The Mission of Jesus

John 5:30

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Transcript

Christmas is here with us again. The festive mood, the merchandise, the holiday vibe of the season is ubiquitous— it is all over the world. In fact I have got to know that almost half of this small congregation will be travelling. Rightly so, it is the end of the year. We take a break from the year’s work, we connect with families.. But I believe you and I know what the main reason for Christmas is. It is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Indeed during this period too, you will also be hearing all kinds of arguments about how Christ was not born on 25th etc. Obviously, no one knows the date he was born. But his birth is a historical event. Jesus did walk this earth. (1 John 1:1-4). And  so what we celebrate as Christmas is a commemoration of the birth of this one unique man. God manifested in human form:  “…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1:14). This morning I want us to consider for a title, The Mission Of Jesus.  We see clearly in the text that Jesus was sent on a mission by the Father: “I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me”  A Mission is simply a task or assignment given to someone to accomplish. And it is clear here Jesus had a mission. But what is that mission? Why did Jesus come into the world? I will examine (i) The Father Sent The Son. (ii) The Signs/Evidence of Jesus Mission. What shows he was truly sent by the Father? Then finally, we will answer The Subject/Purpose of Jesus Mission. This I am believing will  help us celebrate Christmas meaningfully. And if you ever meet anyone who says some of those things about Christmas being pagan, you will be able to answer them or you won’t be worried for celebrating Christmas. This is the message of Christmas: The Father sent the Son into the world:

The Father Sent The Son

“I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” (v.30).Jesus here declares he was sent into the world by the Father. And constantly in the verses we read, Jesus makes these references to his being sent by the Father. You will see that in vv.36-38:  Look at verse 36. “But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me” Look also at verse 37. I will read just the first part “And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me.” And then in verse 38 Jesus said “and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.” 

Do you see that? Jesus had a sense of his purpose and knew he had been sent by the Father. This is the message of Christianity and the message of Christmas. That God sent his son into the world to live and to die for the sins of his people. That whoever will believe in him will be saved from their sin. Matthew points this out to us in the birth narrative of Jesus:  “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21). That brethren is why we celebrate Christmas. The Saviour was born. The Father sent him into the world. See, the notion that Jesus was sent by the Father continues in this gospel of John (6:38,39,40,44; 7:16,18,28…). This clearly defines the mission of Jesus that he was sent by the Father. “I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me” Brethren, can we say these words of Jesus about ourselves: “I seek not my own will…” Is that you? Seeking our own will can manifest in many ways. And one of the clearest ways is selfishness. Thinking of our own comforts more than that of others. It can also show itself as willful disobedience of the revealed word of God. Some people call themselves Christians and you cannot really tell the difference because they live no differently from the world. They live to please themselves. But we have a Saviour who calls us to a higher life. A higher life of obedience and pursuit of God’s will.

Now you know there are people who can talk big and brag. They build castles in the air. They talk as big as the word that describes them: “braggadocious”The Cambridge dictionary describes that word as “praising yourself or speaking too proudly about your own achievements or importance.” I pray that none of us falls into this and begin seeing ourselves higher than we ought. Now considering the kind of things Jesus has said in this chapter and other places of the Gospels, he can easily pass for a braggadocian. So when he proclaimed himself as sent by the Father, we can easily dismiss him as one of those people who talk big. And perhaps the Jews he was interacting with were actually beginning to think so. Being God and Omniscient, Jesus may have seen their minds saying things like  “you are the one saying these things of yourself, you are now praising yourself” So that just in case (humanly speaking) anyone was beginning to doubt Jesus’ self testimony, he debunks it with evidence to show he is indeed from the Father. He proves it. He gives us

The Signs/Evidence Of His Mission

Verse 31: “If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true” This is a judicial language. In the life of the Jews, a charge or accusation cannot be brought against another person without a witness. A “one man witness” is not admissible in the law. Jesus therefore appeals to a legal principle which the Jews knew. “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established (Deuteronomy 19:15). We have had two election court petitions in this country. And witnesses have been called to testify. Our former electoral commissioner Kwadwo Afari Gyan says the name of the game is evidence. So in matters of law, evidence and witness are important. Jesus here then gives witnesses or evidence to prove that he has been sent by God. Please let’s look at vv.32-47 (read). From what we have read, Jesus puts forward about 5 pieces of evidence or witnesses that he has been sent by the Father. He provides more than the law requires: The Father, John The Baptist, His Miracles, The Scriptures and Moses. These are solid, irrefutable evidence Jesus provides that he has been sent by the Father. First evidence, 

The Father

Last week, I mentioned that the existence of God is not the problem in this ongoing interaction with Jews. The problem is Jesus’ claim to be God. And in his defence,  he calls God the Father as his witness. We see this in verses 32 & 37: “There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.”  “And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen,” (v.37).  Jesus is telling the Jews, God himself bears witness about me. How you may ask? From Genesis when Adam disobeyed God and plunged the whole human race into sin, God announced his rescue plan, made promises  of a coming Messiah who will save his people. The Jews knew these promises and lived in expectation of them. But how sad! When the Messiah came, they rejected him: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11).  Before Jesus was born, the Prophet Isaiah prophesied this unbelief and rejection of the Messiah: “Who has believed what he has heard from us?” (Isaiah 53:1).

Sadly, this picture of unbelief is a human problem. We don’t trust God. We don’t believe him. Despite the many proofs of himself, we still reject his offer of Salvation. But dear friends you continue in your unbelief to your doom. There is a beautiful little phrase in the text, in verse 34, the last sentence  I want us to look at: “I say these things so that you may be saved.” See, the interaction, everything Jesus is saying to these Jews is for their salvation. Brethren, God’s word is for your salvation. God’s word is for your good. If you have ever in your life, questioned the importance of the Word of God, note that the word is to save you. God’s word is for our salvation. The promises of God are to redeem our souls from destruction.  From the destruction of sin. From the destruction of the coming wrath of God. From the destruction of immorality.  From the destruction of pride. From the destruction of unbelief. From the destruction of choosing our own ways over and against the ways of God. Where are you in the picture of God’s word that brings salvation?  If you haven’t believed this testimony about who Christ is, you will have to consider it for the sake of your soul. We can also look to Jesus’ baptism as a testimony of the Father about him: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17). But I am not so sure of this, whether the Jews around around heard the voice. It seems they wouldn’t have heard because Jesus tells the Jews in the last part of v.37 “His voice you have never heard” But the point really is that the Father has borne witness about the Son in the Scriptures and the Jews rejected him: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (v.38). I will skip the evidence of Scripture for next week’s sermon Lord willing. 

John The Baptist

Jesus also appeals to the testimony of John the Baptist. That’s the point of verse 33: “You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.” You see this is one of the benefits of going through the Scriptures Chapter by Chapter and verse by verse, which I am trying my best at. Why do I say this? You notice that Jesus spoke of an interaction between the Jews and John the Baptist. And fortunately for us, this interaction is recorded in this book. The Jews really were sent to John the Baptist to prove his identity. And he spoke about Christ

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight[h] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Jesus was there when this event happened. He is the one referenced in verse 26: “among you stands one you do not know” Then in these same Scripture, in v.29, John clearly spoke of who Jesus is: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. Then he crowns it all in verse 34 saying “And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” The Jews knew John the Baptist was a prophet. They accepted his ministry. They went to him to be baptised. They believed he was from God and Jesus pointed that out to them clearly: “He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light” (v.35). The irony though. Despite their belief in the ministry of John the Baptist, they rejected the One whom John The Baptist was sent to proclaim. How have you been receiving the word we preach here? What have you been doing with the Christ we proclaim in the Scriptures? Are there things you want to hear more than the gospel? In your own life, are you rejecting the truth of Christ? You may have made a profession of faith, but you are perhaps rejecting the word of God by how you live your life. Brethren, let us not reject the word to our doom.

His Miracles

From John the Baptist, Jesus now speaks about his works and miracles as proves of his identity: “But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.” (v.36). Jesus here appeals to the works he was doing. It is like he saying, you if you wont believe John the Baptist, believe the works I am doing which the Father has given me. Obviously this includes healing a lame man which is what triggered all these discussions. And truly, one of the reasons for miracles is God authenticating those he sends. It is God saying I sent this one (Hebrews 2:3-4). God has clearly testified about the person of Christ in all he did in the SCriptures and we don’t’ need any further proof and evidence of who Christ is. All the evidence is in the Scriptures for us. Next week Lord willing I will treat the other evidence, Scripture and Moses as outlined in verse 39-47. To our final point

The Subject/Content Of The Mission

“I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” The subject and content of Jesus mission was the will of the Father. And what’s that will. I think it is clear in the earlier verses: Eternal Life (read: vv.21;24;26;29). The reason Jesus was sent into the world was to do the will of the Father and give eternal life to those who are dead in sin and separated from God. Christmas is more than festivities. Christmas is about God sending his son into the world to reconcile us to himself. For everyone that has come to faith in Christ, we have eternal life as promised. And for anyone who has not yet believed in Jesus, they are doomed to eternal destruction unless they believe. What will you do with the Son in these festivities? How best will you celebrate Christmas? I propose to you (i) Honour the Son (v.23) for it is required for eternal life (ii) Believe in the Son (v.24) because it is a necessity for life. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.

 

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