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Monday, December 07, 2015

Advent Day 7: Jesus Came to Accomplish the Will of His Father



38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” 
(John 6:38-40 ESV)

Jesus is radically committed to accomplishing the will of his Father.  We see it over and over again in the Scriptures.  In Matthew 6:10 the disciples ask Jesus how to pray.  In response, he tells them to pray to the Father, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  When Jesus teaches people to pray, he tells them to ask for His Father's will to be done. 

On the night when Jesus would later be arrested, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him to Gethsemane to spend time in prayer with his Father, "then he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me'" (Matthew 26:38).  He then walks away from them for a time of solitude and prays, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will" (Matthew 26:39)

On that night, Jesus knows what he is going to face over the next day, pressing his soul into deep sorrow.  But, even so, what Jesus cares most deeply about is not his own will, but that of his Father. He is willing to do whatever it takes to bring about his Father's will. 

It is with this radical commitment to his Father's will that Jesus says, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (John 6:38).  We're given a mission statement for Jesus' birth from his own lips.  Jesus took on flesh and came as a human baby because of his passion for the will of His Father.

And, when we learn what the will of the Father is our hearts should overflow with joy; "this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day" (John 6:39).  Jesus' commitment to his Father's will is a commitment to the endurance of our faith.  Verse 40 tells us that those who believe in the Son will be kept by the Son, and will be raised up on the last day.  Those who the Father gives to the Son, will believe, and those who believe will be kept by him.

Our hope and confidence is found in the steadfast and unwavering desire Jesus has to accomplish the will of his Father. The Father's will is that Jesus not lose even one soul of those who have been given to him.  Not one.  Have no doubt, he will get it done. 

When we reflect on the birth of Jesus this Christmas, we can see in the manger the assurance of our salvation. The reason he came to earth was to be sure those who the Father gave him trust him to the very last day.



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