The Fathers Perspective

The Fathers Perspective

Scripture: John 3:16 & 17

I. Intro

Usually when I hear the story of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection it is presented in such a way that it draws me to love Jesus more. There is almost always some new fact about his emotional or physical suffering. AS if for the first time, I see something he suffered or I feel what he felt and it moves me into a deeper love for my Savior. I praise God for each and every experience but today I want to look at a different perspective. When I read John 3:16 and 17 I see a broader image I see another view of the crucifixion story. I have heard from Barabas’ perspective, from the centurion, the thief on the cross, from Mary, from various disciples, but I have yet to hear the full story, from the father’s perspective. Not Jesus’ earthly father but the heavenly father’s perspective. When I read John 3:16 it says "God so loved the world" and 17 says, "God sent not his son to condemn." Stay with me cause today I hope, desire, and pray that this perspective can move you into a deeper love for the both the Father and the Son.

II. In the Beginning

Back at creation The Trinity had to have a family counsel.

Illustration: To help you see more clearly how this counsel must have felt please come with me to a Nazi Death camp in Germany a second Holocaust. Imagine that each family group is left together instead of being torn apart. In your camp the food supply begins to run low and the camp commander makes an executive decision. He orders each family group to choose one member that will die for the rest of the family to preserve food supplies. Who in your family would be chosen to die? If I were to imagine my family I would not hesitate, there is no way I would let on of my sons or my wife die for me. How would you choose? And how difficult would that decision be? How difficult that decision must have been for the Trinity in heaven? Sin demanded the Death penalty, and someone had to pay!

III. Gethsemane

Now lets jump all the way forward in the story to Gethsemane. Where the full burden of sin begins to be laid upon Christ when the reality of the sacrifice towers over Jesus. As Jesus begins to bend and hunch under the burden of sin the father’s keen eyes well with tears. Jesus collapses to the ground pleading for a way out for another option.

Matt. 26:38 & 39 He wanted out!

Mark 14:34-36 He really wanted out!

Luke 22:41 & 42 He wanted out!

It is one thing to stand helplessly by knowing that you don’t have power to stop something but to hold all the power in the universe and stand by is something I will never be able to fully understand. The Father, with heart breaking, had to stand by as the angels waited for the command to intervene, He had to stand and do nothing but listen to His beloved Son’s cries for deliverance.

Side thought: Jesus was human. He wouldn’t have been human if he didn’t want out. There is nothing wrong with saying "God this hurts and this is difficult." "Is there any other way we can do this?" "Please Lord I really don’t want to go through this." Yet we must not stop there and say, "that is it, you are simply asking too much of me. I know what the Bible says but I will not do it. I know what you are asking me to do but I will not do it. It is too hard!"

But Jesus finishes with "not my will but your will be done." If Jesus himself submitted to the fathers will how much more should we.

IV. The first joke of a trial

Then the priests, scribes, and Pharisees came to arrest Jesus treating the Son of God as if he were a common thief or criminal. They take him to court and begin to try and build a case against him. In Luke 22:67-69 he tries to turn their focus towards God again. The Fathers heart can not help but be touched with pride as he sees Jesus loving attempt to help even in the face of hatred and abuse. Jesus tries to get them to stop focusing on their little power struggles here on earth and to look to the big picture and the Second Coming. But they are so blinded by the Devil’s influence and their own avarice and lust for power that they refuse to see but only twist his message toward their own purpose. The father must have desired to shout forth the truth as these men twisted it towards their own desires. It really didn’t matter what Jesus said they were bent on convicting him and condemning him to die. Again the father had to hold his hand, because all these things must come to pass to save you and me.