Jesus’ Perspective on His own Death

These are Written
Believe
Should Not Perish
3:16
Never, Never
Life, Love, Light
Condemned by Choice
This and That
Seven Expressions of Love from the Cross
Why?
I know, I know!
What?
UGH!
Expedient
Gain Grace?
The Gift
The Hands of God
Immortality
COME UP HERE
Not by Works of Righteousness We have Done
Jesus’ Perspective on His own Death
I AM

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Thanks to the American Bible Society “The Gospel of John” for the video scenes.

I want to remind us of the perspective that Jesus, our Savior, had concerning His own death. Because I think it helps us appreciate it a little bit more. His death was 1) Purposeful, 2) Voluntary, 3) Joyful, and 4) Glorious.

Well, first of all, His death was purposeful. He recognized that He was going to die. John 12:27 says, “What shall I say, Father, do not let this hour come upon me. But that is why I came.”

The purpose of his death was also voluntary. It was a voluntary or volitional outpouring of His love, and it showed full and true submission to God, the Father. Romans 5:8, “for God demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In the garden, Jesus said three times to the Father, “not My will, but Your will be done.” In John 10:17-18 Jesus said, “The Father loves me because I’m willing to give up My life in order that I may receive it back again. No one takes My life away from Me. I give it up of My own free will. I have the right to give it up and I have the right to take it back.This is what my father has commanded me to do.”

His death was purposeful. His death was voluntary. His death was also joyful. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus was fully aware of the pain and the suffering that He would face at the cross, but He had his eyes on the joy, and that joy was purchasing our eternal destiny.

And then finally, Jesus considered death as the path to glory. In John 12:23 He said those words, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to receive great glory.” And this is an amazing verse to me because this is shortly before the passion week. This is shortly before He would go through all of that suffering, the betrayal, the arrest, the scourging, the piercing of his hands and feet, the crown of thorns on his head, and the gathering up the sins of the world that pierced His heart. He didn’t say the time has come for the Son of Man to be tortured and tormented and suffer for the sins of the world. No, He said, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” He ignored the suffering and kept his eyes on the glory. And if we can grasp the truth of that verse, it would totally change our perspective of the sufferings in our life.

So this is His perspective of His own death. He was born to die.

Gene Cunningham - May 22, 2022

These are Written

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John's gospel was written with the primary purpose of leading people into a saving knowledge of Jesus and through faith, introducing them into the family of God. But he tells us here in John Chapter 20 why he wrote what he wrote in this book, and it's built around a word that we're going to see in verse 29. This is where Thomas, of course, meets with the Risen Lord, and he realizes that he's been raised from the dead, and Jesus tells him to reach his hand and touch His wounds and recognize that it's him. And Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord, and my God, declaring both the humanity and the deity of Jesus Christ. And Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed is those who have not seen and yet have believed. And that includes every one of us here tonight. It tells me that we have a blessing that none of those who traveled with him will ever have. We often think if only we could have been there, if we could have observed the miracles, if we could have heard the teaching how great our faith would have been, how much more strengthened it would have been, because we've never seen that Jesus is telling Thomas that there's a blessing for those who have never seen that he and the other apostles would never know. Then he says in verse 30, “Truly, Jesus did many other signs.” I want you to notice the word sign because that is a favorite word of John's gospel. There are three different words you can use for miracles one of the words is a word that is often translated wonder, and it talks about the effect of the miracle on the people. They're astounded, they're amazed, they're excited. They're standing in awe of what has happened. That's one of the words that is used. Another word that is often used is just the word miracle, and it speaks about some magnificent work. It talks more about the effect of it. For example, a blind man who's given sight or the dead raised from the grave. And it is speaking more of the effect and the power of the miracle. And then we have the word sign. The word sign is John's favorite word for the works of Jesus Christ. And the reason he uses it is because a sign tells you something about the person who does the work. It's not so much about its effect on the people or the change that it makes in someone's life. It's about the person who performs the work. It's a sign. It has a spiritual meaning and a spiritual lesson behind it. So truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. Verse 31 says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ Son of God. And that believing you may have life in His name.” John's Gospel is an evangelistic gospel.