This Glorious Gospel

Text: John 3:16-17

Outline:

Empty Things USUALLY Hold No Value (His Tomb Did!)

Jesus’ Conversation with Nicodemus

Jesus’ Example of Love

Jesus Foreshadowed His Death

I Will Believe in Jesus’ Love for Me

Jesus’ Death and Burial

Jesus Was Crucified

Jesus Was Buried

I Will Praise Jesus for His Sacrifice

Jesus’ Resurrection

Jesus Resurrected from the Grave

I Will Respond to This Glorious Gospel

Text

John 3:16–17 KJV 1900

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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Empty Things USUALLY Hold No Value (His Tomb Did!)

In Bedford County, Virginia, being a forest ranger is different than it is anywhere else. Every year, they get to deal with treasure hunters.

The legend is that in the early 1800s, Thomas Jefferson Beale had found thousands of pounds of gold, silver, and gems in the west. And he buried them all back home in Bedford County. He left coded messages describing the contents of the treasure and its location. In 1885, those papers were published.

So over the years, many people have tried to decode all of this and find the treasure.

One woman dug up a church cemetery (and all manner of legal trouble, with it!).

Others have attempted digs believing that God would lead them to the treasure.

One officer told about going with a man convinced of the exact location of the treasure. The hunter rented a tractor with a front-end loader and carefully began moving dirt. At the end of the day, when he had dug 15 feet deep, he fell to the ground with tears coming down his cheeks, staring at an empty hole in the earth.

Most empty things no longer hold their value.

Anybody ever pull out your favorite cereal box only to find that your sweet family has left one sixteenth of a cup of cereal in the box and left it nicely for you?

How about going to an upscale restaurant, where they bring out a plate the size of a tire rim and the portion is about the size of one of those Totino’s Pizza Rolls.

Let somebody hand me a fourth of a cup of coffee and see what look I give them!

Most empty things have no value. But the gospel is unlike anything else because it is centered around an empty tomb! And that empty tomb has UNTOLD value because it testifies that Jesus Christ has risen from the grave! And now, WE HAVE HOPE!!!

I’m talking about the power of the gospel today!

Now, as I begin to teach on the gospel, understand that THIS IS THE GREATEST MESSAGE!

Jesus’ Conversation with Nicodemus

In the dark of the night, there is a secret meeting taking place.

Jesus had agreed to have a private conversation with a ruler named Nicodemus. They met at night because Nicodemus was a Pharisee and didn’t want to be caught seeking out this man. All his friends despised Jesus. And he was risking his reputation right now. He was hungry to know more about this man.

And here’s how he opens the conversation:

John 3:2 KJV 1900

The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

Jesus’ Example of Love

But Nicodemus was not the only one who was amazed and puzzled by Jesus. Everyone who saw what Jesus did and heard what He said was in awe of it all.

But the miracles were not the primary reason He came. He revealed His true mission to Nicodemus:

John 3:16 KJV 1900

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.

So… Nicodemus knew that Jesus had come from God… but but he didn’t fully grasp that Jesus WAS God.

Immanuel = “God with us”

He could have come down to earth with all sorts of fanfare and imagery. But He came as a baby, and lived the life of a human being. He showed us what sacrifice was. God came in human flesh.

And in John 3:17, Jesus explains to Nicodemus that He didn’t come into the world to condemn it, but to save it. It’s the love of God. There’s nothing you can do to earn His love, but He loves you regardless!

Jesus Foreshadowed His Death

In this late-night conversation, Jesus began to tell about His death (already in John 3!). “I’m going to have to die so that others can live.” He even hinted at how it would happen:

John 3:14 KJV 1900

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

Now, Jesus knew that Nicodemus would know exactly what He was talking about. So, WHAT IS He talking about here?

1000 years earlier, the children of Israel were attacked by serpents as judgment for their sin. Venomous serpents. And it was a bad deal. God told them to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole so everyone who had been bitten could look on this statue and not die.

So how does this apply? We’ve got a venom that’s coursing through our own veins: sin. And at some point, the wages of sin is death. But guess what… Jesus was lifted up on a cross! And now that venom won’t destroy us! HOWEVER - if we’re going to make it, we’re going to have to do like they did: put our eyes on the cross!

I Will Believe in Jesus’ Love for Me

That is the gospel! And that is the love of God!

I want to tell you today that the love of Jesus is WITHOUT END. Nobody can ever know the height, depth, width, or breadth of it! It’s like trying to get a picture of the entire universe. WON’T HAPPEN!

It’s just THERE. If you reach for it, there it is!

And you can search over the entire world for a love that is more true, devoted, and sacrificial… but there’s no other!

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Not everyone has had a good experience with “love.”

You may have had relationships that have failed or you found out that a person you thought was loyal to you actually was just using you. You may have had friends that have turned their back or stabbed YOUR BACK.

But the Bible says that He is a “friend that sticks closer than a brother!”

Jesus’ Death and Burial

Jesus Was Crucified

Then… the day that Jesus told of, came.

Now He never condemned anyone, lied on anyone, cheated anyone, stole from anyone, or did anything hateful to anyone - but the mob still wanted Him crucified. He was falsely accused.

And He allowed people He had created to crucify Him. He would say:

Luke 23:34 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

And they really didn’t know what they were doing, because 1 Corinthians 2:8 says:

1 Corinthians 2:8 KJV 1900

Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Jesus Was Buried

After His last breath, Joseph took Jesus’ body and prepared it to be buried.

And THEN… someone shows up unexpectedly in this…

Here comes Nicodemus! The same Nicodemus who was worried about his reputation in John 3 is here now. And he’s bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes to anoint the body of Jesus. He spent the money ahead of time. He was prepared.

I wonder what he was feeling as he wrapped the body of Jesus? Remembering that late-night conversation? I’m sure he was recalling that Jesus had said He would be lifted up like the serpent in Moses’ day was.

Maybe he was even wondering, “What was that He said about, ‘Born again of the water and of the Spirit?’”

I Will Praise Jesus for His Sacrifice

But there Nicodemus was, at Calvary. Weeping over the body of the savior.

Jesus had done the hardest and most gut-wrenching act available: He laid down His life for our sin. He allowed people He loved to crucify Him. He paid the high price.

And there’s no way of repaying Him. Most of the time when someone pays a hefty price, the receiver wants to pay them back somehow. But He requires no repayment.

However, I will tell you, that regardless of the miracles He will do for you, the answered prayers you will have, the moves of God you will witness… for His work at Calvary alone, Jesus Christ is worthy of praise!

You’re in a Pentecostal church. Some criticize loud and passionate worship like this. But when I go to a football or basketball game, it gets pretty energetic. And I don’t find one out there who paid the ultimate price!

Jesus’ Resurrection

Jesus Resurrected from the Grave

And none of them expected what happened next. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb, but Jesus’ body wasn’t there! She took off to tell Peter and John, and they ran to the tomb to see it for themselves.

On a funny note… I notice that John recorded that he outran Peter to the tomb!

Now Jesus had told them He would rise from the grave. But they either didn’t believe or didn’t understand.

Luke 18:32–33 KJV 1900

For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

Experts don’t all agree on which tomb was the one, but they do agree that the tomb was empty then and it is still empty today.

And that’s the only way it holds value!

I Will Respond to This Glorious Gospel

Peter and John left the tomb, but Mary stayed a little longer.

Soon she saw angels sitting in the tomb. Then Jesus Himself appeared to her, alive and rather well, but she thought He was the gardener. Then… He called her by name. She could hear the tenderness in His voice as she heard the risen Jesus say, “Mary.”

This story teaches us that Jesus will do exactly as He promised. He has proven Himself tried, true, trustworthy, and alive forevermore.

Perhaps they were blinded by the impossible thought that Jesus could rise from the dead under His own power, especially after such a brutal beating and public crucifixion. Surely, Jesus could not come back to life after all He had suffered. Or did they just go on their way to the next current event in the news even after hearing that Jesus had risen because it was too good to be true?

We cannot just go on our way after hearing this glorious gospel. We cannot afford to ignore it or just rush off to the next appointment in our calendar. By our actions, we either receive this truth or reject it. Jesus laid down His life so we could live. Our response is our responsibility.

Conclusion

There’s a simplicity and a power that’s in the gospel that we need to receive today!