Why does it take Jesus two visits to accomplish his work?

On the cross Jesus said “it is finished” (John 19:30). If Jesus completed his work as the Messiah on the cross, then why does he need to come back to the earth? Why does Jesus come twice?

It Takes Two

The idea that the Messiah Jesus would come twice was a surprise to his disciples. The Old Testament is clear that a Messiah would come, and it is also clear what the Messiah would do when he did. God’s servant-king would have mercy on the repentant (Mic. 7:18-20), save the oppressed, poor, and persecuted (Ps. 146:7-8), heal the sick (Isa. 35:5-6), preach and teach the righteous way (Dtr. 18:15-19), make atonement for his people (Isa. 53:4-6), and bring justice to the world (Isa. 11:1-5)—in sum, he would establish a perfect version of God’s kingdom, which would bring blessing to God’s people and against all His enemies (Ps. 2). When the Old Testament discusses theses things, it often looks like it happens all at once, but in fact a complete fulfillment would require two visits.

The reason it takes two visits is not because Jesus ran out of time in the first, as if it the list was too long for a mere human lifetime. Nor is it because Jesus only planned to accomplish some of the promises in his first visit, with the rest happening in his second. On the contrary, all of God’s promises are accomplished in both visits, but in different ways. During the first visit Jesus fulfills the promises like a farmer sowing seed. When Jesus returns, he will likewise fulfill all of God’s promises, but now as one who comes to harvest the crop (Matt. 9:38, 13:24-30; 1 Cor. 15:23). The NT uses many other analogies to describe the relationship between the two comings, including engagement and marriage (Rev. 21:2; Matt. 25:1-13), inheritance and inheritor (Eph. 1:21-23; Pet. 1:3-5), pregnancy and childbirth (Rom. 8:18-25), and kingdom and coronation (Matt. 6:10), to name a few.

The Two are One

There is therefore a parallel between the two comings of Jesus; they are each components of a single whole. This is contrary to the popular description of the first visit as a time of “mercy” and the second a time of judgment. There is mercy in both visits, and also judgment.

The two visits are two parts of one whole. In both he comes bodily; in the first he is incarnated (John 1:14), and in the second he returns in his glorified body (Luke 24:39). In both he is appointed Lord and King; the first at his ascension and ruling from heaven (Rev. 5:6-10, 12:5), the second at his return to earth and ruling from the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21). In both he pronounces forgiveness; the first as an invitation received by faith (1 John 1:9), the second as a confirmation proclaimed in the final judgment (2 Tim. 4:6-9). In both he sends the Holy Spirit; in this age as a mystical union experienced through faith (John 20:22; Acts 2:14-40), in the next by completing remaking all things, including our bodies, so that the eternal Spirit can dwell there (1 Cor. 15:42-44; Rev. 21:3-5). In both he prosecutes God’s justice; he warned the people while on earth, preaching repentance, and his own crucifixion stands as testimony of the world’s condemnation (Mark 1:15; John 16:7-11), but when he returns he will come as judge and declare a final sentence (Matt. 7:23; Acts 17:29-31). In both he remakes the world; first in and through the church (2 Cor. 5:17), but soon by destroying all evil and reforging all things so that they are pure and perfect (2 Pet. 3:11-13).

This list could be easily extended, but the pattern is clear. Everything that Jesus began with his incarnation, resurrection, and ascension he will complete and perfect at his return, and thus “all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Cor. 1:21).