The Goal of Ministry; John 1

May the mumbling commence!

Have you ever asked yourself this question: What is the goal of ministry in every Christian’s life?  We can learn a lot from the life of John the Baptist.  Read a passage from the gospel John chapter one:

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'   I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel." 

Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'   I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." (Verses 29-34)

The reason that John baptized was that Jesus might be revealed.  Though John the Baptist does not say it, this reason also drove the reason why John preached.  People were drawn to the ministry of John the Baptist.  Some of them were becoming John’s followers… 

When we minister for the Lord Jesus in order to reveal him to others, we too will have people drawn to us.  Some of them will think that they are following us, so we should strive to tell those who come to us the reason for our ministry – that Jesus might be revealed to them. 

We tell those who are drawn to us, “You may have been drawn to me, but that only happened because I was following someone greater than myself – Jesus, the Lamb of God.”  Yes, Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God whose sacrifice takes away the sin of the world.  And the same Spirit that rested upon Jesus after his baptism rests upon me and all those who call upon the name of Christ.  So, seek Jesus not me. 

Read a little further in John chapter one:

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples.  When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"

They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 

"Come," he replied, "and you will see."  So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. 

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.  The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). 

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." 

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.  Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 

"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.

"Come and see," said Philip. 

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 

"How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 

Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." (Verses 35-49)

John the Baptist did not stop his refrain of pointing to Jesus.  As a result, John’s followers soon became Jesus’ followers.  And Jesus was revealed to Andrew, who revealed him to his brother Simon.  (Maybe the other original follower was one of the Zebedee brothers, who brought the other son of Zebedee.)  Now, this growing following helped to reveal Jesus to Philip, who sought out Nathanael to reveal Jesus to him. 

The call to follow Jesus often happens through families, but the call to come and see almost always seems to through relationship.  So let’s build our relationships and point all we know to Jesus, the Lamb of God. 

Pointing others to Christ is the goal of all our ministries. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out