Jesus’ Mission Is Simple and Powerful and Never Deceptive and Ambiguous - John 10-12

 John 12:44-50 (ESV)

Jesus Came to Save the World

And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 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. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

Most of us know about the mission statement of an organization.  It is posted in their lobby to declare to the world around them why they exist. It is basically to make a profit to line their pockets with cash.  But, few ever just say, “We have this company to make a lot of cash!”   Mission statements of companies can be quite deceiving.    Governments do the same thing.  They exist to serve the people, or so they say.  But, they really exist to keep power over people.   Mission statements of governments can be deceiving.   Churches have mission statements too.   They exists to present God to the world.  But, far too often, they are mostly just conduits for communities to enjoy false hope.   Church’s mission statements can be deceiving.   

But in the above passage we have Jesus mission statement.   There is nothing ambiguous or deceptive in it.  Jesus came to save the world by speaking the words that His Father told Him to speak.   He did not come to judge.   But that does not mean that those who reject the words that Jesus spoke won’t be judged.  They will be.  They will be judged by the words He spoke on the authority of His Father.   But Jesus’ mission is plain, simple and powerful.  He came to save the world.   He came to give light to a dark world that they might see Him and glorify His Father.  Nothing is more simple and yet powerful as Christ’s mission for coming. There is no deception in it.  Therefore, what He said is what the Father told Him to say.  Those words are both the words of life and the words that judge and condemn those who reject the words.