GotQuestions.org: Why did Jesus come? What was and continues to be His mission?
Several times in Jesus’ life, He shows that
He was a man on a mission. He had a purpose, which He intentionally fulfilled.
Even at a young age, Jesus knew that He “must be about [His] Father’s business”
(Luke 2:49, KJV). In
the last days of His earthly life, Jesus “resolutely set out for Jerusalem,”
where He knew He would be killed (Luke 9:51). It
could be said that the fundamental mission of Christ’s time on earth was to
fulfill God’s plan of saving the lost.
Jesus
put it this way in Luke 19:10: “The
Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus had just been criticized
for going to the house of a “sinner.” Jesus responded by affirming His mission
was to save people who needed saving. Their reputation for sinfulness was not a
reason to avoid them; rather, it was a reason to seek them out. Many times
during Christ’s ministry, He sought to forgive those whom the self-righteous
leaders of the day shunned. He sought out and saved the woman at the well and
the Samaritans of her town (John 4:39–41), the
sinful woman with the alabaster jar (Luke
7:37), and even one of His own disciples, Matthew,
who had been a tax collector (Matthew 9:9).
In Matthew 9, once
again Jesus was criticized for “eating with tax collectors and sinners” (verse
11), and once again Jesus responded by stating His mission: “I have not come to
call the righteous, but sinners” (verse 13). Jesus’ goal was to save. It was a
goal that He reached: “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work
you gave me to do” (John 17:4).
All through
the Gospels, we see Jesus call to repentance and forgive the worst of sinners.
No one is too sinful to come to Him. In fact, He goes after those who are lost,
as the parables of the lost
sheep and lost coin show (Luke 15:1–10). In
the story of the prodigal son, Jesus teaches that God will always welcome with
open arms those who come to Him with a repentant heart (Luke 15:21–22;
cf. Isaiah 57:15).
Even today, Jesus continues to seek and save those who humbly place their faith
in Him (Matthew 11:29; 18:3–4; Revelation 3:20).
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Jesus
did not come or continue working to make us better persons or the world a
better place!! EBB4
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