Messiah’s Multifaceted Mission

Most businesses, organizations and individual contractors have what are referred to as a “mission statement”, which are essentially written statements of purpose – of why they exist, who they serve, and the expected outcome of their service. They are typically written to inspire in the consumer or customer, confidence in their utilization of said services.  They can be in length a sentence to a short paragraph. The Canadian Cancer Society’s mission statement reads as follows: “To eradicate cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer”.  A healthcare organization may have a mission statement that reads, To create innovative healthcare solutions that improve lives by creating and offering innovative healthcare technology for better patient outcomes in vulnerable communities.

The businesses and organizations then typically have job descriptions for each of their employees that describe the activities that they are to perform in service of the mission.

We have in the New Testament multiple short mission statements regarding the mission or purpose for Jesus Christ, God the Son, coming into this world in the form of a man (John 1:14), as well as what could be referred to as the Messiah’s job description found in Luke 4:16-21. These statements are informed by the dire condition and desperate needs of the world Jesus came into 2000 years ago, a condition that continues to exist to this day.

According to the Bible, it is a world without hope (Ephesians 2:12), having been corrupted by man’s sin, our rejection of God’s purpose for and rule over our lives (Genesis 6:5) (Genesis 6:11-12), and cursed by God because of that sin (Genesis 3:17-19).  It is a world that is under the sway and deceptions of the “wicked one”, Satan – the devil (1 John 5:19) (Revelation 12:9).  It is a world cut off from the glorious life with God for which we were created to enjoy with Him as objects of His infinite love (Jeremiah 31:3), with His glory – the infinite perfections of His Being – being known, displayed, imaged and delighted in by all mankind (Genesis 1:27-31).

Christian author John Piper thus describes it as a world where the glory of God is not proclaimed, the greatness of God is not praised and admired, the goodness of God is not acknowledged with gratitude, the love of God is not cherished, and the pleasures of God are not enjoyed.  It is a world where the word of God is not treasured, the promises of God are not believed, the law of God is not obeyed, the justice and judgement of God are not feared, the presence of God is not prized, and the person of God is not loved, adored and worshiped above all of His creation (Romans 1:24-25).

As a result, the whole creation has been made subject to vanity, to futility, groaning under the awful consequences of man’s sin, with nature unable and man unwilling to fulfill the purpose for which it was created, namely, to glorify God (Romans 8:20-23) (Ecclesiastes 1:1-18). And thus, it is a world in which all mankind has been subjected to God’s wrath, a world that will one day perish under His just, final, and eternal judgement (Romans 1:18) (2 Peter 3:10-12) (Daniel 12:2).

However, it was never our triune God’s intention to leave His creation in its present condition, but to be glorified in redeeming it- rescuing both mankind and nature from the ravages of sin and of His judgement on that sin and restoring both back to the glory in which they were created.  And thus, all of God’s purposes in and promises of redemption (2 Peter 1:3-5) are tied to the person and work of God the Son, Jesus Christ, who in His Spirit empowered life, death and resurrection, would proclaim and display the infinite glory of the Father and the riches of His grace (John 17:3-5) (Ephesians 1:7).  Jesus would do so by granting eternal life to His people ((John 3:16) (Matthew 1:21), a people who by faith see the glory of God in the person and work of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5-6), a people who will come to love God above all else in His creation (Luke 10:25-28).  They are the people who will fulfill the purpose or mission for which mankind was created, which in answer to Question 1 of the Westminster Catechism is “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Isaiah 43:7).

What follows are some of the multiple mission statements regarding Jesus coming to this world to accomplish all that was necessary for our endless joy in Him.

• “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
• “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
• “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
• “I have not come to call the (self) righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)
• “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15)
• “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)
• “Then Pilate said to him, So you are a king? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”.   (John 18:37)  
• “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:37-40)

In my next post I will begin, God willing,  to look more deeply into these and other like statements regarding our Lord’s mission in His first coming, that we may grow in our faith in Him as the one who loved us and suffered greatly on our behalf, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18), so that He (Jesus), God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, would become for us the object of our deepest love and source of our greatest joy, such that upon His second coming we would live with our infinitely glorious God forever, knowing only fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18) (Psalm 16:11).

Grace and Peace ×