Jesus knew exactly why God sent Him: “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world” (Jn. 12:46-47 ESV). And you thought you had a lot on your shoulders: Jesus’ purpose in life was literally to save the world!
Though Jesus didn’t seem burdened as He lived each day. That purpose shaped where He went, what He did, and how He saw people. People like Zacchaeus, whom Jesus spotted looking down from a sycamore tree before proceeding to invite Himself to the short chief tax collector’s house (cf. Lk. 19:1-5). Even when the self-righteous religious people around Him grumbled, Jesus focused on the joy and change His presence brought to Zacchaeus’ life: “Today salvation has come to this house…For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk. 19:9-10).
That’s not to say it was always easy. When He entered Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus knew that the cross awaited – and it hurt. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (Jn. 12:27-28). Understanding that purpose – to glorify God by accomplishing His will and saving us – allowed Jesus to walk through the pain.
Yet, it is not just for us to know that was His purpose: it expects something of us, too. We hear that in the reply that Jesus – abandoned, bruised, and weary – gave under the Roman Governor Pilate’s interrogation: “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” (Jn. 18:37). Listening to His voice involves more than just knowing what He did or even agreeing that He was right. The way Jesus lived and the purpose He lived for should shape us, as well.
The God-glorifying, people-loving life of Jesus is what we were all created for – and our own sin denies us the opportunity to experience it…now and forever. Yet, it doesn’t have to be that way. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (Jn. 3:16-17). Jesus’ whole purpose for coming into this world was to save us. Listen to Him, and you will find your purpose in life.
Don’t miss a single opportunity to experience how wonderful the gift of our salvation really is through our lesson series “Saved”!