Why Did Jesus Come?

Ask me this question on a random day and you might get any number of answers.

Jesus came to rescue us from our sin, to bring healing and comfort and new life.  He came to die on the cross and defeat death and the devil and the power of sin.  He came so we could know and love God.

I've got all of these true, pat, sales-man-y answers.  But sometimes, these answers seem narrow, seem to overly systematize something living.

Mark 1:38 challenges us for this very reason.

Jesus claims that the reason he came was to preach to Galilean villages.

What's that about?  Where does that fit my system?  How do I sell that?

When did we decide that the gospel had to be systematizable, had to be compressed into an elevator pitch, had to be able to be drawn on a napkin?  If Mark wrote his Gospel today, we'd say: "Too long, too rambly, too confusing, too repetitive, and...dare I even say this...theologically wrong."  If we didn't inherit it, we wouldn't keep Mark.

But we do keep Mark.  And we're challenged by Mark, precisely because Mark messes with our systems and our sales pitches.  Lines like "That is why I have come" catch us when we're running wild in a field of rye.

I love to imagine what it'd look like if I ever answered the above question with: "To preach to other villages."  I'm sure it'd create a confused look, but it might also create a conversation.

What do you think would happen if you answered "Why did Jesus come?" with "To preach to other villages"?