Can I Ask That? – Part Thirteen – What Was the Purpose of Jesus’ Life and Ministry?
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010%3A7-11&version=NIV
The Divine Yes: The Purpose of Jesus’ Life as the Redemption of Humanity
As we grow older, it becomes more common for us to reflect on our lives, sometimes leading to struggling with a list of regrets. Missed opportunities, strained relationships, intentional sins, or mistakes made along the journey weigh heavily on the heart, particularly in later years when time seems more precious and past choices seem more unalterable. Theseregrets remind us of a more profound longing we all have: a desire for a life fully lived, one filled with purpose, meaning, and a connection to something greater than oneself. Yet, humanity’s struggle with brokenness and regret is not just a byproduct of individual choices; it is part of a more significant spiritual conflict that has obscured human life’s true purpose and potential.
The words of Jesus, found in John 10:7-11, cut through this confusion. Here, Jesus speaks plainly: “I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers… The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In this passage, Jesus reveals both the opposition he faces and the life he offers. Satan—the thief—has robbed humanity of its purpose, distorting life itself and filling it with aimlessness, regret, and alienation from God. This destructive work of Satan is why Jesus came: he came to restore human life to its original purpose, to break the power of canceled sin, and to offer us a life of abundance, fulfillment, and peace.
Matthew’s Gospel presents a genealogy of Jesus that traces his lineage back to Abraham and David, emphasizing his fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and his rightful place as the Messianic King. But Luke’s genealogy goes back even further, all the way to Adam, underscoring that Jesus came not just as the fulfillment of Israel’s story but as the Redeemer of all humanity. Jesus came to rewrite the human story, restoring the purpose of life that Satan had sought to rob us of since the beginning. Through his life, Jesus reveals how God originally intended humanity to live before sin entered the world and diverted human existence from its divine purpose.
The human story begins with God’s generous love, as he created a world for us to inhabit and fill with life. But in the Garden of Eden, Satan planted seeds of rebellion, tempting humans to say no to God and choose self-reliance over trust. This disobedience fractured humanity’s relationship with God, redirecting human life from its intended purpose of communion with him to a life marked by self-centeredness, regret, and separation. Yet Jesus came to rewrite this story. In the wilderness, he faced the same temptation to assert His independence from God: turning stones into bread, testing God, and taking power on his own terms. But Jesus chose instead to say yes to God’s will. In doing so, he began the work of redemption, resisting the selfish impulses that have derailed humanity from the beginning.
This journey of saying yes to God culminated in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus faced his most profound test. Asthe burden of his impending crucifixion bore down on him, He prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Here, Jesus’ “yes” became God’s ultimate “yes” to us, a divine affirmation of His love for humanity and His commitment to restore us to himself. As E. Stanley Jones writes in The Divine Yes, Jesus’ life and actions reveal God’s affirmative stance toward us, his desire not to condemn but to redeem, to offer a new way of living, free from the bondage of regret and self-doubt.
Through Jesus, God’s original design for human life is laid bare. He came not merely to offer forgiveness of sin but to reorient human life itself—to show us how to live fully in relationship with God, in alignment with his will, and in love with one another. The purpose of Jesus’ life, then, was not only to confront and overcome the power of sin but to embody the fullness of life that He desires for each of us. In saying yes to God, Jesus restored what had been lost, offering humanity a way back to the life we were created to live, a life of purpose, wholeness, and divine joy.
As we reflect on our own lives, we may still find ourselves haunted by regrets, yet we can take heart in the truth that Jesus’ life offers redemption and a path forward. His life, death, and resurrection are an invitation for us to embrace God’s divine yes, to let go of the burdens of the past, and to step into a life of purpose and abundance. Through him, we are called to say yes to God and, in doing so, find ourselves embraced by the fullness of God’s love and life—the life He intended for us from the very beginning.