The sermon I will be preaching to you today is titled, “The True Nature of the Love That Came to Us.”

Sometimes while driving, we may see signs on buildings that say, “God is love.” And at church, you may often hear people say, “God loves you!” When I first came to church, though, those words didn’t hit home for me. Not only that, I thought I didn’t need that love of God. It was as though I was saying, “I don’t need Your love!”

However, I was actually in a state of earnest longing for love, more specifically, eternal love. I longed not for transient love but everlasting love. Although I was in a relationship, I felt anxious about it because I knew that love was not going to last forever. And even if I told the other person, “I will love you forever,” I knew very well that was impossible.

People want to be loved—forever. One of the factors that has a significant influence on the development of our personality is how much love we received from our parents since childhood. It is likely that those who are anxious or seem emotionally unstable didn’t get to feel that deep sense of being loved by their parents. From childhood, we want to be loved—by our parents, by  people around us, with a love that would last forever. There is this desire within us.

It’s a strange thing that we yearn for everlasting love. You see, when we are hungry, we want to eat food. But once we have eaten, the desire immediately disappears. When we are cold, we want to take a nice warm bath. Yet the moment we enter a warm place, the desire for warmth disappears. It doesn’t last very long. However, even though we are loved, we want to be loved more and more. We want it to be everlasting. What is the reason for that? The desire to eat is from our bodies. The warmth we desire is also from our bodies. But the desire to be loved is not from the body. It is our spirit that wants to be loved.

The spirit refers to the eternal “me”—My eternal self. You are here at church today not to make your body happy, but to bring happiness to your eternal self. We are not beings who simply vanish when the body is gone. We exist eternally. Even when we leave this physical body behind, our spirit exists eternally. And what our spirit needs is eternal love.

Who can give us that love? The eternal God. We come to church to believe in Jesus, and the One we believe in is the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead two thousand years ago. Although we cannot see Him, we believe in Him, and we have become His children. Our relationship with Him is that of Father and His children. Thus, we are continuously receiving His love even now.

In bestowing His love upon us, there is one condition. If we examine ourselves, we are not deserving of His love. When you hear someone say, “God loves you,” you may think, “That’s because God doesn’t know what kind of person I am.” We know ourselves best, don’t we? Are we worthy of being loved? No, we are not. Instead, we have been God’s enemies all this time. Despite the wonderful gifts God bestowed on us, we were in denial of them because of our ignorance. Only now are we starting to take an interest in Him. But even the interest we have in Him is significantly small compared to what God has already given us. If God were to express His feelings like we humans do, He would have every reason to feel hurt. “After all I’ve given, how could you still be so indifferent…”

The Bible declares that we were God’s enemies. Let me ask you—do any of you love your enemy? How do you love an enemy? An enemy is someone you want to beat up when you see them, maybe even remove. That’s an enemy. And we were exactly that to God. We were undeserving of God’s love.

Then how can we be living in such peace today? And with what kind of boldness are we saying, “God loves you,” or “God loves me”? The secret is in Jesus Christ. There is only One whom God loves. That’s why I don’t want to write on the side of the building, “God loves you!” If I were asked to write something, I’d like to write, “God loves Jesus Christ!” Just writing “God loves you!” feels too shallow.

God is a fearsome God. He is not only a God who only loves, but the One who created this world, and on the last day, will take it away according to His will and bring judgment. He is a fearsome God. But whom does this God love? He loves Jesus Christ. No one in this world has ever heard God say to him, “I love you!” But Jesus did.

Jesus was baptized just like you. We are baptized because we confess that we are sinners. But Jesus was also baptized. When He came out of the water, people thought, “Oh, He must be one of the sinners too!” At that moment, there was a voice from heaven. To most people, that may have sounded like thunder—but Jesus clearly heard the voice: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased!”

A similar event took place on another occasion. Among Jesus’ disciples was a man named Peter. One day, Peter, John, and James went up a mountain with Jesus. There, on the mountain, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and they also heard a voice from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. Listen to Him!” The One whom God loves—the One to whom He declared His love— is only one person. It’s Jesus.

Jesus is worthy of God’s love. Why is that? He is originally equal to God. But He became a Man and came to this earth. After becoming a Man, He set the perfect example—how a person ought to serve God and how a person should obey Him. He obeyed God, and to what extent did He obey? He obeyed even the works He was disinclined to do. God even commanded Jesus to be punished and executed. Even while saying that God loved Jesus, God commanded Him to be sentenced to death and led Him in that path.

How did Jesus die ultimately? He died a horrific death—nailed to the cross which was a tool of punishment. This is a historical fact. Unbelievers even acknowledge this. About two thousand years ago, Jesus was crucified on a hill called Golgotha situated near Jerusalem in the Palestinian region. Three crosses stood there, and Jesus was nailed to one of them, together with those robbers.

Crucifixion was a means of punishment and a tool used by the Romans to instill fear into people. Convicted offenders were nailed to a wooden cross and left there. They were not even well-dressed but stripped naked before they were crucified. Instead of tying them up with ropes, they were nailed on their hands and feet onto the cross. In this position, bleeding would’ve been slow. Just one drop, then another. They suffered excruciating pain as blood dripped from their bodies hanging on the cross. As the weight of their bodies pushed down, their arms and ankles would’ve felt like they were being torn. They would’ve been dehydrated while continuously losing blood. The death was slow and painful. It certainly was not a quick death. Some people were left to die on the cross for three to four days. It was a slow death.

However, Jesus died relatively quickly. How come He died quickly? Jesus was treated in a brutal and unusual way. Normally, a person sentenced to be crucified was not scourged. No other punishment was imposed. Scourging was meant to be a lesser penalty than crucifixion. However, a person was scourged to within an inch of life. And Jesus was subject to scourging prior to His crucifixion. It wasn’t that Pilate, the Roman governor at the time, wanted to make Him suffer more. It just ended up happening that way.

Pontius Pilate was the governor sent from Rome to govern the Judean region. This man attempted to save Jesus. The Jews had brought Jesus to court, intending to have him killed. The accusation? “He claimed to be the Son of God.” But for the Romans, this was not sufficient for capital punishment. Jesus hadn’t murdered anyone, or committed robbery. So Pilate wanted to release Jesus. Furthermore, Pilate’s wife said to him, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him!” So Pilate intended to release Jesus. However, the Jews at that time were out to kill Jesus. A great crowd came together shouting, “Crucify Jesus! Crucify Jesus!” Thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, protested and shouted that Jesus be crucified. And with that the large mob shouting in protest, Pilate was afraid. It might lead to a riot and cause more trouble.

Therefore, Pilate thought, “I’ll have Jesus beaten within an inch of His life. Maybe that will calm these people down.” That was why Jesus was flogged. There’s even a movie about this. It’s called “The Passion of the Christ”. And as is seen in the movie, He didn’t just receive a few light slaps. He was flogged to the point that His face and body were left unrecognizable. It was horribly painful. After that, the soldiers put a robe on Him, as if to crown Him as king, and brought Him before the people. Then Pilate said, “Behold, the Man! ” He said this because Jesus was unrecognizable. He was saying, “This is the Man that you requested to be crucified. Look at Him now. Does He still deserve to die? Hasn’t He been punished enough?” In so doing, he wanted to appease the people’s anger.

But his efforts were in vain. The people shouted all the more, “Crucify! Crucify! Crucify Him!” Pilate was shocked too. “How can they hate somebody this much?” Realizing he was powerless to do anything at that point, he washed his hands. As he washed, he said, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood. You see to it!” Then the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” And Jesus was handed over to be crucified. In that sense, Jesus was very unjust. He had already been brutally scourged only to be crucified as well. He suffered both the capital punishment and the second most severe punishment. What in the world!

Even today, prisoners on death row are not treated like that. Once the sentence is passed, he will be well-treated and no one will even bother him in prison. They leave him alone because he is facing death. If he is to be executed the next day, he will be given food he wants to eat the day before. Yet for Jesus, although it was obvious He was going to be executed, He had suffered torturous pain. God allowed it to go that far. He was cursed above all men.

But isn’t it strange? This is what happened to the one and only Man—out of all people—to whom the Almighty God said, “This is My beloved Son!” It’s very strange, isn’t it? If God loved Him, how could He let this happen? If we were in Jesus’ position, we would probably question God, saying, “God, do You really love me?”

Yet, Jesus obeyed in full submission. He submitted to it all. Jesus was powerful, which means He could’ve blinded them and escaped from them, or as He even said, He could’ve called upon angels to defeat the numerous Roman soldiers. Nevertheless, Jesus took this path. So He prayed. “God, I know what I have to endure. Yet, can it be done in some other way?” God, however, remained silent to His prayer. Jesus prayed once more, “God, can You take this bitter cup away from Me? Yet, not My will but Yours be done!” He was sorrowful and troubled to the point of death. “God, do I have to take this bitter cup? Must I be scourged, nailed to the cross, and die? Isn’t there another way?” But still, there was no answer. So He got up and said, “Rise, let us go!” and went to the Roman soldiers who were waiting for Him. He wasn’t helplessly arrested and killed by men. He said it Himself: “I have authority to lay down My life and to take it up again!” All of it—His death, the scourging, even the path to the cross—He chose it all.

That is why God is pleased with Him and loves Him. He obeyed everything God wanted Him to do. Then, why did God allow His beloved One to undergo such terrible suffering? Because He loved Jesus so much, He had confidence.

Let me illustrate this. Some time ago, I got to spend a special time with young children in the local community. I had a chance to preach to them. While I was there, I remember giving the cold shoulder to one particular child for some reason. I was friendly and responsive to all the other children, but when this particular child came up to me, I wasn’t very responsive. And as I was handing out presents to the children, there wasn’t enough, and only that child missed out. Why do you think that was the case? That child was my son. Only my son was left out. Only my son didn’t get a present. If he hadn’t been my real son— if he had been an adopted child— I don’t think I could’ve treated him like that. I would’ve made sure he got something, no matter what. Because I wouldn’t be confident. I’d be unsure whether I truly loved him.

Yet his child was my son—my child, the one I gave birth to, the one I loved deeply. That’s why I didn’t feel any guilt nor doubt my love for him, even though I was a little discriminative towards him in order to care for the other children who were there. Instead, I was thinking, “I’m going to give him a better present when we get home!” I knew that it was okay if he didn’t get the present with the other children because I was going to give him something much better at home, which was why I could treat him that way.

After God said to Jesus, “I love You!” He allowed Him to suffer such brutal pain and curses. Why? God was confident. He was full of confidence that He would reward Jesus Christ with something incomparably greater than the curse and suffering He bore on the cross. He had already determined it in his heart. Although Jesus died, on the morning of the third day, the tomb was empty. God had raised Him to life. Something unheard of in all of human history had occurred. Jesus rose again.

And what happened forty days later? While many people were watching, Jesus was taken up. He ascended to Heaven and could no longer be seen. So where is He now? He is in the Kingdom of Heaven. What is Heaven like? It is filled with God’s glory. In comparison to Heaven, the universe would be the size of a speck of dust. How small is a speck of dust? Compared to dust, the universe is enormous. That’s what Heaven is like compared to the universe. No matter how big the universe is, it is merely a speck of dust compared to Heaven. Angels are everywhere in Heaven. They are glorious angels. And Jesus Christ is there right now, in Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven is the place God prepared from eternity past for His beloved Son who suffered. God prepared great glory for Jesus Christ who suffered, which cannot be compared to His suffering. Let’s think about that. God is unlike the creations. God is everlasting and all-powerful. Now imagine this: Jesus—the Word made flesh—now shares the same equal glory as God. Jesus is in Heaven, and He will never get bored. He will never be ashamed. Heaven is filled with eternal joy—overflowing with God’s happiness. That is heaven. And God prepared that place for Jesus Christ.

Who did we say God loves? Yes, He loves Jesus. For whom was Heaven prepared? Heaven was made for Jesus Christ. It wasn’t made for us. We say, “I can go to Heaven! We can go to Heaven!” But originally, Heaven wasn’t prepared for us but for Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God. Although we say, “God loves you,” to be exact, God’s love is only for Jesus.

But now I will let you know an astounding truth. We are receiving God’s love right now. How is that possible? Why are we being loved by God? The reason we are loved by God is that we became a part of Jesus. It’s not that God loves Jesus as well as you and me; we all became one with Jesus Christ. Through baptism and faith in Jesus, we came into Jesus. Thus, in God’s eyes, all of us are Jesus. That’s why, in Jesus, we are receiving God’s love as it is.

Jesus prayed for this to be possible. The passage we read is the prayer of Jesus. He said, “Father, the love with which You have loved Me—let that same love be in them as well! I’m not only praying for the twelve disciples, but for those who will come to believe in Me through their message. God, let Your great love for Me be in them—those who believe in Me, those who are one with Me! For this, I give them the name You gave Me Father!”

What is that name? It is Jesus. That’s why we call on Jesus’ name. Hence, we are baptized in Jesus’ name. Have you been baptized? You were baptized in Jesus’ name. At that very moment, you became one with Jesus. That’s when you began to receive God’s love. But that love isn’t given to us individually. You don’t deserve it. But God loves Jesus. And you’ve become a part of Jesus’ body. You are inside Jesus. Therefore, you also receive the love that Jesus receives as it is.

If God had loved me from the beginning, I wouldn’t have had great expectations. If Heaven had originally been prepared for people like us, I wouldn’t expect a lot. Do you know why? It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy. All that would take to satisfy me would be, at most, a decent-sized apartment. My standards are very low. I could ask for a mansion, but I’d probably just settle for a small place and be content. And then maybe two cars, and enough food to last me my lifetime? I would be more than happy with just those. I am just that kind of person—easily satisfied, a bit small-minded. So if God had made Heaven for me from the beginning, I wouldn’t have any great expectation about Heaven.

But for whom was Heaven prepared? It was prepared for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Even if all the glory of the world were offered to Him, Jesus didn’t even blink. It didn’t interest Him. But there is a place that brings Him eternal joy—a joy that never fades or grows old. That place is Heaven. And now, because you believe in Jesus, you are granted entrance to that place. This is incredible.

All of this might sound absurd to you. That is why He gives us testimonies on earth too. Through prayer in Jesus’ name, the impossible becomes possible; we can lay hands on the sick and they get well; we can drive out demons. Through these wonders, He is testifying that all of His promises are true. Therefore, while you are living in this world, hold firmly onto Jesus’ name. Never be separated from Jesus. Stay well-attached to Jesus and you will automatically receive the love God has for Jesus— and you will enter Heaven that was made for Jesus. In Jesus’ name I pray you will hold onto Jesus’ name until the end. I’ll pray.

Father God, we thank You for affording us this great love that we did not deserve to receive. We give thanks for allowing us to receive Your love and to share in the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven in Jesus Christ. As we have been bestowed upon with this great grace, help us to be filled with Your happiness and joy. Help us to experience more of Your great love while we are in this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.