God provides us with a mission, but we learn this mission by learning from Jesus himself, by paying attention to what he did.
In book of Isaiah, we learn about this mission: that long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Isaiah had foretold of the mission of God’s Servant-Messiah. In Isaiah 42, we read how God calls this Servant “my chosen one in whom my soul delights” (42:1), and we go on to read how God’s own Spirit will be upon this Servant: He will bring forth justice to the nations (42:1a). God will bless this Servant and, in turn, will bless the world (cf., Genesis 12).
The way God’s Servant will carry out this mission, however, will not be by commanding armies, but by suffering love: This Servant of God will accomplish his mission through gentleness and weakness, not by physical force (42:2-3). He will bring light and open the eyes of the blind, both physically and spiritually (42:6). He will liberate the oppressed and embody God’s new age of righteousness (42:9).
Such a mission is what Jesus will fulfill. In fact, one of Jesus’ first sermons was telling his home “church” in Nazareth that the Spirit of God was indeed upon him to preach good news to the poor and give sight to the blind (Luke 4:18-19). From the beginning, Jesus was going to live out this mission. He was going to call Israel back to God and God’s covenant and then suffer death on a cross and bring resurrection.
Coming up out of the waters of the River Jordan in baptism, Jesus was going to fulfill this mission as God’s beloved Son and teach in the power of the Spirit. He would include others in this mission as well and call persons to him who would carry out this mission to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20).
How is God calling us to fulfill our mission, to know our “Why”? How is God calling us to share and grow in how we follow Jesus?
Pastor Andy Kinsey
In book of Isaiah, we learn about this mission: that long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Isaiah had foretold of the mission of God’s Servant-Messiah. In Isaiah 42, we read how God calls this Servant “my chosen one in whom my soul delights” (42:1), and we go on to read how God’s own Spirit will be upon this Servant: He will bring forth justice to the nations (42:1a). God will bless this Servant and, in turn, will bless the world (cf., Genesis 12).
The way God’s Servant will carry out this mission, however, will not be by commanding armies, but by suffering love: This Servant of God will accomplish his mission through gentleness and weakness, not by physical force (42:2-3). He will bring light and open the eyes of the blind, both physically and spiritually (42:6). He will liberate the oppressed and embody God’s new age of righteousness (42:9).
Such a mission is what Jesus will fulfill. In fact, one of Jesus’ first sermons was telling his home “church” in Nazareth that the Spirit of God was indeed upon him to preach good news to the poor and give sight to the blind (Luke 4:18-19). From the beginning, Jesus was going to live out this mission. He was going to call Israel back to God and God’s covenant and then suffer death on a cross and bring resurrection.
Coming up out of the waters of the River Jordan in baptism, Jesus was going to fulfill this mission as God’s beloved Son and teach in the power of the Spirit. He would include others in this mission as well and call persons to him who would carry out this mission to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20).
How is God calling us to fulfill our mission, to know our “Why”? How is God calling us to share and grow in how we follow Jesus?
Pastor Andy Kinsey
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