Sermon Brief
Date Written: March 23, 2013
Date Preached: March 24, 2013
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Palm Sunday Sermon
Sermon Title: The Love of Jesus - What Do We Do With It?
Sermon Text: John 12 [ESV]
Introduction:
[Sing these 2 phrases…]
Jesus loves me this I know - FOR the Bible tells me so…
This song tells a message! This song tells a message that, AS BELIEVERS, we must tell to the world around us! “Jesus loves you” is NOT just for little children… “Jesus loves you” is for everyone…EVERYWHERE!
This sermon this morning PRESUPPOSES that Jesus loves us… I am going off the premise that God loves us and has shown His love to us in many ways. Thru creation but most of all through His Son Jesus!
We find the love of God revealed ALL throughout the Bible but we find the love of Jesus revealed all thru the NT Gospels where we find Jesus showing the love of God to all He encounters…
To those He did not know… Jesus offered Himself freely to accept them WHERE they were, and teach them what God had for them
To His disciples… He was a patient and caring teacher who loved them in spite of their inability to fully comprehend His teaching.
To YOU… Jesus has shown His love to ALL of humanity because was willing to exchange the worship of angels for the mocking of soldiers… willing to exchange the crown of heaven for a crown of thorns…
[Sing these 2 phrases…]
Yes Jesus loves me (3x)… The Bible tells me so…
Scripture is FILLED with the love of God as shown thru His righteous and loving Son, Jesus! We can read about it and we hear people tell us ALL the time about how Jesus loves us…
Just yesterday I was driving home on the frontage rd by the expressway and at an intersection a young man stood holding a sign that said… JESUS LOVES YOU!
In our passage of Scripture for this morning we know that the people in and around Jerusalem in the 1st century had heard about Jesus and what Jesus had done by way of miracles and teaching…most of them had actually seen the love of Jesus IN ACTION!
It is EVIDENT the people KNEW about Jesus…they had seen evidence of His love, but today I want us to see that even tho’ the love of Jesus was made known…
NONE of the people of Jesus’ day were able to understand His love, [and today people are still mystified by it]
MOST of the people of Jesus’ day could not bring themselves to accept His love, [today in our cynical, “what is in it for me” world…MOST people cannot accept a love that does not seek things for themselves first] but finally…
Very few of the people of Jesus’ day would make that leap of faith needed to receive His love [this is the same today, the love of Jesus is proclaimed daily, but there are so few people who are willing to make that leap of faith to receive His love]
Jesus made His love evident but it was not understood: (John 12:1-15)
The love of Jesus was made evident in all of his actions. His love for God (the Father), His love for His earthly family and His love for the world…
But here in the 1st 15 verses of this chapter we find that the love of Jesus was just NOT understood by anyone of the 1st century! It was BEYOND their comprehension of God!
You see, to the avg Jew: God was the One on the mountain top with lightening, wind and thunder… God was the ‘pillar of fire’… God was the angel of death in Egypt… God was the divider of the Red Sea…
To the avg Jew (including the disciples) God was a sovereign & unapproachable God… Sure Moses & Joshua were in His presence BUT they did not believe that they could know God on a personal level!
In John 12 we find that EVEN the disciples did not understand the love of Jesus… The chapter begins with a story that reveals that the disciples did not TRULY understand who Jesus was (even tho’ they had proclaimed Him Messiah)…
When the woman anoints Jesus feet and washes his feet with her hair, in submission and confession… She was giving Jesus the proper place in HER life… SHE SAW Jesus for who He was, but the disciples still had NOT grasped it…
When they protested her ‘wasteful’ act… Jesus basically tells them to leave her alone because she understood just who He was… They may not know just who He is, but SHE did, and she acted on that belief!
At this point the people could NOT see Jesus for who He REALLY was, but they saw Him for who they BELIEVED Him to be… They had put their own perception into play… they had drawn their own conclusions…
In Luke 24 we find that even the disciples had their own ideas about who Jesus was…as they argued over who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom of Jesus…
Sure they had proclaimed Him as Messiah, but just like many Jews, they did not fully understand who Messiah truly was! Their view was an earthly kingdom and that Jesus would deliver them from Rome!
So when Jesus was about to enter Jerusalem… He had just recently performed 2 great miracles that enhanced His stature among the people… He had called Lazarus back from the dead (after Lazarus had been dead 4 days) AND he healed Blind Bartimaeus…
So as He came closer to Jerusalem, the fervor pitch grew and the people began to cheer and shout about this man they KNEW was good and they believed he was from God, BUT they did NOT understand who He was or the love He brought to them…
The laid out palm branches and sang songs and proclaimed Jesus as their King… [read v13 here]
13So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
I am sure that the disciples were all eating this up and believed that it was just a matter of time… Jesus’ time had come and THEY would be there with him when it was realized!
The thing about it is this… It was only a matter of time… Jesus’ time HAD come, but they did NOT understand was WHAT was coming! They believed in an earthly kingdom and physical deliverance from Rome, but this was NOT what Jesus had meant!
The love of Jesus was revealed to his family, and they thought he was crazy…
The love of Jesus was revealed to his disciples, and they continually argued over who would be the highest ranking official in His kingdom, even after Jesus told them his kingdom was NOT of this world…
The love of Jesus was revealed when He willingly came FROM heaven and stepped away from all that was rightfully His so He could submit Himself to do what we could NOT do for ourselves! To bring redemption and forgiveness to a world of sinners! To deliver us from a fiery hell and INTO eternal life w/God!
But the people around Jesus, even his disciples, did NOT understand the love of Jesus… they did NOT understand WHO Jesus was!
There are people today who ‘see’ Jesus in action, but simply cannot process this kind of love! They don’t understand how a Savior could love them… How a Savior would do something so wonderful for them!
People today are hurting and MOST, if not all of them, believe that there is NO hope for them… that God could not love them for this reason or that reason! Then they see the love of Jesus in action and it simply boggles their minds… they don’t understand it and cannot comprehend it!
However, let me tell you today I know that you may YOU may feel the same way… You may NOT think God loves you and you may not understand this love of Jesus… BUT let me share with you that it is TRUE! Jesus is Savior and Jesus LOVES YOU!
It does not matter what you have done, who you are, or what kind of life you are leading… Jesus loves you and wants to be your Savior! And he does NOT care if you don’t understand… He is kind and gentle to those who surrender to Him!
Here is the GOOD NEWS I have today… These people did NOT understand the love of God that was revealed in Jesus, but that did NOT matter to God… God still moved and God still used them to reach the world!
This carries the same truth with it today… You may NOT fully understand but regardless… Jesus loves you AND God can and will use you if you will surrender to Him!
Not only is the love of Jesus evident in all of His teachings, there is one major issue and that is MOST if not all people simply do NOT understand the love of God, as expressed thru Jesus.
However, in my 2nd point this morning we can also see that…
Jesus made people aware of His love but they did not accept it: (John 12:20-34)
Most if not all people did NOT understand the love God presented to this world in the person of Jesus, but we also see that when that love was presented, most of them simply could NOT accept it!
When Jesus entered into the city, people FLOCKED to Him because of all they had heard about Him. Many came to see Him and to hear Him for the first time…
In v20 we find many Gentiles trying to gain an audience with Jesus… Jesus responds to them by telling them about His ultimate act of love that was to come! Jesus foretells His death!
But Jesus again reaffirms his love for God and for humanity in v27-28a
27“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name.”
Then God speaks from heaven and affirms what Jesus has said… this rattles those who are with Jesus, and Jesus informs them that God had spoken for THEIR sake and not for His… because He knew what His purpose was…
Even with God confirming the ultimate act of love in the giving of His life for the sin of the world, the people around had trouble accepting it…Look @ v34 & 37:
34So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?”…37Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,
Today we see the same thing! There are those who have seen the love of God in action. They have seen Jesus intervene in their lives, and YET they refuse to accept that love!
People we are called to reach out to a world that is spiritually lost and dying, but the sad fact is that even when we share Jesus and SHOW Jesus through our actions and our lives… MANY will NOT accept Jesus!
BUT this must NOT discourage us from our task… Jesus lamented over the people’s lack of understanding and acceptance of God’s love shown through Him, but He NEVER wavered in God’s purpose and plan… This is what we must do as believers!
We can lament over those who will not accept God’s love as shown in Jesus… but we cannot lose sight that our purpose is to press forward and share Christ with all we come into contact with… We share the love of God in and through our lives and we leave the results to God!
People the love of God is revealed in Jesus… and we must shine that love to the world around us, but just as in Jesus’ day there will be people who will NOT accept His love!
Jesus was willing to surrender His rightful place in heaven and surrender to God’s plan of salvation which led Him to Calvary’s cross… He WILLINGLY died on the cross for YOUR sin!
Today that love is reaching out from across the centuries to YOUR heart! Are you going to refuse that love… are you going to be the one to NOT accept God’s love?
We have seen where Jesus was the revelation of God’s love and the people did not UNDERSTAND his love NOR did many of them ACCEPT His love, but we can also see that although God CLEARLY revealed His love in Jesus… it was NOT received by all people!
Jesus made His love clear but it was not received by all people…(John 12:37-43)
Again we go to v37 that states:
37Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,
Here the word for believe is the same root word Jesus used in John 3:16… it means to place one’s faith and trust in God! Here they not only did not believe in Jesus… they were actually REJECTING Him as Messiah!
And this is exactly what God knew would happen as it John quotes the prophet Isaiah’s words from Is 53:1 and Is 6:10…
Believers, let me share with you today that Jesus’ love is what we must take into this world! We are called to be the instruments of His love to a world that is lost… to a world that is headed to hell… to a world that is mired in sin and unable to escape eternal damnation!
We are saved by God to work in His kingdom and tell others about the love of God! BUT here is the sad news! There are going to be those who will see the love of Jesus in our lives…
These people will experience the love of Jesus ON their lives… they will see the love of God BUT yet they will reject it because of their selfish and self centered beliefs and traditions! We cannot lose faith when people reject Jesus!
But there is another aspect of this that we must deal with as a fellowship as well… there are going to be those who DO believe… they DO place their faith and trust in God… BUT they won’t step out on faith and proclaim their faith!
There are MANY in the church today who fall into this category… they have gone thru the motions of walking the aisle and being baptized BUT they are NOT stepping up to the calling of Christ in their lives!
I want to issue a warning STRAIGHT from this chapter to those here in this audience who MAY fall into this category… look at v47-48
It says: 47If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
Many rest on their pew at church and hold to v47, but they ignore the warning of v48… those who refuse to obey Jesus (hear My words and does not keep them…) that is who ultimately are the ones who REJECT Jesus!
V48 is the natural conclusion of those mentioned in v47 if the heart is not changed. Those who refuse to submit to God’s plan and calling… those who will not obey His calling and commands… they are actually REJECTING Him outright!
There is a story that Jesus tells about 2 sons… Both sons are instructed by their Father to go out into the field and work!
The first son is obstinate and rude to his father and tells him that in NO UNCERTAIN terms will he go out to the field and work… but after thinking about it for a while the young man relents and goes out and obeys his father!
The 2nd son is compliant to the Father’s request. He tells his dad that he will surely go out to the field and that he would definitely get involved in the harvesting of the crop… BUT in his heart he knows rebellion and ultimately refuses to go out to the field and does NOT go…
Jesus asks the question… which son loved His father!?? We would answer that question that the 1st son loved His father… even though he said NO at first, he relented and submitted to the authority of his father! He obviously loves his father much more than his brother who will tell dad anything he wants to hear, but never has an inkling to actually DO what Dad wants him to do…
To me this story from Jesus is a great illustration of v47-48 here in John 12… There are those who will say they accept the love of God through Jesus, but they won’t step out and tell others about it!
Then there are those who will say that they reject the love of God, only to be convicted, repent and go out and do what God has called them to do…
We must know that our decision to follow Jesus is a life-time investment that will require our complete devotion. There may be times when we don’t move on God’s timing as we should, but until the judgment day, Jesus has said that he will not judge us… that he would seek to change and mold us into His image!
There will be many believers on judgment day that are going to stand before God and He is going to say just what Jesus taught in Matt 7… “Get out of my presence because I do NOT know you!”
People we are called to LIVE out our faith! We cannot give God lipservice! I call on ALL our believers… if you are currently giving God lip service about your service to Him? I challenge you to drop your pride and surrender to HIS calling on your life!
When we as a church get serious about serving God and when we stop giving lipservice about doing what God is calling us to do… THEN and only THEN can we get together and BE the church God wants us to become!
Do you want our fellowship to grow and prosper… we must be about the business of the Kingdom! When we are sold out to Him is the only time we can be USED OF HIM!
I want to remind you this morning that God’s love is shown THRU the life of Jesus of Nazareth! The love of Jesus provides us with an avenue for salvation and eternal life with God! The love of Jesus is THERE for the taking… he offers it FREELY and openly…
BUT there are going to be those who do NOT understand it, no matter how we package it… no matter how it is presented… the love of God is going to simply not be understood… it is because their minds are focused on their self-centered soul!
We must reach out and model the love of Christ in our lives… when we do that on a consistent basis, His love will bleed out into our community and the more they are exposed to the love of Christ... the more they will come to see Him as Savior!
BUT there will be those who hear the love of Christ but reject it because of their own selfish agendas and self centered hearts… there will be those who reject the love of God because they believe it would be too hard to accept…
There will be those who SAY they have accepted the love of God BUT they will NOT obey His commandments… and ultimately if they continue in that mindset… they end up REJECTING the love of God in Christ Jesus… and condemning themselves!
Where are YOU this morning? Are you one who just cannot grasp an understanding of the love of God found in Jesus Christ?
If you are having trouble understanding Jesus’ love for you… I challenge you to come and surrender to the Holy Spirit this morning and come to know the peace of God that passes all human understanding…
Surrender to Jesus because it is NOT about us understanding who He is and what He has done, but it IS about us having faith in Who He is and what He has done…
Are you here this morning and you don’t know if you can accept this love that Jesus has to offer you… you don’t know if you want to give up what YOU can control…
Well, you will not be judged by God while in this life for your lack of acceptance, BUT there will be a day of reckoning when judgment will come to those who refuse to accept the love of God as manifested in Jesus!
Believer, what about you? Are you one that has accepted the love of God only to sit down and come to expect God’s blessings even though you are not being obedient? God is calling for your obedience… I call on you to submit and surrender to God today!
Jesus left the splendor of heaven…knowing His destiny and it was on the lonely hill of Golgotha where He laid down His life for me! Now, if that is NOT a love we can count on and have faith in… then I don’t know what is…
Jesus has shown His love over and over again to us… how are we going to come to Him this morning? Will you come with an open and transparent heart, willing to confess your sin and live a holy life?
I challenge all OP believers to become what God has called them to become… one who is obedient and submissive to His plan! So how will you come to Him this morning?
As Bro Ken & Jason come to lead us in our hymn of invitation… I challenge you to step out and surrender to Him today! PRAY!!!
