THE MISSION
(Luke 5:27-32)

Some years ago, a television program was popular, called Mission Impossible. It began with a secret message, describing a special task, given to an operative. The message would then self-destruct. The rest of the program dealt with the collection of the necessary tools and personnel to accomplish their task. I would like to share some thoughts about a mission, an extremely important one. Jesus Himself gives us the example of how to carry it out: Our text says:

JESUS CAME (vs 27)
"he went forth"
A typical day in the life of Jesus. He went around the countryside sharing the message of the Kingdom. Jesus came to us. He left His throne in Heaven for a manger in Bethlehem. How many of us are willing to leave the comfort of our familiar surroundings to go where the greatest needs are found? It may not necessarily be a foreign country, it may be in our own neighborhood or next door. The important thing is Jesus was willing to come. Are we willing to go wherever He leads?

JESUS CALLED (vs 27, 28)
"He said unto him, (Levi) Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him."
Levi was a Jewish tax-collector for the Roman government. Many of the taxcollectors were greedy and collected more taxes than necessary. The Jews despised them and considered them traitors. Jesus didn't condone their greed, yet He didn't avoid them or ignore them either. It says He saw Levi, sitting at the tax-booth and called him to follow. Note, Jesus did not try to criticize him or ridicule him, He asked him to follow. Are you calling others to follow Jesus? We are not asking them to join a Church or follow a set of moral guidelines. There's nothing wrong with these things, but our primary mission is to call others to follow a Savior. He will take care of their spiritual needs and fill in the spiritual gaps.

JESUS MADE CONTACT (vs 29)
"And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them."
Levi obviously wanted others to experience the same joy of following Jesus that he experienced. How innovative to throw a big party and invite all his taxcollector friends. Jesus was willing to attend and reach out to those who came. How might you reach out to someone today? A tract? A friendly conversation? An invitation to have dinner or lunch? There are many ways, but the one important thing is that we are willing to have contact with someone who needs Christ.

JESUS WAS CRITICIZED (vs 30)
"But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?"
Because Jesus was willing to come to the party and talk to those who were sinners, the Scribes and Pharisees became outraged. Didn't Jesus know better than to have anything to do with such vile people? Unfortunately, we still have some who feel that parts of our society are beyond help and should be shunned by Christians. The only problem with that is how can we possibly share the good news of salvation? Reaching out to the lost, showing an interest in them and their needs is the example Jesus gives. Whose example are we to follow, the critics, or the Lords? Jesus' goal was to reach all He could with as many ways as He could.

JESUS CURES (vs 31, 32)
"And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
The key words in this verse are sick, sinners and repentance. Jesus the Great Physician, came to take care of sin sick sinners. The remedy was His own life. Jesus, who knew no sin, took upon Himself the sin of mankind, and died to pay the penalty for their sin (2 Cor 5:21). He alone has the cure. We may be criticized and condemned and ridiculed for sharing the message, but it's worth it. The word repent means a 'change of attitude that results in a change of direction'. Will you reach out and share the message of repentance? Jesus calls all of us to follow Him. He will lead us in the right direction.

A young man accepted for the African mission field, joyfully took his family and went. He soon discovered however that his wife was unable to stand the climate. Sorrowfully, he returned to the states. Yet, he determined he would do his best to support missions in any way he could. He began a company to manufacture grape juice. The man's name - Welch. Welch's Grape Juice is a well known product today. He has given literally hundreds of thousands of dollars for missions support. God may take you in a different direction than what you had in mind, but we can always trust Him to lead us right. How might God use you in fulfilling the mission? God bless.