The Mission of Jesus

Pray and Read John 1:1-14

John 1:1–14 NRSV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

There is an old saying that there are only two things sure in this life, death and taxes. Well, tomorrow is tax day. It sneaks up on me every year! I am sure that I am not alone. I hate doing taxes, and I have a tax professional who helps me with our taxes every year. Because I am a pastor, they are a little complicated. So I have to have so many documents and collect so many things to ensure that things are entered correctly. I am not a big fan of the government so that doesn’t help either. I dread having to get my taxes done, yet I know I have too. So each painful step, I take carefully!

It is a normal human reaction to dread death. Death, to many people seem so final. The good Christian answer is that death is not the end, and we understand that. But that doesn’t make it easier. I think the thing about death that I fear most is that there may be pain associated with my death. How long will it take? How will I die?

I do believe that Jesus knew the big details of His journey on earth. I believe He knew that He would be born into poverty, a Jew because they were God’s people. He knew He had a lot to teach, a lot to say to everyone. He knew that He would have to coach His friends to carry on His mission for generations to come. He knew that He would be sacrificed for the sins of all of us. And I do believe that He knew that He would also come back to life. After all, He is the Messiah who is alive today! This was His mission.

He was there when His Father, Father God, at the creation of this world. He knew life before life existed. Through Him all of creation came into existence. We would not be alive if it weren’t for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

From creation, we became His mission. When creation fell into darkness, a goal was set to redeem creation. When you set a goal there are steps that need to be taken to complete the mission and to achieve the goal.

So, God had many prophets as guides to reveal this great purpose. But there were more steps to woo us to Him. From the beginning, God declared that nothing would be done by force. All of His beloved humans would have a chance to choose Him. Like a light shining from a lighthouse, we are shone the way back to our Creator and the Lover of our Soul. Throughout history though, many would reject the words of the prophets of God. Many didn’t listen or understand what was being said. But God had a plan. Jesus had a mission! Throughout history, the stage was being set for God to reveal Himself to His creation face-to-face, person-to-person.

So the mission reaches its critical point, Jesus Christ was here to show the Way to Heaven, reveal the Truth of God, and to give us Life. He lived among His people loving them, healing them, and teaching them the very nature of their Creator. Then He died. He died like a sacrificial lamb. Was all of this a part of the plan? Indeed it was. His mission was to lead all of humanity back to God and in order to do that, He paid the ultimate price for our sins made in the darkness.

Have any of you ever made a vision board or written out a list of goals that you would like to achieve? It is fun to do those things and it can be helpful when you want to see the big picture and have something that you can aim for and work towards. But that is the main thing. Setting goals is just one step, actually achieving your goals is another thing all together.

This is where the word “Mission” comes into play. You have to set little goals that will lead you step by step, action by action to achieve your overall goal. Each action step, or little goal, will get you closer to the big goal.

What happens though if your mission is halted by something unexpected? Do you quit? That may not be the wisest choice. All you may need to do is rework an action step or two that will get you on track. There are always different elements to take into consideration. Your time, your family, your physical location, your gifts and abilities all needs to be taken into consideration. Although you should not let to much deter you from going for your goal, taking them into consideration will give you a little warning for something to be careful of.

Even still all the planning in the world may not prepare you for the risks that you may need to take. What if you have this goal in mind, like to live in a foreign country. Would you just hop on a plane and go? That may not be that smart. So instead, you will research the country, learn the native language, and see how you could earn a decent living in that culture. So what happens then, when you have arrived in the country and have established your life there and then war is declared? What if you knew that it was a war-torn country from the beginning but felt truly passionate about going there and doing something positive. Would you still go?

What if you see that something you hold dear must come to an end in order to move forward with the mission? Sometimes you have to take risks in order to achieve your biggest dreams and goals. We may not know everything that will hit us in the course of our life. We may not know when our wellbeing may be threatened or even our life may be at risk. Sometimes, the things that we love most are lost as we move forward in life. Sometimes we have to give up things that we hold dear to achieve the wonder that God has in store for us. Often times, it hurts. Many times, we may have to change directions and risk everything we have worked towards.

Jesus risked His very life for us. But He didn’t do it just to end it all, just put an end to the darkness. His death was not the end of the mission. He died, but He lives forever more. Now, we see that dying to wants and wishes of this world will give us life everlasting. We may have to die to see Heaven, but through Christ, we will see it. We may have to die to our worldview in order to see God’s view of the grander picture, but it is worth it! We should die to our sins, coming out of the darkness and into the light, but we have that choice.

The mission of Jesus was to lead us through His death and into new life through His Resurrection power. I hope you can see the whole Mission of Jesus. From the beginning to His coming, from His teaching to His death, and then now to His Resurrection until He comes again and we will live with Him forevermore.