The Sacrifice of Heaven
John 3:16
Easter Morning Service
Little Philip, born with Down's syndrome, attended a third-grade Sunday School class with several eight-year-old boys and girls. Typical of that age, the children did not readily accept Philip with his differences, according to an article in Leadership magazine. But because of a creative teacher, they began to care about Philip and accept him as part of the group, though not fully. The Sunday after Easter the teacher brought Leggs pantyhose containers, the kind that look like large eggs. Each receiving one, the children were told to go outside on that lovely spring day, find some symbol for new life, and put it in the egg-like container. Back in the classroom, they would share their new-life symbols, opening the containers one by one in surprise fashion. After running about the church property in wild confusion, the students returned to the classroom and placed the containers on the table. Surrounded by the children, the teacher began to open them one by one. After each one, whether flower, butterfly, or leaf, the class would ooh and ahh. Then one was opened, revealing nothing inside. The children exclaimed, "That's stupid. That's not fair. Somebody didn't do their assignment." Philip spoke up, "That's mine." "Philip, you don't ever do things right!" the student retorted. "There's nothing there!" I did so do it," Philip insisted. "I did do it. It's empty. the tomb was empty!" Silence followed. From then on Philip became a full member of the class.
He died not long afterward from an infection most normal children would have shrugged off. At the funeral this class of eight-year-olds marched up to the altar not with flowers, but with their Sunday school teacher, each to lay on it an empty pantyhose egg.
Quick Facts about the resurrection
Did it happen?
The resurrection is not some fairy tale or wishful thinking. It is an historical fact. The resurrection is not only recorded in the New Testament, the most reliable ancient document in history, but also in history.
There are a number of proofs recorded in the New Testament.
1. The empty tomb
2. The shell of grave clothes
3. Eyewitness testimony of the women
4. The personal change in the disciples
Does it matter?
The resurrection has the power to change lives. It is the power to bring life out of death. It is the power to transform the worst person into the greatest person. The resurrection matters more than words can possibly express.
John creates a vivid illustration of the work of the cross and the empty grave. He lays out the personal mission of Jesus for all to know and see. John communicates the point, the purpose and the power of the resurrection. If you have your Bibles with you please open them with me to John 3:16.
John 3:16 is the most widely known verse of scripture. We see the reference on posters at sporting events. The words have been memorized more than any other verse. We see the reference on everything from mugs and t-shirts to bumper stickers and graffiti. We see it, we hear it and we have it memorized but do we really understand it? The words of John 3:16 are the essence of the Easter, they are the words of hope and they communicate the core of the gospel. It seems highly fitting to focus on these words for Resurrection morning.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
The Resurrection tells us that God's love knows no limits
John uses the word love more than any other gospel writer. There are two different Greek words that He uses 49 different times. This means that John uses the word love three times more than any gospel writer. As these familiar words roll forth from the page, there can be no mistake that love is one of the central themes.
God's love is not static or inactive. God's love reaches out to others and seeks to connect with them. God's love draws people to Him. The nature of God's actions reveals the true qualities of love. God shows the depth of His love by the willingness to sacrifice. Love is displayed in the level of personal sacrifice given to those who are loved.
Notice the words of Jesus: God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. The level of love matches the level of sacrifice. The love that God displayed for the world was extreme in its nature and supreme in its sacrifice. There was no way for God to give more. There was no way for God to do more. There was no way for God to show His love more.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
The nature of God¡¦s love cannot be rivaled by anyone or anything. The point of the resurrection was to demonstrate to a lost world the lengths He was willing to go to have a relationship with humanity. God would spare no effort, spare no expense and spare no sacrifice to regain the option for a relationship with us.
Think about that for just a moment, God was willing to do whatever it took for us to know Him and His love. How sad that so many fail to grasp the level of God's love. Even sadder still is the fact that so many hear of God's love and refuse to accept it. Love is revealed in the depth of relationships. God's desire is to have a personal relationship with you.
The resurrection is about relationships
The point of the resurrection is clear, God wants to restore a proper relationship with every person on the planet. Guess what? That includes you! God desires to have a close personal relationship with every person.
Before you say, God would not want a relationship with me, let¡¦s look at some of the people He chose to relate with.
Moses and David were murderers.
Peter was a hothead who couldn't keep his mouth shut
James and John had extremely bad tempers and they were called sons of thunder
Paul tried to destroy the church
Thomas refused to believe
Samson was an adulterer
Gideon was a coward
The point is that God wants a personal relationship with you, yes you. The problem that most people have with this verse is that the world seems too big and incredibly impersonal. Let¡¦s do a little exercise with the verse. Read it again and substitute your name for the world. God is far from impersonal, His love impacts us all differently and changes us in amazing ways.
The resurrection reveals the sacrifice of heaven
Jesus willingly and actively demonstrated the love of God by dying on the cross. Jesus died before we ever had any interest in God. Jesus laid His love on the line for us and was willing to show us the depth of God's love in a sacrificial manner. Why would He do this? Jesus loves us more than life itself.
Sacrificial love simply seeks to meet the needs of others. The greatest need that we have is the solution to the sin problem. The word sin is politically incorrect these days but it is an essential term the church needs to defend and maintain. The Greek word most commonly used for sin means to miss the mark. The reality is that sin is nothing more than getting life off target at times. All of us have been off target at some point in life. Every person has done something that they regret and wishes they could change. There is no person above the universal reality of sin.
All have fallen short of the glory of God. No matter who you are or what your position in life is, there has been a time when you stepped away from God's best for your life. Sin is the universal problem that none of us can rise above on our own. God steps in to provide what we need. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross because we needed it. Jesus gave Himself in our place.
Commitment
God's number 1 desire for your life is to reach heaven. There is nothing more important to Him than that fact. Most people have the desire to get into heaven. Our desire and God's desire matches on this point, but there is one problem: we cannot get in on our own. The reality is that we can only enter into heaven God's way. It does make sense because it is His heaven. God made the way through the sacrifice of His Son.
Let¡¦s look at these amazing words one more time before closing the service. All of the wonderful and powerful promises contained in these words have a condition. The point of God's love, the purpose of the resurrection and the power of the resurrection, all hinge on one requirement: belief. The promises are given to those who believe. Whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. You must believe to gain access to eternity.
What exactly do you need to believe?
We must believe that we have sinned
We must believe that Jesus died for our sins
We must believe that He rose from the dead
We must believe that we need to follow Him
