Did Jesus Have Dreams?
Welcome back to Going Deeper! I hope you’re having a great day. Over the weekend, I had the chance to attend the Lifeway Women’s Live Conference in Louisville, Kentucky — which is only about a 45-minute drive from me. I wanted to share some nuggets from the messages I heard because it was such a great experience. I’m really grateful I got to go before having this baby.
There were so many incredible speakers: Jada Edwards, Jen Wilkin, Kristi McLelland, Jennifer Rothschild, Courtney Doctor, Kelly Minter — and I took copious notes during their talks. I just want to share some quotes that really stood out to me.
Jada Edwards was first, and honestly, I’d never heard her live before. She’s so solid and hilarious — we laughed a lot! Here are a few of her quotes that really resonated:
“We can take in information without transformation.” Isn’t that the truth? We consume so much content but often don’t let it change us.
“The hard place, or the exile, is not a waiting place but a working place.” So many of us want to just wait out the wilderness, but God is calling us to work in the wilderness.
“The presence of God is greater than the provision of God.” That one hits deep. We often want God’s provision more than His presence, but His presence is what truly sustains us.
Jen Wilkin spoke on generosity, and one line I loved was: “The Spirit does not fill the full, but the empty.” Empty me of self-reliance, comparison, and greed.
Kristi McLelland spoke on Sabbath, saying, “Sabbath will calibrate your soul.” How good is that?
They had a panel discussion on how to be agents of grace in a divided generation. Jen Wilkin shared:
“Empathize before evaluating.” Too often, we want to fix or judge before we listen and empathize.
“More conversations than confrontation.”
“Anytime I want to make a statement, I ask a question.” That nugget was so good because I’m someone who wants to fix things quickly — but asking questions like “Tell me more about that” opens up better dialogue.
Kristi McLelland closed the panel with this powerful thought:
“Increase the net amount of shalom in the world.”
“I want to be known for what I’m for, not what I’m against.” Could we all just sit with that during this election season? What if people knew us for what we stand for — Christ — instead of what we stand against?
If you ever get a chance to attend a Lifeway Women’s Live conference, I highly recommend it. It’s so refreshing for the spirit.
Before we dive into today’s topic, I want to say I have no formal book recommendations today — but honestly, anything by Jen Wilkin or Kristi McLelland is fantastic.
Should We Chase Our Dreams? Did Jesus Chase His?
What was Jesus passionate about pursuing? What future did He envision for Himself? While Jesus doesn’t need to be put in a box, and this may seem like a discussion about semantics, I think it’s important because it prompts us to dig deeper into the dreams and ideals we have for ourselves and to look at them in a different light.
How Do We Define a Dream?
To start unpacking this, the first question we need to answer is: how do we define a dream? Nowadays, you can just Google it, and AI helps you too—which is so cool but also kind of freaky. If you type into Google “What is a dream?” you’ll get this definition: a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
When I compare it to other dictionaries, like dictionary.com (my favorite), the definition is the same: a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
What Aspirations and Ambitions Did Jesus Have?
So then the next question is, what aspirations and ambitions did Jesus have? What, in His eyes, was considered ideal? The first thing that comes to mind for me is that Jesus was extremely mission-minded.
When I think of Jesus, I don’t think of aspirations or goals the way we might today. I think of Him as mission-minded. But is there a difference? Is there a difference between aspiration or ambition and mission?
Since I’m a word nerd (I love words and writing), I looked it up in a thesaurus. For the word mission, here are some synonyms: assignment, job, calling, duty, objective, operation.
For aspiration or ambition, you find words like desire, dream, longing, passion, wish.
Do you notice a difference? A mission is more like an important assignment someone has to carry out, whereas an aspiration is a hope or ambition to achieve something in the future.
What Was Jesus’s Mission?
What was Jesus’s assignment? I wouldn’t say Jesus was primarily driven by desires or ambitions, but rather by a mission.
Look at Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Throughout the Gospels, over 100 times, His concern for the Kingdom of God is clear. He was on a mission to seek and save the lost and bring God’s kingdom down.
Did Jesus Have Dreams?
Okay, so that was His mission. But was Jesus a dreamer? Did He have dreams? A dream is connected to desire, a want, a hope for the future. What did He desire?
One passage that encouraged and inspired me while working on my book proposal was John 17 — His final prayer before His arrest. This prayer gives us a picture into the heart of Christ, what He truly desired and longed for.
Listen to John 17:24-26:
“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory.”
What’s inspiring is that on the night before He knew He would die, He washed His disciples’ feet. What would our prayers look like on the night before our death? That night reveals our greatest desires.
In John 17, Jesus is praying earnestly for His disciples and for His people: that we would see His glory, know God as He knows God, that God would be made known, and that we would know the love of the Father.
While He prayed for the cup to be taken from Him (He hoped to avoid the cross), He still prayed, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” He was always about the Father’s business, surrendered to His calling, mission, and destiny.
Let’s argue briefly these two positions around the question: Did Jesus have dreams as we think of them today?
Yes, Jesus had dreams. He was clearly determined and devoted to saving sinners. I’m sure He dreamed of the day heaven would come down or the day He would walk out of the tomb, conquering death and Satan.
And aren’t we all dreamers in a sense? We move with purpose—toward financial freedom, career changes, new houses. If I were handed the down payment for my dream home with cash for renovations, who wouldn’t take that?
But here’s the catch: most of our dreams focus on more — more comfort, more possessions, more success. We rarely dream about less. We want comfort, not pain. Very few dream of leaving comfortable suburban homes for uncertain, nomadic living (though some do).
So yes, Jesus likely had hopes and a vision for the future, but our dreams often focus on ourselves, comfort, and ease.
On the other hand, Jesus might not have “dreamed” as we do.
What if your life was predetermined before you were born? What if your destiny was known from the start? It would be hard—and terrifying—to dream in that context.
For Jesus, this was true. His earthly parents heard from an angel about His destiny before His conception, and His heavenly Father knew God’s plan from before creation.
Since Jesus is God, He knew exactly how His life would unfold—from birth to resurrection to ascension.
There was no dreaming—only predestining.
From Genesis to Revelation, Jesus’s story is woven tightly. His ministry, death, resurrection, and reign were all laid out. He knew His life would end at Calvary, but He also knew He would walk out of the tomb.
His future was glorious but marked by pain and sacrifice. He warned His disciples repeatedly about His death (Matthew 16:21).
Why would anyone dream of such a fate—mockery, beating, crucifixion?
He told His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)
In essence, Jesus said, “I’m going to die. If you follow me, you must die too—die to yourself, your comforts, your life. But then you will rise with me.”
So, Was Jesus a Dreamer?
What do you think? Did Jesus have dreams? Or was He predestined by God to accomplish His mission and now sits enthroned at God’s right hand?
I don’t think a definitive answer is necessary, but here’s what we know:
Jesus came to earth with one primary purpose and was obedient to the Father all the way to the end.
Why Does This Matter?
We call ourselves followers of Jesus—disciples. In Jewish culture, the rabbi-disciple relationship wasn’t about information but imitation. Christy McClellan put it well: “It is not so much ‘learn from me’ but ‘become just like me.’”
The disciples’ goal was to reflect their rabbi. Ephesians 5:1-2 says:
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Jesus’s life wasn’t what our culture would call a dream. Yes, He shared beautiful experiences, taught thousands, performed miracles, and raised the dead. But His life was marked by surrender, submission, servanthood, and sacrifice.
He knew His destination—the cross and then the empty tomb—and headed obediently in that direction, bringing salvation to all.
What About Us?
So, what about us?
We live in a dream culture chasing ideals, beautiful kitchens, dream homes, bodies, careers. I’m not saying we can’t enjoy God’s blessings. But have we elevated those blessings above the Giver?
Has our God-given desire for the future overshadowed our devotion to God Himself? Has longing for the ideal stifled our contentment today and made us forget that this earth isn’t our home?
Would we actually model Jesus if it meant a miserable death?
Amy DiMarcangelo, in Hunger for More, says:
“Words spoken in pompous pulpits and best-selling books tell us to claim the futures we want, in faith of course. After all, as sons and daughters of the King, we should be recipients of abundance. Meanwhile, it’s forgotten that our King wore a crown of thorns.” Oof. That hits hard.
Here’s the good news: Jesus never picked perfect disciples. Romans 5:7-9 shows us it’s not about our adequacy but about walking in Christ’s adequacy.
We may feel discouraged when we look at Jesus and our imperfect selves, but it’s about Him being perfect, and us being in Him. We are not just followers; we are in Christ.
If you want your mind blown, study that doctrine for a while.
What is your purpose as a believer? What are you called to do?
It’s everywhere in Scripture, but do you know your unique calling? I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all answer. It changes by season.
But we must be intentional—to walk in what we already know we’re called to and to discover what God wants us to do today.
Jesus knew His calling and was obedient.
Final Thoughts
Over two years, I’ve wrestled with the message of chasing dreams. While I believe much of it is rooted in selfishness, God can redeem it.
He can give us a dream, a vision, a purpose.
But we must be mindful, aware of the extreme messaging to chase dreams and passions that often focus on self.
Christ was selfless and others-focused, devoted to His destiny to bring salvation.
What Do You Think?
Was Jesus a dreamer? Did He have dreams or was He predestined to accomplish God’s will?
This conversation is layered and ongoing.
If this sparked thoughts, questions, or encouragement, please reach out via email—I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks so much for listening. If you got something from this episode, please leave a review or share it with a friend.
I’ll catch you again next week!
