The Mission Of Jesus

“I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” – John 17:4. 

Jesus knew His mission. He knew why the Father sent Him into the world. He aligned Himself with this mission. Everything that He did, everything that He taught, everything that is recorded of His life in the Gospels was focused on accomplishing the mission for which He was sent. At the end of His life and ministry, He prayed to the Father, “I have glorified you on the earth by faithfully doing everything you’ve told me to do.” (John 17:4). Mission accomplished.

Jesus had a lot to say about His mission. Before we focus on our mission we should learn what the mission of Jesus was since our mission and the mission of the church derives from Jesus’ mission.

A case in point is found in Matthew 14:22-33 which is the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. At that point in his ministry, thousands of people were following Jesus. However, the conveniences of the modern, first world were simply not available back then. For many of the thousands in attendance, witnessing Jesus speak meant they had not taken the necessary steps to secure food for the day. Thousands were hungry, with no plan to eat, and Jesus responded by feeding them from the smallest of provisions. Jesus performs one of his most famous miracles. It would seem a perfect opportunity to preach to His now well-fed captive audience? But He doesn’t.

He sent the disciples in a boat to cross the lake, and Jesus dismissed the crowds and went to the top of the mountain. In today’s world that seems like a lost opportunity to preach to thousands of people with full bellies. But Jesus opts to go to the top of the mountain and spend time with His Father. Jesus stopped everything He was doing because He needed to be with God in the intimate way that He lived in relationship with God. He needed to recharge and refuel. Jesus knew He needed to be connected to the Father.

Jesus is showing us what it looks like to be in the most important relationship one could ever be in, the relationship between God and each one of us. When one lives in that reality, we step towards becoming like Jesus, spending time with our Savior. Living in this reality enables us to become just who God created us to be and fulfill our mission in life. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What can we learn from Jesus in terms of mission?
2. What can we do this week to be more like Jesus in fulfilling our mission?