Full sermon Jesus Showed His Love For Us On The Cross based on John 3:14-21

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. A good love story and the gift of love. Many people enjoy a good love story. The Hallmark channel is filled with love stories. Movies like the “Sound of Music” have been shown for many years because of the basic love story. There is something about a love story that makes people feel good.

Love is a wonderful gift. We enjoy the warmth and security of being loved by others. We want to be loved by our family, friends, and others. We usually have an easy time loving those who love us in return.

II. God’s love is greater in John 3:16. No matter how great our love story is in life. Human love is not as great as the love of God the Father. One of the best-known verses in the Bible is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That is amazing love.

III. What’s Love Got to Do with It? There was a song on the radio in the 1980s called, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” Tina Turner sang the song. Some of the lyrics were, “Oh, oh, what’s love got to do, got to do with it? What’s love but a secondhand emotion? What’s love got to do, got to do with it? Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?” Those words remind us that the unbelievers of the world see love in a different way than Christians do.

Love to the unbelievers of the world is mainly about having a loving feeling and saying kind words and being romantic by giving gifts of flowers and chocolates. Those things are certainly a part of love, but true Christian love is about more than good feelings.

IV. True love and Lent and John 3:14-15. What does true love have to do with the season of Lent? Everything. True love is at the heart of the season of Lent. True love is about more than good feelings, nice words, and gifts of candy. True love is something that is put into action for others. John 3:14-15 reminds us of an unusual account in the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” Our Old Testament lesson in Numbers 21 gives us the true account. The people of Israel became impatient and started complaining. God sent snakes to bite the people and many people were dying from those snake bites. They asked Moses to pray to God for them. Moses did and was told to make a bronze snake and put the bronze snake on a pole. When the people of Israel who had been bitten by a snake looked at the snake on the pole, then they were healed and lived.

V. The lifting up of the Son of Man. John’s Gospel connects this with the lifting up of the Son of Man. This lifting up of the Son of Man, Jesus, was even greater than the lifting up of the bronze snake on a pole that people looked at and survived their snake bites. God the Father sent God the Son to be lifted up for all people. God the Father sent Jesus to live a perfect life to make up for all our imperfections. God the Father sent Jesus to show the people of His day and the people of our day how great the love of God is for all people. God the Father sent Jesus to show His ultimate act of love by being lifted up on the cross outside of Jerusalem for all of us.

VI. Read John 3:17 and comment. John 3:17 tells us, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus was lifted up on the cross in order to save the people of the world from sin, death, and the devil. Jesus was lifted up on the cross to cancel out all of your sins and wrongs and all of my sins and wrongs. Jesus was lifted up on the cross to give us mercy from God. He took our punishment that we deserved by being lifted up on the cross. He showed the greatest act of sacrificial love that the people of the world have ever seen.

VII. The gift of our Baptism. We are adopted into God’s family as sons and daughters through the water and promises of our Baptism. Our Baptism is an amazing gift from an amazing God. Our Baptism is another way we see God’s love in action. Our Baptism means we have been buried with Jesus Christ and raised with Jesus Christ. Our Baptism gives us sure hope and confidence that God is with us and God is for us in the saving work of Jesus Christ.

VIII. Not saved by trying hard, but by God’s gracious favor. If you think you are saved because you try hard to do what is right, then you are very wrong. You are saved by God’s gracious favor. You are saved by God’s rich mercy. You are saved by God’s amazing love. You are saved through the gift of faith in Jesus.

IX. Not saved by good works, but by God’s love and gift of faith and Ephesians 2:8-10. You are not saved by your good works, because none of your works are good without having faith in Jesus. You are saved by God’s great love, through the gift of faith in Jesus. Your salvation is a gift from a loving God. Because you are saved by God’s undeserved love through faith in Jesus, you have good works to do in this world. As Ephesians 2:8-10 reminds us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

X. Conclusion. Thinking about that Tina Turner song again, maybe the better question might be: “What has Jesus Christ’s love got to do, got to do with it?” Everything. Because of Christ and his Lenten love for us, we as believers will never perish but have eternal life in him. If you do not remember anything else in this sermon, remember that verse in John 3:16 that points to Jesus’ great love in action: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.