“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.'” (John 20:21)

This must be one of the most important statements found in the book of John, regarding the duty that Jesus has given His followers. He says “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” This command is PACKED with implications. What does it mean that He is sending US, the way that the Father had sent Him?

— He had left a place of comfort, fellowship and glory (with His Father in heaven) to come to earth on mission in order to save us — so in the same way, WE are to leave our places of comfort, to go on mission in the world to save others.

— He made great sacrifices to fulfill His Father’s will — so we are to sacrifice to do His will. That means hardship, deprivation, suffering, and even death, for that is what He did for us.

— Jesus’ work was based on scripture; He always looked to His Father’s will; and He did His work full of the Spirit — a model for our ministries as well.

— Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” We are to have the same goal.

— The Father sent Jesus to glorify His name as His ultimate purpose. In John 17:4, Jesus prayed: “I glorified You on the earth …”.  This is our ultimate goal on earth too: to glorify God. I Corinthians 10:31 says that in everything we do, we are glorify Him.

In all of these ways and more, just as the Father sent Jesus, so Jesus is sending US, to follow in His steps.

At the conclusion of His earthly ministry, Jesus could say that He had indeed completed the work that His Father gave Him to do. May we be able to say the same thing. For just as the Father sent Him, so He has sent us.