Why did Jesus come? What was His reason for being or stated purpose for His life? I suppose you might find a variety of answers depending upon who you asked and where you look. Some might be quick to point out that the purpose of Jesus life was to die for our sins; even Jesus said He came to “give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Others might say that Jesus came to “seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Still others might point to Jesus as the miracle worker (see John 10:25; 14:11), or that Jesus came to do the will of the Father (see John 6:57; 12:49; 20:21).
None of these responses would be wrong. Of these the reason that I think stands out as uniting them all would be that Jesus came to do the will of the Father. However, Jesus does not directly say that He came with the express purpose of doing the will of the Father, and even if He had then it would still beg the question, “What is the will of the Father?” Has Jesus said anything else that might give us an explanation why He came that would also unite these various reasons into a more concise statement of purpose that defines the Father’s will?
- "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
Luke 4:43 (NIV)
Could this be the Father’s will for Jesus? Is the primary reason Jesus came to make known the good news of the Kingdom of God? The good news is that God’s kingdom has come. The announcement of this message is more important than doing miracles; these are just evidence that the kingdom has indeed come. Jesus seeks the lost that they might be included in God’s Kingdom; He died on the cross to make it possible for us to be accepted into the Kingdom. Everything Jesus said and did seems to revolve around the announcement of the good news about God’s Kingdom.
If this was Jesus’ purpose then as His followers shouldn’t it also be our primary purpose too? What do you think?
1 comment:
Hi Daddy -
I'm slow in reading these as tour has been pretty busy...
Anyway, this definitely resonates in my heart. As I'm learning more and more what it means to be a person in the Kingdom of God, it makes sense that Jesus would come to make the Kingdom of God known.
I'm going to read your paper today :)
love you!
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