The mission of Jesus

The usual passage describing the purpose of Jesus on earth is found in Luke, chapter 4, verses 18 and 19 : "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor ; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim the deliverance to the captives, and to restore the sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim a year of the Lord's grace."

Wherever Jesus went, His heart was touched by the needs of the people. Wherever He saw someone who needed healing, He stopped and healed him. In fact, he was even ready to make a detour to find those who were in need. When people were hungry, Jesus fed them. He had great compassion for those who suffer, for the infirm, for the blind, for those who are like sheep without a shepherd.

Jesus was not an itinerant healer, even if He healed everywhere He went. He was not an itinerant social lawyer, even though he showed compassion. The primary purpose of Jesus was to be a preacher ! "Jesus went into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God" (Mark 1:14). He came to release the captives, to preach the good news of His saving power, to communicate the gospel.

If each of us could capture the same vision that Jesus had, His first mission on the surface of the Earth would also become ours. We would be so filled with the love of Christ that nothing could stop us from proclaiming it. The people around us could not escape the name of Jesus. And, believe me, words are needed ! The actions are good, but there is no true proclamation of the gospel without words.

Do not be ashamed to talk about Jesus. Let the Spirit fill you up so that the words will simply flow from your mouth, of course. Jesus wants us to use the gospel to communicate the truth and life to others.

Gary Wilkerson