Few verses in the Bible speak the Gospel more plainly than this one. It tells us who Jesus is, why He came, and whom He came for. The message begins with confidence: “This is a faithful saying.” It isn’t speculation, opinion, or theory — it’s a statement of absolute truth. And it’s “worthy of all acceptation” — meaning, everyone ought to believe it. No one is excluded from this invitation.
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came into the world — not as a judge to condemn, but as a Savior to rescue. He stepped down from heaven’s glory into the darkness of our world, taking on human flesh. He didn’t come for the righteous or the religious, but for sinners — people who have fallen short of God’s holiness and cannot save themselves. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Every word of this verse points to grace — grace that reaches down to where we are.
Paul, who wrote these words, never forgot what he had been before he met Christ. He had opposed the message of Jesus, even persecuting believers. But when the Lord saved him, Paul saw the depth of his own sin and the greater depth of God’s mercy. That’s why he called himself “chief” of sinners — not as an exaggeration, but as a man overwhelmed by grace. If Christ could save Paul, He can save anyone. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).
This is the heart of the Gospel: Christ Jesus came into the world — that means He entered our story; to save sinners — that means He came for you. Not to reform, not to advise, but to save. He bore sin’s penalty on the Cross, He rose again in victory, and now offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who trust Him. It is, as the verse says, a faithful saying — true in every age, true for every heart that believes it.