March 14, 2021
John 3:14-16
On this the 4th Sunday in Lent, we begin to see the cross in the
distance and learn of its healing power of salvation by grace. As Moses raised
a bronze serpent Jesus must be raised up on a cross.
The upraised serpent in the Old Testament lesson brought healing
through the forgiving love of God. This took place simply by looking to the
upraised serpent. The cross brings eternal life to those who look to the cross
with the eyes of faith. The way of the cross calls for faith in Christ who
hangs upon the cross.
Look and know that God loves you –
I. Look
beyond the cross – the source of God’s love – “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
A. The Father offered up His only Son although it was done through
the sinful acts of others.
1. The 30 pieces of silver Judas received is quite a cheap price for
God’s only Son. Equivalent to 120 days work – that’s 24 weeks - about ½ a
year’s pay.
2. The cash spent to betray Jesus was recognized as blood money. It
was currency which had been compromised – so it couldn’t be placed back into
the treasury.
a. It was the price of betrayal. Stephen King once said, “No one ever really pays for betrayal in silver…The price of any
betrayal always comes due in flesh.”[2]
b. At what price would we sell out a friend? Examples; taking a life
over a pair of shoes may be an extreme act of violence. Yet, just as heinous
and shocking might include betraying a secret to win another’s attention or
admiration? Refusing to help because we didn’t want to get our hands dirty? Can
we be charged with similar crimes against humanity?
3. Sin simply causes life to be cheapened and our integrity to be
compromised.
B. The purpose of the Father offering His son was the reconciliation
of the world. Sin only cheapens life – Christ restores it to its original
value. You have worth – real worth not based on what we see or value in
ourselves but on what the Father determines to be of real worth.
Your
worth is not found in your education, your relationship status, your career, your
dress size or your bank account. Your worth is in Christ. So judge your worth
and value by what God says to you in His Word not by how someone treats you.
As
one loved by God, you have also been chosen by God for “adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself” (Ephesians 1:5). This
adoption came at a high price, the death of His Son. “He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:6, 7)
Transition: We look to the one on the cross to see the source of God’s love.
Look to the one on the cross who is giving you this worth!
II. Look to
the One on the cross –Just
as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
John 3:14
A. Sin produces nothing but sickness, and death. Israel rebelled only
to have deadly snakes devour the people. Where could they go? What could they
do? They were trapped – only the Great Physician could heal them. By placing
serpent on a pole and lifting it up the people were drawn to it for restoration
and life.
B. Likewise Jesus was lifted up on a cross. The cross was the supreme
exaltation of Jesus – in being lifted up Christ draws all sorts of people to
Himself - without any regard for nationality, ethnic affiliation or status.
Transition: We look to the one on the cross to see the source of God’s love.
We look to the one on the cross who is giving you this worth. We look at the
cross where there is a sacrifice of life for you!
III. Look at
the cross – sacrifice for you – that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
John 3:15
A. The sacrifice of Christ on a cross was a sacrifice for a purpose
that people might believe in Him. John will use the word “believe” 98 times in
his gospel. John’s purpose was that his readers might believe and continue to
believe in Christ and Him alone. People are not to believe in John the Baptist
or their preacher or anyone else. To this day people are called to believe in
Christ through the testimony and the message of the cross.
B. The purpose of such believing is to have eternal life. This life
which Jesus offers is an infinitely high quality of life in living fellowship
with God both now and forever.
It is a life which has no end. It is an abundant life – a life
with purpose, and power.
The story is told that when Thomas Aquinas returned from
worshiping at the foot of the cross, he said, “That which I have seen today
makes all that I have written seem as trash! I shall not write another word!” Salvation
comes simply in a look – a look at the cross and a look in faith. Certainly the
way of the cross calls for faith in Christ who hangs upon the cross.
Words-1,010
Passive Sentences –22%
Readability –78.4%
Reading Level -5.9
[1] http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/LentenCollects.htm
[2] Robin Furth, Stephen King (2006). “Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance”, p.494, Simon and Schuster
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