The Reason Why

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”  John 18:37 NASB

Purpose – Well, this word, “purpose,” isn’t actually in the Greek text.  It’s implied, of course, which is why the translators have added it, but what the Greek actually says is “for this.”  The pronoun refers to the later statement “to testify to the truth.”  In other words, Yeshua is telling Pilate that the reason he is here is to be a witness to the truth.  That’s it!  Nothing more.  In his view, “this” means that all those who hear what he has to say will recognize it to be the truth.

It is interesting that the verb used for “testify” is martyréō, from which we derive the English “martyr.”  Witnessing for the truth often leads to death in a world that embraces lies.  But that isn’t what strikes me in Yeshua’s statement.  What really grabs my attention is that he knew the reason why he existed.  He knew his purpose.  He was absolutely clear about what he needed to accomplish in his life and he never deviated from that path.  Oh, how I wish I could say the same!  Perhaps you do too.

I’m sure you remember the best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life.  I have my autographed copy.  Why did that book become an instant best-seller?  Because most people can’t say with absolute conviction, “For this I have been born.”  Most of us wander into objectives, and because we found them by accident or opportunity, we often wander away as well.  Our paths are not straightforward single-minded commitment.  They are a series of highways and byways, of detours and distractions.  Perhaps we accomplish great things, but those rarely come about through deliberate dedication.  We stumble into life.  That’s why motivational clips from men like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Yo-Yo Ma inspire us.  We idolize those who are so dedicated precisely because we aren’t.  We make personal resolutions in an effort to find inner motivation, but usually, and typically, it doesn’t last.  Drift takes over—again.  How often I wish I had dedicated myself to something noble, something great.  But, as the communist colonel in the movie The International said, “I was once destined to become a man much like yourself.  True-hearted, determined, full of purpose.  But, character is easier kept than recovered.  We cannot control the things life does to us.  They are done before you know it, and once they are done, they make you do other things, until at last everything comes between you and the man you wanted to be.”

The secret to true-hearted purpose is what you don’t do.  The pathway is determined by what you leave out.  Otherwise, everything will come between you and the person you wanted to be.  No one, not even the Messiah, can survive a Messiah-complex.  Only God can do everything with excellence.  And so today, a worldwide religious holiday, I ask myself once more, “Why did I come into the world?”  I wish I knew the answer.  Perhaps I will when I can say, “For this I am willing to die.”  Or perhaps I have just lived too long.

Topical Index: purpose, true-hearted, testify, martyréō, John 18:37