Man on a Mission

Jesus is sometimes portrayed as if He was a reluctant Saviour.

There are people who say that Jesus had been little more than a popular teacher of wisdom until his disciples hatched the great idea to make him a king and to kick the occupying Romans out of their land once and for all. These efforts failed, and Jesus ended up dead on the cross.

What should we think of this? Has Jesus been misunderstood all along?

Christians try to base their faith on the Bible. And there we find that Jesus isn’t only known as “Jesus,” but there we meet Jesus as the “Christ.”

This title actually proves Jesus was no reluctant Saviour, for “Christ” means anointed. The word is a Greek translation of the familiar Hebrew term “Messiah.” In the Old Testament, there were many messiahs, that is, people who were anointed by God for a special task like being a prophet or a priest.

Jesus too, was anointed. For when He was baptized in the Jordan River at the start of his ministry, the Holy Spirit came upon him from heaven to equip him for his work (Matt 3:16). From that day, Jesus demonstrated that He was on a mission from God. He taught the ignorant. He healed the sick. He defended the weak.

All along, He had the firm awareness that He was the Christ. He knew that God had given him a special work of salvation to do.

In Jesus’s own words, “I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

And so we confess in our creed, “I believe in Jesus the Christ.” Those who believe in him are redeemed from sin and they even get called by his glorious name: that is, we are Christians, followers of Christ!

And we too, now have a purpose and mission—to offer our lives to the God who saved us.

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Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:13-17

Prayer: Father, thank you for the work of Jesus your Son, who came as the Saviour of sinners. Thank you that He was willing to give his life to rescue me. Amen.