God Gave His Son
Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Wherever two or three are gathered together in My name, Jesus said, there am I in the midst of them. To those of you who love Him in truth: mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. (Jude 1:2)
Today’s program is called God Gave His Son. Let’s turn to John 3:14-16, Jesus was talking to Nicodemus and He said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Let’s turn to Eph 2:4-8, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
The gift of God is Jesus. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. How much did He love us? That’s how much He loved us. Just think on that for a moment. He loved us so much that He gave His Son for us. What does it mean, He gave? What happened when He gave Him? How did He give Him?
Let’s turn to Matt 26:36-68, Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him. Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, “This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.” And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “You have said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.” Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?”
Let’s turn to Matt 27:11-35, Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “You say.”
And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing.
Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?”
But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.
All during Jesus’ ministry, many wanted to kill Him, but they could not touch Him, because His hour had not come. His hour came in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas and his band of men came to arrest Him. Jesus said, “Do you not know that I can now pray to my Father and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels, but how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled?” In Luke 22 it is written that Jesus said here, “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” The Father gave His beloved Son into the hands of those that wanted to kill Him so that He could die on the Cross for our sins. We have heard that many times: that Jesus died for our sins. But what was it like for Jesus? What did He actually go through? First of all, He became a man; He walked this Earth as a man. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet He never sinned. He endured many temptations for over 30 years. Thereby He became the spotless Lamb of God who could be offered as a living sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
Let’s turn to Isaiah 53, verses 3-6, He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was despised; rejected; He was grieved. Our pains and our sicknesses were literally put on Him on the Cross. He was beaten and bruised for our sins and our iniquities. He was tormented that we might receive His peace. One of the first things they did to Him was scourge Him with a Roman lash. His flesh was thereby torn off His back as stripes, and with those stripes we were healed. All the iniquities of the human race were laid upon Him. He literally became sin on the Cross. That’s when the Father had to forsake Him, for the first time in all eternity, and Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” He hung alone on that Cross, as they mocked Him and chided Him. He was oppressed and afflicted, but He did not open His mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; He was bruised and put to grief. His soul was made an offering for sin: His soul entered into great travail as He bore our iniquities; as He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for us transgressors.
In Psalm 22 we see that Jesus hung alone on the Cross: a reproach of men and despised of the people. They laughed Him to scorn. All His bones went out of joint as the powers of darkness attacked Him. Have you ever had one bone go out of joint? It is extremely painful. After He was arrested, before He went to the Cross, they beat Him; they spat on Him. Have you ever had anyone spit in your face? They tore out His beard. They put a crown of thorns upon His head and beat His head with a rod. They punched Him. Have you ever been punched by a big strong man, like a Roman soldier? This is what Jesus went through for us. This is what it means: that God loved us and gave His beloved, only begotten Son for us to pay our ransom. They pierced His hands and His feet and His side, and His Blood was shed upon that Cross. The scripture says, He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood.
Jesus willingly did this for us, enduring all of this for us, when we were dead in our sins, because He loves us. This is how much He and the Father love us. This was the cost of our salvation and our forgiveness: the suffering that Jesus, the man who was tempted in every way as we are, and yet He never sinned, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the Devil; this is what He endured for us. This is the depth of His love for us! Greater love has no man than this, Jesus said, than to lay down one’s life for His friends. After His suffering was completed on the Cross, Jesus said, "It is finished," and He commended His Spirit to His Father, and He died. This is what it means when we say, He died for our sins. He was crucified for our sins, and on the third day the Father raised Him from the dead and justified Jesus, and all of us who believe in Him, from all our sins. Thereby He abolished death and brought us eternal life. Hallelujah! The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thankyou for reading this message from 15 Minutes With Jesus at roberthaymes.com . May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you who love Him in truth, Amen. (2 Cor 13:14)