The Passion of Christ
God Showed His Love For Us
When He Came To This Earth
March 28, 2004
Genesis 1:1; Revelation 21:5-7
We began our study last week about The Passion Of The Christ by going all the way back
through time, back through eternities past, and read in the very first book of the
Bible, in the very first verse in the Bible, in the very first words of the Bible, in
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." We didn’t concern
ourselves about the theory of evolution because even God himself doesn’t know anything
about it. The Word of God simply says that "In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth." And since God said it, that settles it for those of us who truly
believe and trust in Him.
I went on to say that we can’t figure God out with our puny, finite minds and if we
could truly figure Him out He wouldn’t be any more of a god than we are. I also said
that the truth of the matter is that there are multitudes of things that we have
accepted that we can’t figure out, but we accept them and use them every day of our
lives. None of us completely understands everything about our physical bodies, our
mental capabilities, or our spiritual being. None of us completely understands
everything about how this universe came into existence and the Bible we hold in our
hand. None of us completely understands everything about God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. None of us, being the weak and frail people that we are, can
completely understand how God can be all powerful. None of us, being so limited in our
knowledge and understanding, can completely understand that God has all knowledge.
None of us, being so limited in this physical body that we have, can completely
understand how God can be everywhere in the universe at the same time. And certainly
none of us can completely understands everything about the love, the passion, and the
compassion that He has for us.
But while we may not be able to completely understand everything about these things,
the Lord has given us several ways that we can understand many of the workings, the
promises, and the ways of God. I mentioned several things that God has given us to
help us to understand ourselves, others, and the Lord Himself in a better way.
God Has Given Us His Word and we should be eternally grateful for having the wonderful
privilege of holding and reading and studying the very precious Word of God for
ourselves.
God Has Given Us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
God Has Given Us Faith.
I went on to say that a lot of things in this life simply come down to the place where
we must decide whether we are going to obey the God that cannot lie (Titus 1:2) or the
men that God tells us about in Psalms 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb:
they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." And certainly we as Christians
should accept the verse that Paul wrote over in Romans 3:4 "God forbid: yea, let God
be true, but every man a liar;" Men can say what they will, but if we truly want to
know the truth, we must diligently inquire of the Lord himself.
We must use the wisdom, the knowledge, and the understanding that He has given us and
the faith that He has given us to trust and believe in Him. The same God that we
should be looking to for the time when our life is over here upon this earth. He is
the same God that we need to be looking to today, to lead us, teach us, challenge us,
and encourage us as we make our pilgrimage through this life. And please remember that
He is the only one that can be with us each and every moment of our lives because He
is everywhere at the same time. He is the only one who can really teach us because He
has all knowledge. He is the only on who is powerful enough both to save us and
eternally keep us because He is all powerful. And on top of this He is a very
compassionate and loving God.
But the disbelieving multitudes have asked a lot of questions down through the
millenniums. But Pastor, "If God is really everywhere at the same time, if God really
has all knowledge, and if God is really all powerful, why would he create us in the
first place knowing full well that we were going to sin against him the very first
opportunity that we had?"
Oh listen friend. The all knowing, all wise, all powerful God of the universe created
us in a state of innocence and placed us here upon this earth, knowing full well even
before he created us, exactly what we were going to do. He knew that our first parents
were going to believe the lie of the Devil and plunge us into a hopeless and helpless
position throughout all eternity. He knew that unless he did something every last one
of us would have to spend our eternity in an eternal lake of fire and brimstone.
But praise his precious name, he already had a blueprint or a plan so that each and
every person that has, or will ever, live upon this earth can live with him throughout
eternity if they will only accept the plan that he has for them. In fact he has written
us one love letter after another from the Book of Genesis all the way through the Book
of Revelation. All we have to do is to read or hear his love letter with our heart,
truly believe it, and trust in what he has promised us, and he says we shall have it.
Basically, we thought last week about how God has loved us all the way back and many of
the ways that he showed his love for us.
We want to continue with this thought simply because unless we understand how God has
truly loved us in the past, is loving us now, and will love us throughout all eternity,
we cannot and will never truly appreciate the vast majority of things that he has done
for us.
So think with me again about the love he had for us, not just throughout the Old
Testament days, and the many things he both did and allowed to come to pass, so that
he might truly show his love, his passion, and his compassion toward us.
Throughout the Old Testament, God moved upon the hearts of his prophets to foretell
many great and wonderful events about the time when he was going to send his only
begotten Son into the world. Not only did he have his prophets tell us about his
greatest gift that he was ever going to send into the world, but he told us in great
detail hundreds and hundreds of years before it was to happen. God has never had an
afterthought. He has never been surprised. He has never had to change his mind. All
events in the scope of time eternal are to Him as the present moment is to us.
Think with me about the majesty of God's plan for mankind and how He not only humbled
Himself to the point of giving His one and only Son to die for your sins and mine, but
He told the world about his plans hundreds upon hundreds of years before they would be
fulfilled. He gave us some 70 major prophesies and over 200 other prophecies that
describe the coming of Christ in staggering detail; a total of some 333 for Christ’s
first coming. To the people of Israel, this plan was so clear that they eagerly awaited
the coming of the Saviour, the Messiah, who would deliver men and women throughout the
world from the clutches of sin. The plan was outlined in a way that provided mankind
with the exact time place and events that could only be brought about by the perfect
planning of God. These prophecies were so precise that only one Man in all of recorded
history could possibly fulfill all those specific requirements.
According to the historian and mathematician Peter Stoner, the chance that any one man
could fulfill the eight most significant prophesies alone is one in 10 to the 17th
power. That's 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000, or 1 in one quintillion. It's equivalent
to a blindfolded person finding one marked silver dollar in a pile of silver dollars
that would cover the state of Texas two feet deep! The chance that any one person
could fulfill 48 of the prophesies is one in 10 to the 157th power,one followed by 157
zeros. I have no idea what you’d call that.
Let me just mention some of the most significant prophesies concerning the birth of
the Messiah. We’re told about the work he would perform, he would be born of a Virgin,
his name would be Immanuel or God with us, the government would be upon His shoulders,
he would be everlasting and the Prince of Peace. Eight centuries before Christ came,
Micah told us where he would be born. God used the prophet Daniel to describe to the
exact year when Christ would enter Jerusalem in triumph, the date which would prove to
be the very week of His crucifixion. Matthew quotes a number of passages from the Old
Testament to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy, all of them written
hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. And I simply must read the passage that
the Lord inspired the great prophet Isaiah to write in Isaiah 53:1-12. "Who hath
believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form
nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb
to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his
mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his
generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of
my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in
his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet
it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the
pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his
soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with
the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out
his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin
of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
I don’t know about you, but I see about forty prophecies that the Lord Jesus Christ
fulfilled from this one passage that had been written about 750 years before he was
born upon this earth.
So let’s ask the question now. What are some of the ways that Jesus showed his love
for us?
1. He Showed His Love When He Was Born.
Do your best to think with me about the many times that Jesus humbled himself and
showed the love he had for us. Think about that for a moment if you will. We cannot
even begin to imagine how humbling, how degrading, and how humiliating it was for an
all knowing all wise all powerful God to come down to this earth through the womb of a
virgin named Mary. We cannot even begin to imagine what it was like to give up his
throne and come down to this earth to be born in a smelly stable as the poorest of
men. We cannot even begin to imagine the hurt that he must have felt when he was
laughed at and mocked because he was believed by many to be an illegitimate son that
was conceived out of wedlock. But knowing all this, while he was in the presence of
His Heavenly Father, yet loving us so much, he was willing to come anyway.
2. He Showed His Love When He Healed People.
Everywhere he went he was always showing his love by healing the sick the lame the
blind the broken hearted and yes even raising the dead back to life again. More
prophecies fulfilled. But the more he showed his love and compassion for people
seemingly the more he was hated. We cannot even begin to imagine what it was like when
he went about in perfect righteousness doing good and being a blessing to all kinds of
people, then being accused that he was healing people by the power of the devil. These
accusations are made in Matthew 12:24-27; Mark 3:22 and in Luke 11:15 "But some of them
said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils." But Jesus told
them in Luke 11:18 "If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom
stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub
cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your
judges."
Here is the precious Son of God casting demons out of the possessed, cleansing the
lepers, giving sight to the blind, healing the lame, even raising the dead back to
life again. Wouldn’t you think that should make everyone happy and want to praise God
for all the wonderful things he was doing? You would think it would but it didn’t! In
fact while some were rejoicing and saying "Is not this the Christ?", many others were
going about trying to figure out the best way to get rid of him once and for all.
3. He Showed His Love In His Teachings.
The greatest and sweetest words that have ever flowed from any lips were spoken by our
precious Lord and Saviour. Mark tells us in Mark 12:37 "And the common people heard
him gladly." When he spoke, some were comforted, some were amazed, and others became
so infuriated that they demanded that he die a sinner’s death.
Yes He Showed His Love
When He Was Born.
When He Healed.
When He Taught.
All these things are important, yes, but there are many other ways that Jesus showed
his love.
4. He Showed His Love When He Saved.
Listen to this very familiar story that our boys and girls really like. It’s about a
little fellow that was a tax collector who name was Zacchaeus. Let’s begin our reading
in Luke 19:1 "And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a
man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he
sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of
stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was
to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and
said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy
house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And Jesus said
unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of
Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Oh yes,
Jesus showed his love in all kinds of ways to all kinds of people.
He showed his love
-to the rich and also to the poor
-to the educated and to the unlearned
-to the diseased and to the healthy
-to the rulers as well as the servants
Why? Because the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God;" And again it tells us in Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned:"
But praise God His Precious Son never sinned and come short of the glory of God. Yes,
everyone else has, all the way down from Adam to each and every one of us today, but
Jesus Christ never sinned even one time! And how his heart must have ached as he
preached and healed the most sickly of all the people restored sight to the blind
cleansed the lepers raised the dead and yet many would laugh mock and turn away. But
he just kept on loving and going and healing and cleansing and forgiving. Do you ever
wonder why? I mean why would he even consider coming to this sin cursed earth? Why
would he even want to offer his love to people who hated and despised him so? But
offer it he did and we learn from the precious Word of God that the more he tried to
show his love and compassion the more his heart ached because of their rejection.
So there was only one more way he could show his love to ungodly sinners like you and
me. I would invite you to turn and read with me about that in Matthew 26:36 "Then
cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples,
Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder." He went and prayed three times in tremendous
agony and each time he came back and found them sleeping. He said to them in verse 46
"Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me. And while he yet
spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords
and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people."
Jesus allowed them to take him knowing full well what was about to happen but he told
them in verse 53 "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall
presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the
scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? In that same hour said Jesus to the
multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me?
I sat daily with you teaching in the temple, and ye laid no hold on me. But all this
was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the
disciples forsook him, and fled."
Jesus had shown his love and compassion in the past to saints and sinners alike now he
must show his love on even a greater level. And that of course would mean the mocking,
the trials, the horrible beatings, the nailing to the cross, the spear that would
pierce his side, and yes, shedding every last drop of his precious blood. What is
really amazing is the fact that he not only died for those who loved him in return but
he also died for those who hated him the most! And hopefully we can learn to better
love that verse that we quote so often John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life."
As you well remember some of the Lord’s own Apostles were very slow about loving the
Lord in return. But the beloved Apostle John always loved the Lord and he wrote in
I John 3:16 "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." John was simply saying the Lord
gave his love to us and gave his life for us so we need to give our lives to and for
others. That would be a great attitude for Christians to have both toward the Lord and
toward one another wouldn’t it? The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians. 2:20 "I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me."
I trust that you have been able to see in these messages that God truly loved us. In
fact he loved us enough that he gave his own precious Son to die in our place so that
we wouldn’t have to perish but could have everlasting life. Yes, he died, he was
buried in a borrowed tomb, but praise God, the grave couldn’t hold him. And three full
days and three full nights later, he rose from the dead, victorious over death, hell,
and the grave. And he ever lives today making intercession for us.
No, we certainly don’t understand everything about his tremendous love for us or his
tremendous passion for us. Nor do we understand everything about his compassion for
us. But beloved, we can understand without any shadow of doubt that we are the ones
who have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are the ones who have gone away
from the Lord so he has laid upon his precious son the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
Beloved, it requires tremendous love on God’s part to love sinners like you and me. It
didn’t only require a great love, as we have seen in these messages, but it would also
require tremendous Passion, or sufferings, that we will go into in great detail next
week as the Lord leads. Will you seriously consider His love, His passion, His
sufferings, and His compassion that he has for you?
Copyright © 2004 by Dr. Kennith Atkison
This material is provided for personal study or for use in preparation of sermons,
Sunday school classes, or other oral communication. This material may be quoted in
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It may not be reprinted for commercial publication.
