The Ongoing Mission of Jesus on Earth

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me; because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isaiah 61:1).

Mission of Jesus 

Directed by God, Isaiah first prophesied this a few hundred years before Jesus was born. When Jesus began His ministry as an adult, He quoted this verse, declaring He was the one about whom Isaiah had prophesied this. This statement proclaims what Jesus was sent to earth to do.

Arrival

When Jesus first arrived on earth, He did not drop down from the sky as an adult, flying from heaven to earth like Superman. Instead, He was born as a human baby, having grown in His mother’s womb full-term.

Jesus was the firstborn to Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus. Theirs was not a normal marriage right from the start. While they were still engaged, Mary became pregnant with Jesus. Joseph and Mary both knew Joseph was not the father of this child.

Unplanned by Man, God’s Plan

Although this pregnancy was not part of Joseph and Mary’s plans, God knew all about it, having planned it a very long time in advance. God was not going to change His plans.

When Joseph and Mary needed information so they could participate with God in His plans, He sent an angel, first to Mary, and then to Joseph in their separate homes. Informed by God’s angel, they learned God Himself was the Father of the child in Mary’s womb.

With this new information God provided to them, Joseph and Mary proceeded with plans to get married. Because of her pregnancy, they would not have had an entirely typical wedding.

Unexpected travel

Now married, another complication developed when, late in the pregnancy, Joseph and Mary had to travel out of town. 

God Himself planned His welcoming committee. He arranged for a bunch of angels to make a surprise announcement in the middle of the night to some shepherds, guarding their sheep from night predators.

The announcement was so intriguing that when one of the angels gave the shepherds directions, they delightedly went into town to visit the newborn baby and His parents.

Ongoing mission

After Jesus was born and the family settled down to live in Nazareth, Joseph and Mary had more children. Jesus was part of a blended family.

The family Jesus grew up in was shrouded in mystery and a hint of scandal. After Jesus began His ministry as an adult, some people considered Him an outcast because of His parentage. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus knew God was the Father of Jesus. Others were left to wonder.

The Mission Unfolded

The emotional pain Jesus felt from the smears of others, enabled Him to better relate to the brokenhearted, the captives, and those bound with shackles in prison. These were the people who understood more readily the hope Jesus offered them.

No family on earth is completely normal. There is something dysfunctional in all of us. Jesus came to earth to bridge the gap between the dysfunctional (us with sin) and the perfect (God with no sin). When we let Jesus represent us as individuals before the holy God, God accepts us. Jesus’ blood covering our sins makes us clean in God’s sight.

Our Mission

At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus having come to earth to redeem us to continue to do His mission.  We can continue this work, “to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isaiah 61:1). God’s gift continues in us.

Merry Christmas 2023 and Happy New Year 2024! We seek God for peace on earth, so desperately needed.

“Father tell me where I fit into this plan of yours” Michael Card  Joseph’s Song.

 

Shirley Logsdon