Glorious Love of Father and Son

Well, as we come to the word of God this morning, may the Lord give us receptive hearts and help us to hear what he has said.

We're continuing on in the gospel of John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

If you have your Bible, you can open it up to John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

If you don't have a Bible, there are Bibles in front of you in the seats there that you can grab onto.

And we're in John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

We've been listening and thinking about the words of Jesus and how he is the good shepherd.

And we're just now coming down to verses 17 and 18.

So let's read that.

I'll start in verse 14 just to give us some of the context again and then we'll follow along with what Jesus is saying here.

John chapter 10 verse 14.

John 10:14

I am the good shepherd.

I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

Just as the Father knows me.

And I know the Father.

And I lay down my life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen.

I must bring them also.

They too will listen to my voice.

And there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again.

No one takes it from me.

But I lay it down of my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.

This command I received from my Father.

So in verse 17 Jesus says,

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again.

Now this might sound a little strange to us.

As we said last week, the Father and his son Jesus have a very unique relationship with each other.

It's unlike anything that we know or experience.

And if you haven't been with us since the beginning of this series,

some of this might sound very strange to you.

What does Jesus mean by calling God his Father?

Well, this is the mystery of God that the Bible clearly reveals.

There is one God.

And this one God exists simultaneously all at once in three persons.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It's beyond anything that we know or understand.

There's no analogy that can perfectly illustrate this mysterious nature of God.

And I can tell you that we probably would not believe this,

that God was anything like this,

except that that's what God has revealed to us in his word.

That's what he said he is like.

We could go to all kinds of scriptures.

We won't do it this morning,

but we see very clearly in the pages of the Bible

that the Father is divine, truly God.

The Son is divine.

He's truly God.

And the Holy Spirit is divine, truly God.

And yet, not three gods, but one God.

One Lord.

One Yahweh.

One Yahweh.

And Jesus has been telling us specifically here about this special relationship that he has with God the Father.

I'll read it again.

The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life.

Now, we should know that, of course,

this is not the only reason that the Father loves the Son.

Even before we've come to this verse,

we've heard from Jesus and even from the Father

that theirs is a relationship in which love is flowing back and forth all the time.

It's a relationship characterized by love.

We saw this in John 3.35.

The Father loves the Son

and has placed everything in his hands.

We saw it in John 5.20.

For the Father loves the Son

and shows him all he does.

We saw this at Jesus' baptism in Matthew 3.17.

The Father himself speaks from heaven audibly.

This is my Son whom I love.

With him I am well pleased.

But now here in John 10.17,

Jesus is drawing our attention to one particular reason why

the Father loves the Son.

Jesus says quite literally,

on account of this,

the Father loves me.

That I lay down my life.

And we have to really chew on this a bit.

It's not that God only loves his Son

because his Son does what the Father wants him to do.

That's a sad reality that we see sometimes

in human relationships in our world.

No, it's not that.

Neither is it that the Son is desperately trying to win

and keep the love of his Father

by doing what his Father has asked of him.

That too is a sad reality that we sometimes see

lived out in our world today.

This is neither of those.

And it kind of brings us to the question,

well then,

what is so love-worthy,

what is so lovely

about the Son laying down his life?

Why does the Father love that?

The Son does this.

Well, let's ask the question again.

Why does Jesus lay down his life?

To accomplish what?

We need only to go back a few verses

and listen to what Jesus has been saying

in verse 13.

I am the good shepherd, said Jesus.

The good shepherd lays down his life.

Why?

Why?

For the sheep.

The hired hand, he said,

is not the shepherd

and does not own the sheep.

So when he sees the wolf coming,

he abandons the sheep

and runs away.

Then the wolf attacks the flock

and scatters it.

The man runs away

because he's a hired hand

and cares nothing for the sheep.

So Jesus lays down his life.

Why?

For his sheep.

Because unlike the hired hand

in this illustration,

he cares deeply about them.

He loves them.

And that's a glorious

and beautiful thing.

Love.

True, selfless love

like Jesus has for his sheep

is a lovely thing.

The Father sees that

and he loves that.

Let's talk for a moment

about the love

that Jesus has for his sheep.

Jesus loves his sheep

not just a little bit

but a lot.

So much that he will put down his life

and give himself up to death

in order to save them

from the spiritual danger

that they are in.

That's not just love

like the kind of family

or friend love

that we are familiar with

in our world today.

That's true love.

That's great love.

That's deep love.

That's the kind of love

that's rare to see

on earth today

in a world where people

usually put themselves first.

in John chapter 15

John 15:13

verse 13

Jesus says

greater love has no one

than this

that a man lay down his life

for his friends.

The greatest of loves

is seen

in the greatest of self-sacrifices

for another.

Take a good look

at the man in this picture.

The man seated on the left.

There's a reason

that this soldier is sitting.

It's a little bit tough

to see in the picture

but if you look closely

you'll notice

that part of his left leg

is missing

as well as his right arm.

His name was Harry Jackson.

It was March 1945.

He was stationed

out on the island

of Iwo Jima

along with 70,000

other U.S. Marines.

The Japanese troops

attacked the island.

The battle lasted 36 days.

27,000 American Marines

were killed or injured.

On the 19th of March

seven days before

this battle ended

Harry Jackson's squad

was on outpost duty

with a rifle platoon.

During the night

Japanese soldiers

infiltrated the perimeter

and threw a grenade

into the foxhole

where Harry Jackson

and his comrades were.

Without hesitation

he took off his helmet

put it on top

of the grenade

and then jumped

on top of that

with his body.

He saved the lives

of the three men

next to him.

And amazingly

he survived as well.

He lost his left leg

his right arm

his left eye

and he ended up

with powder burns

all over his body

for the rest of his life.

Can you imagine that?

As one U.S. Marine

commenting on the story

said

the natural instinct there

is to jump away

to get away from it

and nobody would have

faulted him

for doing that.

But he knew

in that moment

that if he smothered

that grenade

there was a chance

that his friends

might live.

And so he did.

Even if it would kill him.

That's the greatest

of loves

Jesus says.

To lay down your life

for your friends.

And that's rare

to see.

Paul in Romans chapter 5

Romans 5:7

verse 7 says

very rarely

will anyone die

for a righteous person

though for a good person

someone might possibly

dare to die.

Paul's about to contrast

the rarest

and best

of human loves

with the love of God

and the love of Christ.

But his point is that

when it comes to choosing

to die for someone else

like to save them

it's very rare.

even if the person

who could be saved

is known to be

a good and righteous person

it's very rare

almost always

people will just act

in their own best interests

to preserve themselves.

And this is what is glorious

and beautiful

about Jesus Christ.

He has

the rarest

and most beautiful

of loves

for us.

unworthy

sinners

that we are.

Here in John chapter 10

John 10 · chapter mention

we're still a ways off

from

the cross.

That day

Jesus will lay down

his life

but already

Jesus is talking

about it.

He's thinking

about it.

I'm going to lay down

my life

for my sheep.

He's intent

on doing it.

In fact

all the way back

in chapter 6

back in Capernaum

he was thinking

about it.

He said

this bread

is my flesh

which I will give

for the life

of the world.

In fact

all the way back

in chapter 3

when Jesus was talking

to Nicodemus

he said a similar

kind of thing

about how he would

be lifted up

so that everyone

who believes

might have

eternal life.

even before that

Jesus

the Son of God

right from the start

had it on his heart

to lay down

his life

to rescue us.

Mark 10

45

the Son of Man

did not come

to be served

but to serve

and

to give

his life

as a ransom

for many.

and what makes

Christ's

love

really stand out

is that

he will die

for sinners

like you

and me.

We might think

that we're pretty good

some days

probably the truth

is

that we all

have no idea

just how deplorable

our sins

really are

to a holy

and righteous

God.

We are

quite

unworthy

we are

quite guilty

we are

quite deserving

of punishment

that's what's

right

that's what's

fair

and yet

Jesus

looks at us

with compassion

and tender

pity

and he says

I'm going to

go down

and I'm going

to suffer

the shame

and the agony

of the death

that they deserve

for their sins

so that they

can be saved

and rescued

from it

and Jesus

did

he laid down

his life

on the cross

he was crucified

to atone

for our sins

this love

of Christ

for his sheep

for you

for me

is glorious

it's beautiful

it's wondrous

have you felt

it

do you know

it

and the father

as he watches

all of this

unfolding on earth

he loves

his son

all the more

for doing it

for going

through

with it

it's the most

lovely thing

in his sight

there was

already

great

deep

love

for his

son

and now

there's even

greater

even deeper

love

for Jesus

his son

so Jesus

tells the Pharisees

and anyone else

listening in

that he's going

to lay down

his life

for his sheep

he's going to

die for them

but in the same

breath

he says

I'm also going

to take up

my life

again

very strange

thing to say

maybe unexpected

we'll come back

to that

another message

we'll keep

tracking

with Jesus

as he talks

about laying

down his life

for his sheep

down into

verse 18

the reason

my father

loves me

is that I lay

down my life

only to take

it up again

no one

takes it

from me

no one

takes my life

from me

but I lay

it down

of my own

accord

now this may

sound strange

but let's keep

listening to Jesus

no one

takes my life

from me

he says

I lay it

down of my

own accord

it's as though

he's saying

let the record

be clear

even before

the day

comes

when you

Pharisees

will see me

up on that

cross

you did

not take

my life

from me

I laid

it down

the Pharisees

and the

religious leaders

who plotted

against Jesus

they did

not take

Jesus life

from him

as if they

could

the mob

who shouted

crucify him

until Pilate

finally gave

in and handed

Jesus over

they did

not take

Jesus life

from him

as if

they could

Pilate

who granted

the request

did not

take Jesus

life from

him

as if

he could

and even

the Roman

soldiers

who pounded

the nails

into Jesus

hands and

feet

did not

take

Jesus life

from him

as if

they could

no

no one

takes my

life

from me

I lay

it down

of my

own

accord

the Roman

soldiers

Pilate

the religious

leaders

could scheme

they could

do their

their hardest

to try to

kill Jesus

the son of

God

but if

Jesus

had not

surrendered

himself

to their

plots

and even

in those

final moments

if Jesus

had not

surrendered

his body

over to

death

they couldn't

have killed

him

they would

have failed

no one

takes my

life from

me

I lay

it down

of my

own

accord

they're

strange

words

and yet

magnificent

unless

Jesus

chooses

to lay

down

his

life

and die

he's

immortal

he is

invincible

he cannot

be beaten

he cannot

be outsmart

he cannot

be outflanked

by their

schemes

and their

plots

all of

which he

sees

right through

he is

the sinless

son

of the

most

high

God

and unless

Jesus

allows

himself

to be

bound

and chooses

to humble

himself

before them

and willingly

surrenders

his body

to death

he will

not die

we see

glimpses

of what

Jesus

could have

done

like in

the garden

when Jesus

commanded

Peter to

put his

sword

away

as he

says in

Matthew's

gospel

do you

think I

cannot

call on

my

father

and he

will at

once

put at

my

disposal

twelve

legions

of

angels

oh I

could get

out of

this

and yet

he didn't

because he

was instead

choosing

to surrender

himself

into their

hands

no one

takes my

life from

me

I lay

it down

of my

own

accord

or like

on the

cross

when the

people were

mocking

Jesus

Matthew

Matthew 27:40

27

verse 40

they were

saying

you who

are going

to destroy

the temple

and rebuild

it in three

days

come down

from the

cross

and save

yourself

if you

are the

son of

God

could he

have come

down from

the cross

in that

moment

oh yeah

could he

have saved

himself

absolutely

but instead

he chose

to surrender

his body

to death

to fulfill

the scriptures

to accomplish

the mission

the rescue

mission

planned long

ago

no one

takes my

life from

me

says Jesus

but I lay

it down

of my own

accord

there's

another

angle

that I

want to

talk about

just briefly

here

sometimes

you may

run across

someone

who

mocks

God

who says

what kind

of father

would kill

his own

son

Richard

Dawkins

is an

example

of such

a person

he's the

most arrogant

and truth

suppressing

man

I've ever

heard of

his book

maybe you've

heard of it

the God

delusion

I refuse

to even

quote how

he describes

God in

that book

but one

of the

things that

he accuses

God of

being is

filicidal

so think

homicidal

homicidal

the tendency

to kill

people

filicidal

having the

tendency

or bent

towards

killing

your own

children

according

to Dawkins

that's God

that's

his

nature

and we

should be

clear

did God

kill

Jesus

on the

cross

many

passages

of

scripture

say

yes

God

poured

out

his

wrath

on

Jesus

he

punished

Jesus

but not

because

he's

some

evil

sicko

of a

father

who

gets

kicks

out of

doing

things like

that

to his

own

child

no

God

punished

Jesus

for our

sins

and he

did it

because

Jesus

willingly

agreed

to be

our

substitute

to take

the punishment

that we

deserve

to be that

sacrificial

lamb

Richard Dawkins

view of God

is twisted

and false

God

is not

some

vindictive

or violent

bully

who just

gets kicks

out of

making

people

suffer

that's

what the

devil

wants us

to believe

about God

it's the same

sort of lie

that Satan

used back

in the

garden of

Eden

is God

really good

does he

really have

your best

interests

in mind

no

God

is good

he is

just

he is

compassionate

he is

gracious

and he

did not

force

his son

Jesus

onto that

cross

hear the

words of

Jesus

again

and make

no mistake

no one

takes

my life

from me

I lay

it down

of my

own

accord

of my

own

accord

we've

heard that

before

this is

something

that Jesus

said

back in

John

chapter

five

I don't

know if

you remember

this one

Jesus was

talking to the

Pharisees

there too

he said

very truly

I tell

you

the son

can do

nothing

by himself

that's the

same language

in the

original

language

of his

own

accord

he can

only do

what he

sees

his

father

doing

because

whatever

the father

does

the son

also

does

for the

father

loves

the son

and shows

him all

he does

so we

read there

that the

son can

do nothing

of himself

nothing

on his

own

nothing

independent

from the

father

and yet

here

in John

10 17

and 18

he says

I lay

down my

life

of my

own

accord

what do we

need to

make of

this

but we

must not

make the

mistake

of trying

to pit

Jesus

against

the

father

just as

Jesus

said

he and

his

father

act

and work

together

they can't

be divided

they can't

be separated

on this

yes

Jesus

lays his

life down

of his

own

accord

but it's

also the

father's

plan

and the

father's

will

too

yes

the father

has sent

the son

and given

the son

and delivered

him up

for us

all

but it's

also the

son's

will

and desire

to go

and to

be sent

and to

be given

and to

be delivered

up

for us

all

you can't

separate

father and

son

they always

work

together

says

Jesus

they act

together

they accomplish

together

at the same

time as

Jesus

willingly

lays down

his life

so too

his father

delivers him

up

to death

they do

have a

different

role

the father

commands

and the

son obeys

those commands

but it's

not a

begrudging

or dutiful

obedience

that Jesus

has

of his

father

Jesus

loves his

father

and it's

his own

heart's

will

not only

to obey

his father

but to do

all the same

things

that the

father is

commanding

him to

do

he would

do

those

anyway

because

they are

good

they are

beautiful

they are

right

you cannot

separate

father and

son

in their

willing

or in

their

working

so what

do we

take

from all

this

well I

want to

point us

back to

the heart

of Christ

we know

most of

us that

God the

father

loves us

we know

that he

sent and

gave Jesus

to save

us

John 3

16

for God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

one and

only son

but do

you know

that Jesus

the God

man

the one

with flesh

and blood

like we

have

do you

know that

Jesus

himself

loves

you

in his

heart

of hearts

so much

that he

laid down

his life

of his

own

accord

because

he

wanted

to do

it

for you

sometimes

we might

get that

mixed up

in our

minds

we might

think

well did

Jesus

just go

to the

cross

and die

for me

because

he

had

to

because

it's

what

the

father

wanted

hear

these

words

I

did

it

I

do

it

of my

own

accord

because

I

want

to do

that

for

you

I

care

about

you

I

love

you

I

want

to

see

you

have

life

and

be

forgiven

and

be

saved

he

wants

you

to

have

life

just

like

God

the

father

wants

you

to

have

life

or

maybe

it's

the

other

way

around

in

your

mind

maybe

you

tend

to

think

of

it

a

little

differently

well

I

know

that

Jesus

loves

me

I

mean

look

at what

he

did

for

me

at

the

cross

but

the

father

does

he

really

love

me

or

is

he

just

angry

with

me

and

Jesus

is

there

like

my

older

brother

standing

in the

gap

and

making

a

case

for

me

let

me

point

you

back

to

verse

17

again

the

reason

my

father

loves

me

is

that

I

lay

down

my

life

and

we

can

fill

in

the

blank

for

the

sheep

God

the

father

loves

that

Jesus

willingly

lay

down

his

life

to

save

you

because

God

the

father

himself

loves

you

and

wants

you

to be

saved

just

the

same

as

Jesus

the

two

are

one

father

and

son

together

both

love

you

love

me

in

fact

it's

all

three

father

son

and

holy

spirit

all

working

together

in

love

on

this

rescue

mission

it's

a

beautiful

thing

the

only

words

I

could

think

to

to

wrap

all

this

up

are

the

words

of

Fanny

Crosby

to

God

be

the

glory

great

things

he

has

done

so

loved

he

the

world

that

he

gave

us

his

son

who

yielded

his

life

an

atonement

for

sin

and

opened

the

life

gate

that

all

may

go

in

praise

the

Lord

praise

the

Lord

let

the

earth

hear

his

voice

praise

the

Lord

praise

the

Lord

let

the

people

rejoice

oh

come

to

the

father

through

Jesus

the

son

and

give

him

the

glory

great

things

he

has

done

let's

pray

what

more

can

we

say

to

you

Lord

to

your

name

be

the

glory

I

thank

you

that

there's

no

darkness

in

you

there's

no

malicious

intent

there's

no

evil

there's

no

secret

agenda

to

hurt

or to

harm

or to

deceive

there's

goodness

there's

love

right down

to the

very

depths

of

your

heart

for

us

oh

I

pray

that

each

one

of

us

here

would

feel

that

and

know

that

and

that

we

would

surrender

ourselves

completely

to

your

care

in

Jesus

name

amen

amen

to

listen

hung

warz

și

Yah

Simply