The Bible says we are like Jesus. And if we are like Him, we must follow His example.
“In this world we are like Jesus.”
— 1 John 4:17b
“Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.”
— 1 John 2:6
Identity with Purpose
Jesus taught in the synagogue, evangelized outside of it, and withdrew to pray in intimacy with the Father. The result was a life marked by obedience, service, and powerful works.
I have decided to follow His example: to teach inside, evangelize outside, and pray in secret.
The Model of Jesus: Obedience Over Popularity
His success wasn’t based on popularity, but on obedience. Jesus didn’t come to do His own will; He said it clearly:
“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me. […] The works the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me.”
— John 5:30,36
His identity was rooted in His relationship with God, not in His position before men. His obedience flowed from the deep love He had for the Father, and His works were the result of that love—not the other way around. In fact, this was the foundation of His preparation in the wilderness: not doing works to affirm His identity. And when temptation came, He withdrew to pray alone (Matthew 4:1–11; John 6:15).
Peter’s Calling: To Love What He Loves
Just as Jesus lived in obedience out of love, He also confronted Peter about his love—not only with words, but with a clear call to action.
Jesus asked him three times: “Do you love me?” And each time Peter answered, He demanded care for what He loved: “Feed my sheep.” Because true love is reflected in actions that seek to fulfill the desires of the beloved’s heart.
That love is what should drive us today, because only by loving as He loved can we give all that we are with excellence (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Jesus Was Focused on His Mission
Jesus had a very clear sense of purpose:
“I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God... because that is why I was sent.”
— Luke 4:43
“Shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”
— John 12:27
These words are the testimony of someone completely focused, bearing measurable fruit (Matthew 25:23; Luke 19:17).
Isaiah 49:2 declares that He has made our mouth like a sharpened sword and has made us into a polished arrow, hidden in His quiver and prepared for this time.
You can’t hit a target you haven’t identified, and you can’t hit it without aiming straight at it.
Do You Know Why You Were Sent?
Many people know the specific task or role they are to fulfill and even how to do it, but they overlook the Holy Spirit or have not clearly defined their mission, including the specific fruit God expects from their works.
Jesus opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and found His mission there:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
— Luke 4:18–19
Then He declared:
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
— Luke 4:21
In Jesus’ mission statement, we see:
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The how: the Holy Spirit and His anointing (without Him, we can do nothing — Acts 1:4; Numbers 14:42).
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The what: to proclaim the good news.
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The why: to heal, deliver, and restore.
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To whom: the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.
This blog is not enough to list all the miracles Jesus did while fulfilling this mission during His three years of ministry on earth.
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
— John 21:25
And not only that—Jesus said that we would do even greater things than these! (John 14:12)
Final Prayer
My prayer is that God would reveal to us our particular mission for this time. That every day we may look more like Christ: in love, in obedience, and also in powerful works (1 John 2:6).
I pray that we would position our hearts at His cross, and that we may grasp how wide, long, high, and deep is the love of Christ, so that we may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14–21). May we live to our full potential, for creation eagerly waits for the manifestation of the children of God (Romans 8:19).
May He Himself engrave our identity as children on our hearts, so that we no longer operate in condemnation or fear, and do not seek our value in external things or human positions, but in the freedom of being children of God—freedom Christ purchased for us on the cross (Romans 8:16–17); and in this, may our joy be made complete (John 16:24).
May we not fear being uncomfortable, even if we must overturn some tables out of zeal for God's house, and may we live above popular opinion (John 2:13–15). May we always seek to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29), and may His Spirit be fully manifested in our lives and through them (1 John 2:4–5), so that the world may know Him (John 17:23).
May we follow His example, so that we may reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
Jesus understood the challenges this would bring. In fact, He prayed that, if possible, the cup of suffering be taken from Him—but His rest did not come from avoiding it, but from fulfilling the mission entrusted to Him to the very end.
He believed—and still believes—in our potential for the Kingdom, and He longs for you and me to also reach the end of our lives and say, as He did:
“It is finished.”
— John 19:30
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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