What Was Jesus Doing On the Cross?

 # 11 (He was) showing His love for the unworthy 

Earlier in this Series of Messages we were saying that through Jesus' suffering and death on the cross God was showing His love for the unworthy, Romans 5: 8 ‘But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.’ 

John 3: 16; Romans 5: 5b; Colossians 3: 12a; 1 Thessalonians 1: 4b; 1 John 3: 1a; 1 John 4: 16  

We were reminded that Jesus did NOT suffer and die on the cross because we are worthy and deserving of salvation – NO! 

Jesus suffered and died on the cross because we are unworthy and undeserving of salvation 

Today, let’s consider 3 things about Jesus' suffering and death on the cross showing His love for the unworthy: 

Firstly, Jesus was showing His love for YOU 

Some people might say, “Pastor David, I know that Jesus loves US, as it says in, Revelation 1: 5 ‘All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us.’,

And I know that Jesus loves the CHURCH, as it says in Ephesians 5: 25b ‘Christ loved the church’”  

“But how can Jesus love ME/YOU when He died on the cross 2, 000 years ago - He doesn’t even know me!?” 

I would say, “Oh really - you say Jesus doesn’t even know you!?” 

I strongly disagree! 

Jesus told an illustration about how a shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know the shepherd 

John 10: 2a-3 ‘But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep...the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.’ 

John 10: 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know Me,” 

Jesus wasn’t really talking about a shepherd and his sheep; He was talking about knowing those that He loved and that He would save them through His suffering and death on the cross! 

John 10: 11, 15b 

Jesus went on to say, John 10: 16 “I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to My voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.” Who are those ‘other sheep’? - They are you and me! 

Later in the Upper Room on the evening of His betrayal, Jesus said, as He prayed, that He would suffer and die on the cross for those that belonged to the Father and that the father had given to Him from the ‘foundation of the world’, John 17: 6 “I have revealed You to the ones You gave Me from this world. They were always Yours. You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word”, And, John 17: 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message.” 

So, when did our salvation begin? Did it begin when you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? No! It began a long time before that, it began in the heart of the Father from eternity past,  

Ephesians 1: 4-7, 11 

Romans 8: 29-30 ‘For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.’ 

We join with the Apostle Paul in saying, Galatians 2: 20b ‘I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved ME’ 

Secondly, Jesus was showing His MEASURED love for you  

Let me explain: 

When we use the word ‘love’ we often use it like this – we say: 

“I love chocolate” 

“I love my cat” 

“I love camping” 

“I love my husband/wife” (when he/she is good to me) 

(Couples usually split up depending upon how they feel about each other) 

 Usually, we say we ‘love’ something or someone based upon how that thing or person makes us feel 

 And sometimes you will hear a Christian say, “I know God is love but I don’t feel like God loves me” 

1 John 4: 8; 1 John 4: 16;  

The problem with that statement is they believe that love is a feeling; If you believe that love is a feeling, you can become disappointed when the feeling goes away 

One day you will say, “Today is a great day because I can feel God’s love today”, but when that feeling goes away, you will say, “Today is a bad day because I don’t feel God’s love today - I don’t think God loves me.” 

Love is not a feeling – ‘real love’ is a MEASURED action that benefits the welfare of the other person 

1 John 3: 16a ‘We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us.’ 

Jesus' suffering and death on the cross was a MEASURED action – He gave up His life for us, He was buried, resurrected, ascended into Heaven and lives forever more according to the record of the Gospels! 

The word that the Apostle John used here in 1 John 3: 16a for ‘love’ is the word agapē and means the kind of love that comes from God – and God’s love does not fail! 

1 Corinthians 13: 8 

Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on the cross did not fail, it achieved its purpose in bringing us to God - How does that make you feel!? 

Thirdly, Jesus was showing His SACRIFICIAL love for you 

From the very beginning when the first man Adam sinned against God, animal sacrifices were made to temporarily cover the sins of the people of God 

Genesis 3: 21 

Because these sacrifices only temporarily covered the sins of the people, they had to be repeated several times a year and continued for 4,000 years right up to the time of the prophet Malachi through whom God said, Malachi 1: 10 ‘How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered!’ 

Why did God say the Old Testament sacrifices were ‘worthless’? 

Because they only temporarily covered the sins of the people and had to be repeated several times every year 

One of the most significant sacrifices was the sacrifice of the Passover lamb 

Here’s some background: 

Israel had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years and through a series of 9 plaques on Egypt God was forcing the Egyptian Pharoah to release the people of God from their captivity 

Israel was spared from the first 9 plagues but there was another one coming that Israel was not spared from – that is the death of all the first-born in the land of Egypt 

To escape this plague, God commanded His people to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and smear its’ blood on the outside frames of their doorways; and the Lord said, Exodus 12: 13b ‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.’ 

The Passover lamb was killed, and its’ blood shed as a sacrifice to God taking the place of the first-born of every family 

But even this sacrifice was only a temporary covering for the sins of the people as the Lord said, Exodus 12: 24 ‘Remember, these instructions are a permanent law that you and your descendants must observe forever.’ 

Galatians 4: 4a ‘But when the right time came, God sent his Son,’ the fulfillment of the Passover lamb Who would sacrifice Himself on the cross to TAKE AWAY our sins forever!  

1 Corinthians 5: 7b ‘Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us’ 

John 1: 29 ‘Look! The Lamb of God who TAKES AWAY the sin of the world!’ 

Hebrews 9: 12 ‘With His own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.’ 

When Jesus suffered and died on the cross as a sacrifice for YOU, His blood flowed from the wounds in His body and ran down the wooden frames of the cross providing YOU with the forgiveness of YOUR sins, 1 Peter 1: 18-20 ‘For YOU know that God paid a ransom to save YOU from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose Him as YOUR ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days He has been revealed for YOUR sake.’