Matthew 28:18-20 CSB – Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Luke 19:10 CSB – “I have come to seek and to save the lost.”
Jesus stayed on mission despite physical threats
Mark 11:28-30 CSB – “By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?”
Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; then answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was John’s baptism from heaven or of human origin? Answer me.”
Mark 12:1-9, 12 CSB – “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug out a pit for a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went away. 2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers to collect some of the fruit of the vineyard from them. 3 But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.4 Again he sent another servant to them, and they[a] hit him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 Then he sent another, and they killed that one. He also sent many others; some they beat, and others they killed.
6 He still had one to send, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill the farmers and give the vineyard to others.
12They were looking for a way to arrest him but feared the crowd because they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
Jesus stayed focus on mission despite the threat of being unpopular
Mark 12:13ff, Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.
When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful and don’t care what anyone thinks, nor do you show partiality
… but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.”16 They brought a coin. “Whose image and inscription is this?” he asked them.
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
1 Thessalonians 2:4 CSB – …we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.
so we speak, not to please people, but rather God, who examines our hearts.
Jesus stayed on mission despite pressures to compromise theologically
Mark 12:28-34 CSB – One of the scribes approached. When he heard them debating and saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which command is the most important of all?”
Jesus answered, “The most important is Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. 31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”
32 Then the scribe said, “You are right, teacher. …33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
v.34, When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.
“A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world-and might be even more difficult to save.” – C.S. Lewis
Colossians 3:2 CSB – “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
“If the devil can’t make us bad, he’ll make us busy.” – Corrie Ten Boom
