, the Greek word for man). Named at a conference in 1973 by Cambridge astrophysicist Brandon Carter, this principle says that “the seemingly unrelated constants in physics have one strange thing in common—these are precisely the values you need if you want to have a universe capable of producing life. In essence, the anthropic principle came down to the observation that all the myriad laws of physics were fine-tuned from the very beginning of the universe for the creation of man—that the universe we inhabit appeared to be expressly designed for the emergence of human beings.” This is not coming from a Christian group or even individual scientists who are christians; increasingly it is coming from nonbeieving scientists. A good book on this is Patrick Glynn’s God: The Evidence, particularly the first chapter. The “anthropic principle” relates to phenomena such as the exact strength of gravity, the nuclear force, the difference in mass between a proton and a neutron, and how all of these attributes are necessary for a world like ours to exist and, particularly, for human life to exist. Scientists give striking examples of how the slightest change of some force in the universe would make everyone flat or make stars explode or otherwise make life unsustainable. Everything is here for a purpose, it seems, from the synthesis of carbon to the weight of ice vs. water.

For Christians, of course, the existence of such an intelligent, purposeful designer comes as no surprise. It is his work we perceive not just in chemistry, biology, physics, and astronomy but also in history. We think there is an anthropic principle at work through history too. Through history, God has worked purposely in Israel. He had a purpose in calling Israel, and he sovereignly disposed her history to that end. According to Jesus, that end was Jesus himself. Abraham and Moses, David and Solomon, Jonah and Elijah, John the Baptist and even Judas were all there for him.

And why is he here? Why did Christ come? For us!

This message is clear in Matthew. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. And if you want one more verse for practical application, do not take a verse on mercy or humility. Consider why Jesus came: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (20:28).

Matthew teaches that you and I have sinned. We have separated ourselves from God. And now we are under his just judgment. Every single one of us. But Christ has come in love to take the punishment for our sins on himself and to rise in victory over death. And then he has come to us, calling us to repent and believe, to trust in him, to turn from our sins, and to have a new life in him.

You cannot understand Jesus finally without understanding something of yourself. In chapter 9 of his Gospel, Matthew recounts his own calling by Jesus, and the celebration dinner he threw for his tax collector friends and Jesus:

What a beautifully economical, set-interpreting response! A person’s heart is revealed through the person’s ears, how he or she hears—just as your response to this sermon is revealing something about you right now, about what you love or long for, about what bores you or simply does not concern you.

Jesus is so straightforward and unaffected in this passage. “The sick,” he says. “Sinners,” he says. That is whom the doctor comes for. Righteous, healthy people are not his immediate concern. If you think you are pretty righteous and healthy before God, then in a funny way you are not his immediate concern. No, Jesus has come for the sinners.

Who were the sinners in the room that day? Were they only those tax collectors?

I wonder, when Jesus said to the Pharisees, “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick…I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” did the Pharisees consider, just for a moment, that they might be sick, that they might be sinners? Or did they simply think, “Good answer, Rabbi. Those people are pretty bad off,” and walk away self-satisfied?

I wonder about us: Are you among the sinners? Are you among the sick? Are you among the spiritually needy?

I promise you this. You will finally realize who Jesus is only when you realize who you are. You will understand his fullness only when you come to see your own need.

End quote.

I hope you find this as enriching to you as it is to me.