We’re going to talk about LOVE again.
• What are some characteristics of love?
• Do you recall the first moment you felt that deep love for someone else?
• What will we do for someone we love?
• What did God do for the ones He loved?
• Do we ever sacrifice things for loved ones? Put their needs above our own?
For many of us, the first LOVE verse that comes to mind is most likely John 3:16. Who can tell me what that says? It says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” That’s probably the best known & most frequently quoted verse from the Bible. That verse tells us that God loves the world so much that He gave His Son. We could replace the word “whoever” with any of our names & it would still be true. God so loved the world that because John Doe believes in Him he should not perish but have everlasting life. He gave His only begotten Son. It’s awesome that the most supreme Being in existence loves us so much that He chose to sacrifice the life of His Son so we would have everlasting life.
We are going to delve into the transformative truth of God's love as revealed in His sacrificial gift. We’ll look into 1 John 4:10, which serves as a cornerstone for understanding the depth & breadth of God's love. Let us open our hearts & minds to receive this divine truth. <Prayer for the Spirit to speak to us>
1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Here, John beautifully paints a picture of the essence of God's love. It is not merely a response to our love for Him but originates from His own nature. God IS love itself (1 John 4:16). God's love is selfless, sacrificial, & unconditional. He demonstrated this love supremely by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Romans 5:8 tells us “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."
The great theologian Charles Spurgeon eloquently reflects on God's love, saying, "God's love is not drawn out by our merits but wells up from His own heart."
In Romans 5:8, the apostle Paul underscores the extraordinary nature of God's love. It wasn't prompted by our goodness or righteousness but manifested while we were still steeped in sin. Despite our unworthiness, God demonstrated His love by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. This sacrificial act reveals the depth of God's love & His desire for reconciliation with all of humanity.
The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ was not arbitrary but purposeful. It was to atone for our sins & reconcile us to God. Through Christ's sacrifice, the barrier of sin that separated us from God was removed, allowing us to experience restored fellowship with Him.
What was required of the sacrifice made for sin? Could it be any animal from the herd? What did God require of these sacrifices? They had to be perfect; without flaw!
In 2 Corinthians Paul tells us that Jesus met the flawless requirement for the sin sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus did not sin!
Here, Paul explains the central theme of atonement & substitutionary sacrifice. Jesus Christ, being without sin, took upon Himself the penalty of our sins, thereby making it possible for us to be reconciled to God. Through Christ's sacrificial death, we are offered righteousness & forgiveness, bridging the gap between sinful humanity & a holy God.
OK, we’ve talked about what God did because of His great love for us. He chose to give the life of His Son in our place. Now to fully understand the price He paid we should dig a little deeper into the details of this sacrifice.
With Easter next month, we can learn more about the ultimate sacrifice God made for each of us.
How did God sacrifice the life of His only begotten Son? What did Jesus have to do? Jesus was crucified. What was a crucifixion like?
The word crucifixion comes from the Latin crucifixus which means “fixed to a cross.” Crucifixion was a brutal form of torture & execution in the ancient world that involved binding a person to a wooden post or tree using ropes or nails.
Before the actual crucifixion, prisoners were tortured by flogging, beating, burning, mutilation, & even the abuse of the prisoner’s family! The hands & feet were attached to the cross with stakes.
Crucifixion was not only one of the most disgraceful and painful forms of death, but it was also one of the most dreaded methods of execution in the ancient world.
Crucifixion, as a type of capital punishment, was primarily reserved for traitors, captive armies, slaves, & the worst of criminals. Jesus was none of those.
Jesus hung on the cross for about six hours, from approximately 9 am to 3 pm. During that time, soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing while people passed by shouting insults and scoffing.
He also cried out to his father, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46) At that moment, darkness covered the land. A little later, as Jesus breathed his final agonizing breath, an earthquake shook the ground, ripping the temple veil in two from top to bottom.
The love God has for each of us is so great that He chose to have His holy, sinless Son suffer this excruciating & insulting death. A Man who had done no wrong & did not deserve this torture was sacrificed for you & for me. We deserve what He suffered. But out of the love, mercy, & grace of God we were spared from the punishment for sin that we deserve.
When we celebrate the resurrected life of Christ at Easter may our hearts be moved by the sacrifice our Heavenly Father made for us
These truths underscore the foundational aspects of God's love demonstrated through Christ's sacrificial death & the need to reciprocate that love by loving God wholeheartedly and expressing it through our relationships with others.
Would you give up your most precious possession for the sake of your worst enemy? For someone who hates you with all their heart? That is what God did. He gave up the life of His only Son so you could have eternal life with Him. It’s a level of love so great the human mind isn’t able to fully comprehend it. We won’t have a complete understanding on this side of Heaven. Where can we find this supreme love of the Lord? At the Cross!
When we love someone, we like to tell them that fairly often. Leaving for work we tell them we love them. Going to sleep, ” Love you, darling”. God tells us that many times every day. Did you wake up today? If you did that is God saying, “Love you.” Have clothes to put on? “Love you.” Have something to eat for breakfast? “Love you.” Have a car to get to work? “Love you.” Have all you need to enjoy life? “I love you, my child.”
God shows love for us in many ways. The greatest of those was when He chose to offer the life of Jesus to suffer the punishment you & I deserve so that our sins & transgressions could be forgiven. That is the love of our Heavenly Father. Praise the Lord!
Closing Prayer:
Let us pray. Dearest Heavenly Father may we be transformed by the truth of this sacrificial love you showed. May we embrace the reality of your great love for us, understand the purpose of Christ's sacrifice, and respond by loving others as He has loved us. As we go forth from this place, let love be our guiding principle in all we do, reflecting the transformative power of Your love Father to a world in need. For it’s in the name of thy precious Son we pray. Amen
