Notice that alongside Jesus, who has come into the world to bring life, there is also a thief who comes to steal. The thief takes away what was yours and leaves you with less than you had.

The thief has also come to kill and destroy. Once you had faith and hope and joy, but your faith is now a flickering candle. Your hope has been crushed. Water has been poured on the flame of your joy. You find yourself saying, “Something within me has died.”

We live at a time when many people are moving away from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There’s always a story behind this, and if you have enough trust to ask, you may open the door to a fruitful conversation. “Who stole what you had?” This is a really important question, and by asking it, you may help a person who is losing faith.

How are we to deal with thieves? Jesus said, “All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them” (Jn. 10:8). If you listen to thieves, they will take away everything of value.

If you’ve been robbed of faith, hope, love, or joy, you will likely find that you’ve been listening to the voice of a thief. Your recovery will begin when you listen to a different voice—the voice of Jesus—and the first thing He says is: “Learn to recognise those who steal, kill, and destroy.”

Have you been listening to the voice of a thief? Do you feel that something within you has died?

Someone might hear that Jesus has come into the world, and say, “So what? What difference is that to me?” Here are two reasons to rejoice:

1. Rejoice in the goodness of God
Suppose that this world was ruled by some dark power who sought our destruction. Suppose that this enemy sent his son to get his will done. There would be no Christmas. How could we celebrate the birth of one who came to destroy us?

Instead of “I have come down from heaven to do the will of him who sent me,” we would hear, “I have come up from hell, and this is the will of him who sent me: that I should save nothing of all that he has given me, but tear it down on the last day.”

However dark this world may seem, it is not ruled by some dark power. God in His abundant goodness offers eternal life to every person.

2. Rejoice in your security as a believer
You may wonder, “Is it possible that after all my believing I may finally be lost? Could it be that my faith was not strong enough? Could it be that my repentance was not deep enough? Could I come up short?”

No! It is the will of the Father that the Son should lose nothing of all He has been given. Your arrival in heaven does not depend on your feeble grip on Jesus but on His firm grip on you.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ came into the world not to condemn you but to save you? Do you believe that if you come to Him, He will never cast you out? Why would you run from a Saviour like this?

Maybe you are not sure if what God wills is really for you. Let’s consider the words of Jesus together:

“This is the will of my Father…”
Some of us could be described as strong-willed. Once you get hold of something, you won’t let it go. How strong is the will of almighty God? When He determines to do something, nothing will stop Him.

“Eternal Life”
Jesus tells us here what God has determined to do. God has a gift and He wants you to receive it—the gift of eternal life! This is more than life that never ends. Eternal life will be forever blessed, because it will be a life in the presence of God.

“Everyone…”
The Father’s will is that everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will have eternal life. Everyone! You can’t get more inclusive than that.

“Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him…”
God offers eternal life, but there is something for you to do: “everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him” (6:40). The first statement is explained by the second. To look on the Son means to believe in Him. To trust who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised.

“…should have eternal life”
You might say, “I used to believe, but I have wandered away. It’s too late to come back.” Listen, it is the will of the Father that everyone who believes in the Son should have eternal life.

You might say, “I have sinned in a dark and twisted way, and I don’t feel that there’s a way back to God.” Listen, it is the will of the Father that everyone who believes in the Son should have eternal life.

Everyone! There is no question about the will of the Father.

Is there something keeping you from God? Listen, it is the will of the Father that everyone who believes in the Son should have eternal life.

How did Jesus get the will of God done? Here are two ways:

Jesus came down from heaven
Notice Jesus tells us that He came “down from heaven.” His life did not begin in the manger. Before He lay in the arms of Mary, He was at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.

He says, “I have come down from heaven.” No prophet, no religious leader could ever say this. Heaven was and is His home. Why did He come down from heaven?

Jesus was ready to do whatever it took to get the Father’s will done
Jesus’ mission is to get the will of God done: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Mat. 6:10). Jesus is telling us, “This is why I came into the world. I came to do the will of Him who sent me. He gave certain people to Me. And His will is that nothing given to Me will be lost.”

Jesus went to the cross in order to get the Father’s will done. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Mat. 26:39).

Jesus went to the cross. He laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all who would believe, and that is how the will of God to redeem the people He had given to His Son was accomplished.

Take in the wonder of Jesus willingly coming down from heaven to face the cross for us so that God’s will would be done.

Here is another reason Jesus came into the world: to do the will of the Father. Jesus gives us an inside look at God’s will for every believer.

1. All who come to the Son are gifts from God the Father
If you are a believer in Jesus, you are a gift from God the Father to His Son. Here’s how you can know that this is true: All who have been given by the Father come to the Son. So if you have come to the Son, you know that you were given by the Father.

2. No one who is given to the Son will ever be lost
Jesus says, “I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost” (Jn. 17:12). Not one of them has been lost! On the last day, Jesus will stand in the presence of His Father with all who believe around Him and say, “Here I am, and the children you have given me” (Heb. 2:13).

3. Everyone the Father gives to the Son will be raised on the last day
At death, the soul is separated from the body. For a believer, to be away from the body is to be with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). But that is not the end for the body. Jesus says He will “lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (Jn. 6:39).

Jesus came to bring you—body and soul—into His presence forever. Your body will be restored and raised to a new level modelled on the resurrection body of Jesus.

“And this,” says Jesus, “is the will of God.”

Thank God for the reassurance that if you come to Jesus, the Son, it is not simply your decision. It is also God’s will.

Why doesn’t everyone respond positively to Jesus’ call to follow Him? Here are three different ways people respond:

1. I am too good to need repentance
Let’s accept for a moment that you are living a good moral life. Are you sure that you have nothing to repent of? Does your conscience never trouble you? Have you loved God with all your heart and have you loved your neighbour as yourself?

Stop kidding yourself! “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). That’s why Jesus came: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Lk. 5:32). So, if you keep insisting on your own righteousness, Jesus has nothing to offer you.

2. I am too bad to find repentance
Aren’t you glad that Jesus did not come to call the righteous? None of us would be called. And if none of us were called, none of us would follow. And if no one followed, no one would ever be changed.

Jesus said, “I have come to call sinners to repentance.” You can put your finger on that word “sinners” and say, “This means that Jesus calls me!” Jesus came to bring grace for you. He came so that change would be possible for you. He came so that the joy of a new life could be yours.

3. I will follow Jesus and pursue repentance
Change happens in the company of Jesus, so follow Him. Trust yourself to Him, and you’ll have the joy of discovering what He can do with your life.

Which of these three would you say has been your response to Jesus?

What comes to mind when you hear the word repentance? Do you imagine humiliation, shame, and being hard on yourself?

Here are three things about repentance that people often find surprising:

1. Repentance brings joy, not regret
If repentance is being hard on yourself, why would Jesus say that there is joy in heaven whenever a sinner repents (Lk. 15:7)? Repentance is something to celebrate! That’s why Levi’s first act is to hold a feast.

Repentance is not a miserable journey of self-loathing and regret. Repentance brings joy in heaven, and if there is joy over repentance in heaven, there will be joy in repentance for you.

2. Repentance happens, not before, but as you follow Jesus
Some people have the idea that you have to clean up your life, get your act together, and get rid of your baggage before you can follow Jesus. That would be a barrier that none of us could ever get over. Repentance happens in the company of Jesus. The message is not “Repent so that you can follow Jesus.” It is “Follow Jesus and you will be able to repent.”

3. Repentance is not a one-time thing, it actually deepens over time
Here is a helpful definition of repentance from J. I. Packer: “Repentance is turning from as much as you know of your sin, to give as much as you know of yourself, to as much as you know of your God.”

Packer’s definition helps us to see that as you see more of yourself, more of your own sin, and more of God, your repentance will deepen. As your repentance deepens, you will become more like Jesus. And, as you become more like Jesus, your joy will increase.

What would keep you from beginning, or travelling further along the path of repentance today?

This was an irreversible decision. Peter, Andrew, James, and John had a trade to return to, but the Romans would not have welcomed back a man who left his tax booth.

Jesus called Levi to a completely different life—not to add believing in Jesus to his old way of life, but to leave his old life for something new. When you follow Jesus, here’s what you will have:

A new identity
This man was known as a tax collector. Now he would be known as a disciple. People would remember what he had been, but it would no longer define him.

A new community
When Levi held a party in Jesus’ honour, he had a long invitation list. But he became part of a new community. The other disciples would never have had anything to do with Levi before, but they became his brothers.

A new mission
Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. That became Levi’s mission too. Jesus came to do the will of the Father. Levi’s new mission was the same.

A new name
Levi is better known by another name—Matthew—and most likely it was Jesus who gave it to him. Matthew means “Gift of God.”

This brings us to something wonderful: Levi was used by God to compile the Gospel of Matthew. Who better to keep records of all that Jesus did?

Levi could never have known what Jesus would do with his life, and the only way to discover what Jesus can do with your life is to step out in faith and follow Him. Are you ready to become more than you are right now?

Which of these do you most long for: a new identity, a new community, a new mission, or a new name?