Text: “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour” (John 12:27).
Jesus was sent on a mission by the Father. He was sent to do a work that would give man an opportunity to gain a right relationship with the Father. This mission trip was planned long before man appeared upon the face of the earth.
Jesus was more than a missionary as he walked upon the surface of the earth. He was the Messiah. He was God in the flesh. He was sinful man’s salvation. He was mankind’s Savior. He was the “Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:12).
During Jesus 3 years of ministry, many people refused to accept Him as the Messiah. Their idea of a Messiah was a military or political type leader who would free them of Roman rule.
Little did the people realize that freedom from Roman rule would not bring them into a right relationship with the Heavenly Father. They would still be dead in their trespasses and sins.
God calls people today to go forth as His representative to propagate or spread the Gospel message. As a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, each one of us should be just as concerned for the lost as was Jesus. It is our duty and responsibility to go forth and tell others about Jesus and what He has done for us and that He can do the same for them.
Jesus gives us the same message He gave His disciples when He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19, 20).
Many have gone forth into other nations to spread God’s Word. These missionaries have given up the comforts of home here in the United States and have moved to remote areas of the world to carry the message of the Cross to those who are perishing. Salvation comes only by the Cross.
Story: “John G. Paton’s Well”
John G. Paton was the hero missionary of the New Hebrides islands in the South Seas. The people were savages, wore little clothing, and lived in a terrible state of sin. Mr. Paton had a time at first getting the people to believe that he had a message from God.
Finally the water supply ran out on the island because of lack of rain. The natives had never seen a well. Paton proceeded to dig one and the digging of this well was really the beginning of the conversion of the people.
On beginning the well, Paton told the chief that he believed God would give them rain from the hole in the ground. The only fresh water the natives had was that caught when it rained.
When Paton made this statement great excitement prevailed. The chief and others declared that if Paton could bring rain from the hole in the ground, his must be the true God.
Finally the missionary, by digging to some depth, found a spring of living water. The effect upon the people was wonderful. The old chief asked the privilege of preaching a sermon at the Sunday services concerning the well.
This he did, emphasizing his earnest appeal by excitedly swinging his tomahawk. In the midst of his sermon he cried, “People of Aniwa, the world has turned upside down since the Word of Jehovah is come to this land. Whoever expected to see rain come up through the earth? From this day I must worship Him who has opened up for us this well and who fills it with rain from below.”
During the week following this remarkable sermon great heaps of idols were burned in front of Paton’s house. The Christian teaching grew quickly and before many years there was not a heathen left on the island.
-----Missionary Ammunition
Isn’t it amazing that all it took to convince these natives of Almighty God was water from a hole in the ground. This earthly water led these natives to the water of everlasting life.
During Jesus’ ministry, He performed many such wonders. He changed the water into wine at a wedding in Cana, which was His first miracle (John 2:9).
A nobleman, whose son was sick, came to Jesus in Cana and requested Him to come to Capernaum and heal his son. Jesus said to him, “God your way; your son lives” (John 4:50). The nobleman had great faith and believed Jesus; the result was the healing of his son. This was Jesus’ second miracle.
The list of Jesus’ miracles goes on and on. He healed the man, who had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. (John 5:8) This was Jesus’ third miracle.
Later, Jesus fed five thousand men plus women and children using five barley loaves and two small fish. Although everyone ate as much as they wanted, the disciples “….filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten” (John 6:13). This was Jesus’ fourth miracle.
Jesus performed many other miracles. He cleansed a leper (Luke 5:13); He healed a centurion’s servant (Luke 7:10); He healed a demon-possessed man (Luke 8:33); He healed a man of dropsy (Luke 14:4); He cleansed ten lepers (Luke 17:14); He healed a deaf-mute (Mark 7:35); He gave sight to a man who was blind from birth (John 9:6), and He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:44).
Jesus did many wonderful works and yet He was rejected by His own people. “Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country” (John 4:44).
Everything Jesus did was for the benefit of man, but man lived thinking worldly instead of heavenly. God sent His son into the world because of His love for man. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Of all that God created, man was most important. Man was created in the image of God; therefore, God’s workmanship in the creation of man was perfect. Although man was disobedient and had a sinful nature, God did not want to condemn him. “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).
Jesus taught man how he should live. He did not force man to do anything, but instead gave man the right prescription to live properly. I don’t think man understood that being created in God’s image meant that all the attributes and personality traits of God were to be reflected through him.
Jesus said that man was the light of the world and that light should shine forth. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Jesus tried to inform the people concerning the importance of the Law and His fulfillment of the Law. He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17).
He taught that murder and adultery begin in the heart. He dwelt on the issue of love. Love is meant for all people, including those we consider enemies. Love and hate do not go together, but love should overshadow hate.
Jesus taught man how to pray and went so far as to give him a model to follow. He taught about laying up treasures in heaven where “….thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20). Jesus said man could not serve God and riches because there would be loyalty to one.
He told man something that we all need to concentrate on and take to heart and that is worry. People have a tendency to worry which bring stress into their lives. Many things people worry about things that will never happen. Worry does not accomplish anything positive or good. It will actually destroy a person’s life.
Story: “Why Worry?”
A French soldier in World War I carried with him this little receipt for worry: “Of two things, one is certain. Either you are at the front, or you are behind the lines. If you are at the front, of two things one is certain. Either you are exposed to danger, or you are in a safe place. If you are exposed to danger, of two things one is certain. Either you are wounded, or you are not wounded. If you are wounded, of two things one is certain. Either you recover, or you die. If you recover, there is no need to worry. If you die, you can’t worry. SO WHY WORRY?”
---------------W.B.K.
Jesus was human but He was also God. He knew everything man would ever face. He felt every pain man would ever experience. He was tempted by Satan just as each of us is tempted. Jesus gave man instructions on how to overcome temptation.
Jesus revealed who He was on many occasions. He revealed Himself in the many miracles we talked about. He said “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35); “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5); “I am the gate” (John 10:7); “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14); “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25); “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and “I am the true vine” (John 15:1).
Jesus talked to the disciples about His death and resurrection on several occasions. Matthews records these words in chapter 16:21: “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” This was the first time Jesus predicted His death and revealed it to the disciples.
The disciples did not understand Jesus’ words because their idea of the Messiah was worldly and not heavenly. They believed the Messiah would free them of Roman rule and rule upon the earth, like any other ruler, for a long period of time.
Matthew records Jesus’ second prediction of death in chapter 17:22, 23. When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.”
The disciples could not figure out why Jesus kept talking about His death. After this second announcement, the disciples began to worry and grief gripped them. In their minds they reasoned that His death would take all hope from them. We can’t really blame the disciples for their way of thinking. If we had been present, our thinking would have probably been the same.
The third time Jesus revealed His death to the disciples was on the way to Jerusalem. Matthew records this in chapter 20:18. Jesus said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.”
Although Jesus revealed how his mission on earth would end, the disciples still did not understand. They continued to think worldly instead of heavenly. We are no different than the disciples. People today, knowing what the Word says, still seem to place a great deal of life on worldly concerns. When more emphasis is placed on worldly possessions, those possessions come between man and God. Worldly possessions are fine if they are not given more importance than our relationship with the Father.
Jesus’ earthly mission was about to come to an end and the disciples did not understand. They could not comprehend their leader dying. To help them understand, Jesus painted a lovely word picture to explain His death to them.
He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain”.
Jesus was saying that a grain of wheat would always be a grain of wheat if it were just left in the bucket or the bag. If the grain was placed in the ground it would grow up through the soil, produce blades of wheat, which in turn would produce more grains that could be planted.
Jesus was saying that if the penalty for our sins was to be paid, He had to die. We could not save ourselves, so His mission was to pay the penalty for us so that we could be redeemed, saved, and spend eternity in His kingdom in His presence.
Although Jesus knew His mission and everything that was going to take place, He was still troubled. Yes, He was God, but He was also Man. Jesus said, “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name” (John 12:27, 28).
Jesus was in the process of completing His mission. He was obedient to the Father and the Father was glorified. We are to do whatever God asks of us. Our obedience will bring honor and glory to His name.
Jesus knew about the Cross and the Crucifixion and He dreaded thinking about them. He knew all the sins of the world would be placed upon His shoulders and these sins would separate Him from His Father. He dreaded what lay ahead, but then He knew this was His mission in the world.
Jesus faced what we should have faced. All the events that caused pain and suffering in His body should be felt by each one of us. We should feel the pain of the thorns driven into His head. We should feel the agony of the flogging He took for us. We should feel the weight of the Cross as we move on to Calvary. The nails driven into His hands and feet should bring us to our knees.
Conclusion:
God had a plan and Jesus had a mission.
God’s plan was for our redemption and Jesus’ mission was for our salvation.
Jesus’ mission brought glory to God.
We were bought with a price and we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are Gods. (I Corinthians 6:20).
Amen.
