SOUTHSIDE CHURCH OF CHRIST

''For this purpose I have been sent,'' Sunday, 14 January 2001

Jan 12, 2001

Leland R. Ping

Luke's account of the gospel begins with the account of the birth of John (the Baptist) and is followed by the details of the birth of his cousin, Jesus. As these two grow older, they turn their attention to doing God's will which eventually leads Jesus back to Nazareth where he was rejected by his boyhood community.
Jesus eventually works his way to Capernaum where he casts out an unclean spirit, healed the mother of Peter's wife and at the end of the day, numerous individual inflicted with sickness and disease were brought to him wherein he healed them. The power that Jesus had to heal such infirmities was of course to be admired and for those who had additional sicknesses, to be sought.
The next day, many did just that - they sought Jesus and tried to persuade Him from leaving. But, Jesus said to these people that, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent" (Luke 4:43). What these people hadn't understood was that the purpose of Jesus' existence was not to heal each and every disease of mankind, nor to spend his entire life performing miracles in front of large gatherings of onlookers. Jesus was about a more important task - bringing a message of hope to the world.
When Jesus stated that he came to the world "not to destroy men's lives but to save them," he wasn't making reference to his intention to perform numerous miracles (Luke 9:56). The Son of God told the twelve apostles that they should be concerned not about those things of the body, but instead to "fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).
Like those who witnessed Jesus' miracles, we oftentimes lose sight of our real purpose in life - serving God. We begin to become concerned about those things that, in the end, are meaningless. It is for us, then to heed the words of Jesus and fear that One who can destroy us eternally.
With the recognition that Jesus came to the world to teach and to bring salvation, let us live our lives in His service and teach others to do the same.