He Came to Preach

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

If you listen to some Christ followers, you’d think that Jesus came into this world to perform miracles, signs, and wonders. As important as they are, they weren’t His primary mission. They actually took second place to His preaching. 

The Gospel of Mark records a morning after a rather remarkable evening of healing and deliverance from demon possession [Mark 1:29-38]. Evidently, many people had already come to the house to see Jesus, but He wasn’t there. The disciples found Him in an isolated place where He had gone to pray. They told Him about the crowd looking for Him, but Jesus told them it was time for Him to preach elsewhere. In fact, He told them the reason He came was to preach [1:38].

Miracles, signs, and wonders do no ultimate good if people reject the gospel. The message of Christ, and about Christ, surpasses miracles, signs, and wonders in terms of importance. He came to “seek and to save that which is lost” [Luke 19:10]. He came to shed His blood “for many for the forgiveness of sins” [Matthew 26:28]. If you diminish that message, there is no “Good News” to proclaim. 

Perhaps that is why the Apostle Paul put so much emphasis on preaching. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” [Romans 10:15-16].

In his book Sharpening the Focus of the Local Church, Gene Getz points out that in the book of Acts, “preaching” was always to unbelievers; “teaching” was always to the believers. When Jesus came to “preach,” He was preaching Himself, the “Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world” [John 1:29].

You are a preacher rather you know it or not. That is really a wonderful thing. You are born again and have been entrusted with The Message the world needs to hear. In the words of Andrae Crouch:

I'm gonna keep on singin'

I'm gonna keep on shoutin'

I'm gonna keep on liftin' my voice

And let the world know that Jesus saves

© Words and Music by Andrae Crouch, 1971

They found Him and said, “Everyone’s looking for You!” And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”  Mark 1:37-38