Why Did Jesus Come

From Hieromonk Damascene: \\"By His death Christ ransomed man out of servitude to sin, and redeemed man from the eternal consequences of sin which had been incurred at the Fall. Christ Himself spoke of this. He said of Himself: The Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28). In the Epistle to the Hebrews we read: Christ is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15). And in the book of Apocalypse: Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood (Apoc. 5:9).\\" However, there is much more that Christ accomplished, and much more for which he came. Western theology often stops at the Resurrection (they don\'t deny it, but often Protestantism doesn\'t know much of what to do with it). At the same time, I find that they don\'t know what to do with the Incarnation either. The focus is entirely on the Crucifixion. I would recommend you read Fr. Damascene\'s entire article here: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/christcross.aspx

My apologies. The excerpt is Fr. Damascene quoting Vladimir Lossky.

This is a human question motivated by a human need to quantify and qualify everything...akin to Augustinian Western Rationalism. Also, you are asking two questions within your question: \\"Why did Jesus come?\\" and \\"How does the Orthodox understanding of the sacrifice of The Triune God in the person of God, The Son compare with that of most western heterodox thinkers? For the second answer, I would refer you to the three recognized Theologians of The Orthodox Church: The Apostle Saint John Saint Gregory the Theologian Saint Symeon the New Theologian As Vladimir Lossky has written, there is a reason why only three people deserve the name of \\"Theologian\\" in the Tradition of the Orthodox Christian Church: All three Theologians are well known for their Theology which is the result of a profound faith and a mystical experience of God, an intense life of prayer, and a profound spirituality. Note that Lossky did not deign to include himself within this group, though The Church Herself could someday do so, should She be in one accord on the matter. The Orthodox Church historically does not concern Herself with questions about God, per se. Within Holy Orthodox Apostolic Tradition, The Church is most centered on The Mysteries in and of The Revelation of God and in responding to heretical theologies and actions. In the process of answering these questions and commenting on The Revelation of The Triune God (including Holy Scripture) The Church has gathered unto Herself a great body of written works; works not meant to tell The Church what to believe but rather to reflect what The Church has always believed. Having said all that (TMI, I suppose) the answer to your first question is most honestly and properly answered by saying: God The Son came into this world through the power of God The Holy Spirit to give glory to God The Father. Our salvation can only be fully understood within this Holy paradigm. To interject ourselves into this spiritual equation without first recognizing God and God\'s purpose as transcendent is to elevate the importance of ourselves in relation to the eternal nature and works of The Triune God. Better to ask, \\"What is the effect on humanity of the Incarnation, Presentation, Baptism, Proclamation, Transfiguration, Persecution, Passion, Prosecution, Crucifixion, Death, Burial, Resurrection, Revelation and Ascension of The Lord Jesus Christ?\\" Gordie