Purpose

The Wedding At Cana

I once read how thoughtless Jesus was at age 12 when He left His parents to spend time with the priests in Jerusalem. Definitely not 21st century America where parents come under the scrutiny of city and/or state government for allowing their children to walk to a park and back home.

Is that Jerusalem trip an indictment of Jesus or His parents? Hardly. It is a description of one incident in His life. One that shows His obedience to His Heavenly Father, and to His earthly parents. There is no indication they considered punishment:

And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2:50-52 KJV)

There is another incident on my mind – a wedding at Cana. Once again His mother did not understand, made a minor request and her son declined. She continued with instructions:

His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. (John 2:5 KJV)

For all of her pondering after His birth, she could not see past the earthly things. She isn’t alone. His disciples spent three years looking for an earthly king and abandoned Him after Gethsemane. The religious leaders of the day never accepted His assurance that prophecy was fulfilled.

Oh, He told them, but you’d have to read all four gospels all the way through to get all the verses where He openly spoke of God’s purpose, Jesus’ reason for being here. Then you’d have to read the remainder of the New Testament as His purpose was put to work. Not until His resurrection – just as He said – did His disciples begin to understand. Not until Thomas stood before Him did he cease to doubt.

Jesus was born for a purpose.

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10 KJV)

And that brings forth questions – from people who are supposed to have answers:

Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? (John 3:9-12 KJV)

Jesus continued to speak of heavenly things with the purpose of bringing mankind closer to heaven:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:14-18 KJV)

Our purpose? To believe Him and be like Him. Thanks be to God that He’s still patiently working with me to fulfill that purpose.