Mission Accomplished

Monday February 5, 2018

 

The Mission

If there ever was anyone who had an urgent and busy schedule it had to be Jesus. His mission was to save the world, past, present and future in only three years.

 

Mission Launch

 Before Jesus began the most important mission in the history of the world, the first thing he did was to spend forty days alone with God.

 

At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days …

– Mark 1:12-13 NIV

 

The Mission’s Priority

One evening when the sun had set, an entire town gathered at the door where Jesus was staying. Some were sick and others possessed. One by one, Jesus healed many of them. It was early the next morning and there were many more people waiting in line for Jesus but he went out the back door to find a solitary place to be alone with God. This was Jesus’ most important priority.

 

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” – Mark 1:36-37 NIV

 

Decision Making

It was time for Jesus to choose twelve men who would become part of the most important mission in the history of the world, the apostles. If they didn’t fulfill their part the mission would fail. But before Jesus the Son of God chose these twelve men, he went to a mountainside where he spent the night in prayer.

 

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles … – Luke 6:12-13 NIV

 

The Mission Must Go On

 It had to be one of the longest and most difficult days of Jesus’ life. It was early in the day when Jesus surrounded by a large crowd was informed that his cousin John the Baptist had been beheaded. His first reaction was to cross a lake in order to be alone with his disciples. The crowds however followed him. Feeling compassion for them Jesus ministered to their needs until evening. When it was time to leave the disciples informed Jesus that the crowd had nowhere to go to eat. Jesus then fed the crowd of five thousand with a few loaves of bread and baskets of fish. No mater how exhausted he must have been that day, Jesus went up on a mountainside to spend time alone with God.

 

Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. – Mark 6:45-46 NIV

 

Revelation

 The time had come for Jesus to reveal the details of God’s mission to the apostles. Jesus would tell them that God’s plan was for him to suffer, die, and resurrect three days later.

 

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am? …”  Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” – Luke 9:18, 21-22 NIV

 

About the Mission

 Jesus was with his apostles when the time for him to die on the cross drew near and the unbearable pressure began to mount. If ever there were ever a time to abort the mission, this was the time. This was the last exit before having to pay the toll. What did Jesus do?

 

He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done. – Luke 22:41-42

 

Final Preparations

 It was time to fulfill the mission. The time for Jesus to hang on the cross for the sins of the world had come. What were Jesus’ final preparations? He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to be alone with God.

 

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” – Mark 14:32 NIV

 

God is the Mission

 From start to finish, Jesus understood the importance of spending time alone with God. Whether everyone was seeking him or when no one wanted to be near him, he always prioritized his time alone with God. Before he made a crucial decision he spent time alone with God. When the crowds gathered and followed him and when he was given the devastating news of the murder of his cousin, he still prioritized his time alone with God. Prior to revealing the details of God’s plan, he spent time alone with God. When the pressure and stress of his task was too much to bear, he chose to spend time alone with God.

 

If Jesus the Son of God prioritized God in everything he did, how much more should we seek to spend time alone with God in everything that we do? Before we start or finish something, in good times and in bad, when we need to make crucial decisions or just need to fulfill the ones we already made, even when the pressure is too much to handle, if Jesus prioritized time alone with God then we should too! Because when everything is said and done, the mission is always to prioritize God.