The Weekly Sermon » Palm Sunday

God’s Everlasting Love at Calvary

Pastor David Miklas — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 18:28:05 +0000

Sunday April 10, 2011	Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas	e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com
Message: Palm Sunday	Text: mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:1-16; Romans 5:8

"God’s Everlasting Love at Calvary"

Introduction: Again on this Palm Sunday 2011 we come to remember those events of Calvary 2000 years ago when Jesus completed our so great Salvation.

I have for some 40 years believed Palm Sunday began the Passion Week of our Lord followed by the Last Supper being celebrated on Tuesday evening which would be the beginning of the Jewish Wednesday.

The events leading to the cross, the crucifixion and Jesus’ death being carried out on Wednesday with the burial on Wednesday evening which would be the beginning of the Jewish Thursday.

The resurrection would then be on Saturday evening, which for the Jews would be the beginning of the First day of the week.

This Sunday morning we are again going to look at Calvary.

In Jeremiah 31:3 we read, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

In Romans 5:8 we read, “But God commendeth his LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet SINNERS, Christ died for us.”

In John 3:16-17 we read, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

The love of God found in verse 16 is the greatest story ever told to a listening ear. The Hymn writers wrote,

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade

To write the LOVE OF GOD above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor would the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

Most of you have known this verse by heart from a child.

One said that John 3:16 is "The greatest sentence ever written."

Another said that John 3:16 is the "Gospel in miniature."

Another said, “There is enough Gospel in this verse to save the world if the world would hear and believe it.”

Someone expressed it this way:

FOR GOD, who is the perfect, unchangeable, source of life,

SO LOVED, the one who has longed to see forgiveness,

THE WORLD, which lives in sin and pleasure mad,

THAT HE GAVE, the greatest gift He had,

HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, the one who had taken our place,

THAT WHOSOEVER, Oh, the matchless grace,

BELIEVETH, which is the placing of our simple trust,

IN HIM, this one shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Would you note with me SEVEN truths told to us about GOD’S EVERLASTING LOVE found at Calvary in John 3:16.

First: The ORIGIN of His love, "FOR God" John 3:16 begins where Genesis 1:1 began "In the beginning GOD…" In the beginning of creation there is GOD. In the beginning of redemption there is GOD.

Without GOD there would be no CREATION.

Without GOD there would be no REDEMPTION.

Without GOD there would be no LOVE.

Second: The TENSE of His love, "For God so LOVED." It is not God loves, but He "loved." That He loves us now that we are His children, we can, in measure, understand; but that He loved us before we became His children, passes knowledge. The Greek word for love in this passage is the word AGAPE. Here in is the word for CALVARY.

This is the love of the will, rather than the love of the emotions.

This is an eternal love, an everlasting love.

This is a love that is spontaneous, sovereign, uninfluenced.

Please listen! A sinner will go to hell unsaved, but he cannot go to hell unloved. In this verse we have an exposition of divine love.

Its origin is in the HEART of GOD.

Its extent has reached to all the world.

Its power is so strong that it gave the only begotten Son.

Its forever to whosoever believeth, and

Its effectiveness should not perish but have everlasting life.

Third:The MAGNITUDE of His love, "God SO loved." The little word "SO" signifies there are not enough words in all the languages of the world to explain the love of God. Over in Ephesians 3:14-19 we read these words of the love of God. “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15) Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (16) That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; (17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (19) And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” Notice that words cannot explain:

the DEPTH of God's love as He, in Psalms 40:2-3, "brought me up out of an horrible pit out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock.. and He hath put a new song in my mouth even praises unto our God." nor can words explain:

the HEIGHT of God's love earned for the saints to come, nor can words explain:

the LENGTH of the love of God which at Calvary stretched from eternity to eternity, and neither can words express:

the BREATH of the great love of God. Which according to Psalm 103:12 removed our sins "as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

Do you really want to know the HEIGHT, the DEPTH, the LENGTH, and the BREATH of God’s love for sinners?

Then go to the cross of Calvary and write on the TOP of that cross, "The height of God's love."

Stoop down BENEATH the nail pierced feet that never walked in sin and write at the bottom of the cross, "the depth of God's love."

Then walk around to the LEFT of the cross to the side where the heart of God beats in the bosom of His Son, to the place where the heart weeps over sinners, and at the finger tips of the bruised and bleeding hand of the Saviour write, "The breath of God's love."

Now walk around to the RIGHT hand side of Christ, that everlasting hand that not only cradles the universe but which also holds in His hands the blessed little children and which lifts up the fallen ones, and write there, "The length of God's love."

And when you have completed that,walk around the cross of Calvary, with that picture in mind, you have just begun to understand John 3:16.

Fourth: The SCOPE of God's Love, "For God so loved the WORLD." God is the subject, love is the verb and you and I are the object. Isn't this marvelous? This hunk of clay molded by his hand, marred by sin, now enemies, alienated and separated from God, yet by His Grace and Mercy God LOVES me, from the creation of man in the past to the end of time.

In I John 4:14, we read "And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the WORLD."

In II Corinthians 5:19, we read, "that God was in Christ, reconciling the WORLD unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them…"

In John 1:29, John seeing Jesus said, "Behold the LAMB OF GOD, which taketh away the sin of the WORLD."

By the “World” God means every one of us. Hebrew 2:9 says, “that he (speaking of Christ) by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Every man includes all of us from creation past to creation present as well as into the future.

Fifth: The NATURE of God's love, "God so loved the world that He GAVE." God proved His love by giving His very best. Christ on the cross is the RESULT of God's love for the world, not the CAUSE of His love.

God does not love us BECAUSE Jesus died on the cross, rather Jesus died on the cross BECAUSE GOD LOVED US while we were yet sinners. Or let's say it this way, "The suffering of Jesus on the cross did not cause God to fall in love with man; the love of God for man ALLOWED Jesus to suffer on the cross."

There is no way to estimate the cost of our "so great salvation." God did not send angels, nor cherubim's, or any heavenly creatures to pay the price of redemption: "He gave His only begotten Son."

"I do not know the depth of Jesus,

that brought Him down to earth from Heaven above, or

Why He bore the cross up Calvary,

And shed His precious blood so willingly.

BUT this one thing I know,

That when the crimson flow dropped to earth below, it fell on me.

My eyes were opened wide,

I saw Him crucified and know for me He died on Calvary."

There is no way to estimate the cost of our "so great salvation." In I John 4:10 we read, "Herein is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us." Listen carefully to this unbelievable story of love.

One Saturday the long awaited trip of a little boy with his father was finally a reality. The father was an engineer responsible for the operation of a revolving bridge across a river where passenger trains would cross. On this day the father was working while the boy was off playing. The span was open as it should have been. All of a sudden the father heard the horn of a train in the distance. This was an unexpected train. The engineer raced to the control room, knowing he had to close the span.

As he grabbed the lever to bring the span back into place, He looked down into the huge gear box, and there he saw his little boy playing. Grief and fear came over Him, realizing that he had an unbelievable decision to make. Either he had to bring that span around to close it so the train with 100's of passengers would safely cross the tracks and in the process crush his son; or he could save his own son and the train would plunge into the river and all the people would die.

That father stood there for what almost seemed an eternity to Him. His mind racing, and shaking from head to foot, he knew what he had to do. He grabbed the lever, and as he did the gears began to move the span into place. The train went thundering across the tracks. All the people were saved, TOTALLY OBLIVIOUS TO THE PRICE THAT HAD JUST BEEN PAID. This father, in the process of saving the train load of people, CRUSHED his own son in the gear box.

God had only one option. It was either His Son or us. He chose to close the gear box on His Son. Herein is AGAPE LOVE, the Love of God on Calvary, where "He spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all…" Oh! What love was shown!

Notice again Jeremiah 31:3, “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Notice 3 things about God’s "everlasting Love."

Number 1: God's love never had a beginning.

Before man was created, and Adam had fallen, He loved us.

Before the mountains were erected or a lake was poured, or the sky was stretched, or the earth's foundation was laid, He loved us.

Before a star twinkled at dusk, the Sun was plugged in, or the moon turned on, He loved us.

He never began to love us. He has always loved and will always love us. His love is eternal.

Number 2: God's love never pauses: His love for us never has an INTERMISSION, nor is INTERRUPTED nor takes a RECESS.

Ask Peter when he cursed, if the love of God ever ceased.

Ask David when he sinned in adultery and murder, if sin could separate him from God's love.

Ask Jonah if depth can separate us from the love of God.

Ask Paul if tribulation can separate us from the love of God.

Please listen. You will never enter into SIN that is deep enough to go beyond the love of God. You'll never go so far from God that God's love isn’t waiting for you when you get there – to love you back.

Oh, LOVE of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong.

It SHALL forevermore endure, the saints and angels song.

Think about it:

God the omnipotent all powerful one loves the weak one.

God the omniscient all knowing one loves the ignorant one.

God the omnipresent all present one loves the finite one.

God the perfect one loved the imperfect one.

Think about it, dwell on it, mediate on it, and sing about it:

I stand amazed in the presence, Of Jesus the Nazarene,

And wonder how He could LOVE me, A sinner, condemned, unclean.

How marvelous! How wonderful, and my song shall ever be,

How marvelous! How wonderful, is my Saviour's LOVE for me!

Here me! Here me! God loves you with an everlasting love, a love that had no beginning, a love that has no pause, and a love that has no ending. Oh, thank God you can go to the depth of sin or to the height of respectability, yet God still loves you with an everlasting LOVE.

Number 3: God's love never ends. God's love never had a beginning, nor does it ever pause. It also never ends.

When the worlds have passed away, the LOVE of God shall endure.

When time shall be no more, the LOVE of God shall be sure.

When the sun has been unplugged and the stars refuse to twinkle, He shall still LOVE me.

When kings have perished and thrones have melted, Gods LOVE will stand secure.

When the great white throne is history and the millennium is only a fond memory, and

When we walk the golden streets through gates of pearl and live with the angels of God forever, God's LOVE will still be fresh.

Notice again from Jeremiah 31:3 two pronouns: "I" and "THEE." "I have loved Thee."

Who is this who loves me? He who has Heaven for His throne and earth for His hassock; He loves me.

Who is this who loves me? The timekeeper of the sun, the energy of the moon and stars, the giver of life; He loves me.

Who is this who loves me? The maker of the universe loves me, the Great Omniscient Creator, the Omnipotent King of Kings, the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE, the BREAD OF LIFE, the GOOD SHEPHERD, the great I AM loves me with an everlasting love.

Please notice the phase, "I have loved THEE." Who is that? Why, that's me. The greatest need of the human heart is to be loved. Yes,

God still loves you this morning, even if you have turned away from Him.

God still loves you this morning, even if you're practicing sin.

God still loves you, fellow sinner. He loved you enough to give His Son, and Jesus loved you enough to die for you. And yes,

God still loves you, even if you are a backslider and have turned away from Him this morning.

Now returning to John 3:16 we come to the sixth truth of God’s love:

Sixth: The DESIGN of God's love, "That whosoever believeth on Him should not PERISH." Notice those words again "whosoever believeth…should not perish." "Whosoever believeth shall not be condemned." Notice In John 3:17-18 we read, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Here, my friends, is the difference between HEAVEN and HELL.

A person who dies and goes to hell goes there for one reason, unbelief.

A person who dies and goes to Heaven goes there for one reason, his faith in the crucified, risen and living Lord Jesus.

Seventh: The BENEFIT of God's love, "But have EVERLASTING LIFE." This is what God imparts to each and every one of us who by faith takes Jesus as our Saviour, "EVERLASTING LIFE." Please notice with me the last verse of this great chapter, verse 36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

One of the most glorious phrases that was ever uttered is that which was so often upon the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ, "Eternal life." One of the most awful and appalling phrases ever uttered is that other phrase here in verse 36, "the wrath of God."

It is between these two, the unutterably glorious, "Eternal life" and the measurably and unspeakably awful "wrath of God," that each of us this morning is called to make his choice: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

The question then that confronts each of us is this: "eternal life or the wrath of God?" Which shall it be? Which shall I choose? I have made my choice over 50 years ago. Which shall be your choice? This is not a difficult matter. There is one simple step between you and Jesus. In dozens of scriptures all though the Bible, salvation is promised to those that believe.

Acts 16:31, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that BELIEVE on His name."

John 6:47, "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me hath everlasting life."

Oh, my friends, there are two possibilities available to you this hour, one infinitely glorious, the other inconceivably appalling. “Eternal life” or the “wrath of God,” which will you choose? You need to come to Him and trust Him right now without delay. Come to Jesus:

Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me,

And that thou biddest me to come to thee, O' Lamb of God , I come.

Again, I challenge you to take a fresh look at Calvary and see the everlasting love of God. Then pray, “Lord help me to see the value of a lost soul, and through me, help that lost soul to see God’s Everlasting Love at Calvary.”

**********************************************************************

If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon, "God’s Everlasting Love at Calvary" then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”

If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior let me know. Please send an e-mail to, pdmikBBM@aol.com and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.

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In His Amazing Grace,

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On the Road to Calvary

Pastor David Miklas — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:37:55 +0000

Volume No. 2009 Issue No. 10 Date: March 29, 2009

Publication of the BIBLE BAPTIST MINISTRY, 48 Alexie Rd, Hanover Township, PA 18706

Phone: 570.829.5216 pdmikBBM@aol.com pastormiklas@aol.com

In Philippians 2:8 we read, “…He (Christ) humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” On the Road to Calvary, Jesus suffered more than just physical death for us.

On the Road to Calvary Jesus suffered BETRAYAL – “Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.” (Matthew 26:48) It’s bad enough when a loyal friend disappoints us. Peter disappointed Jesus on the eve of the crucifixion. But when a person is discovered to have been a traitor, or becomes one, the pain goes deeper still – as Judas revealed himself as a traitor to Jesus.

On the Road to Calvary Jesus suffered FALSE ACCUSATION – “And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. (13) Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? (14) And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.” (Matthew 27:12-14) When Jesus was falsely accused of blasphemy in I Peter 2:23 we read, “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:” Jesus chose to entrust himself to the Judge of all the earth who will ultimately do right.

On the Road to Calvary Jesus suffered MOCKING – “And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, (40) And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. (41) Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, (42) He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. (43) He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. (44) The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth.” (Matthew 27:39-44) When Jesus was hanging on the cross – He was mocked by the crowds. But as He had done with all the rest of the injustices of His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus embraced what He knew instead of reacting to what His mockers didn’t know. When you feel a need to apologize for what God hasn’t done, remember all the things He has done.

On the Road to Calvary Jesus suffered TESTING – “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Just before Jesus expired on the cross, He cried out to God. His words expressed feelings of abandonment: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” But just as Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 with those words, He also knew Psalm 16:10 – that God would not abandon Him in Sheol, but would show Him “the path of life.” Remember this. No matter how difficult times of testing are, the children of God know that He will never abandon not forsake them.

On the Road to Calvary Jesus suffered DEATH – “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.” (Matthew 27:50) Jesus’ death on the cross was the last event on His road to Calvary. He journeyed there to do the one thing that was necessary for the permanent remission of sins: to be the Lamb of God that dies for the sins of the world. Thankfully, we only have to embrace His death and resurrection by faith to secure the spiritual benefits of Christ’s death for us.

As you think about Jesus’ suffering on the Road to Calvary, let’s meditate upon Isaac Watts’ emotionally moving hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died,

my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God;

all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet sorrow and love flow mingled down;

did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small:

Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

In His Amazing Grace,

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The Greatness of Jesus

Pastor David Miklas — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:14:49 +0000

Sunday March 29, 2009 Phone: 570.829.5216

Pastor David Miklas e-mail pdmikBBM@aol.com

Message Palm Sunday Message – 2009 Text: Matthew 12:38-45

“The Greatness of Jesus”

Today we begin a very, very special time of remembrance, worship and celebration. We start with Palm Sunday where we call to remembrance the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where the crowds cried, "Hosanna blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Several days later, on Wednesday just before the crucifixion of Jesus at Calvary, this same crowd would cry "Crucify Him, Crucify Him!" The climax is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.

It was at Calvary where God in the flesh as Jesus took upon Himself the SINS of the WHOLE WORLD. He stood guilty and condemned before God and paid the penalty for your sins and mine.

It was at Calvary where Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and suffered like no one has ever suffered.

I don’t understand all that He suffered. But I do know that He bore the sum total of all the sufferings that every person who has ever died and gone to Hell would ever suffer for all eternity. Remember the hymn,

Years I spent in vanity and pride,

Caring not my Lord was crucified,

Knowing not it was for ME He died, AT CALVARY.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to our text found in Matthew 12, and follow me as I read verses 38-42, “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. (39) But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (40) For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (41) The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. (42) The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” For the Jews to ask for a SIGN was evidence of unbelief. They wanted Him to prove that He was the MESSIAH. But what further proof could they have been given? Had the Jews searched their own scripture, and sincerely examined the life of Jesus, they would have come to the same conclusion as the Roman Centurion after the crucifixion, who said, "Truly this was the Son of God."

Here in verses 39-42 Jesus reviewed the history of the Jews which becomes a judgment against them.

The first sign against them was that of the PROPHET JONAH.

The second sign against them was that of the QUEEN of SHEBA, as she searched for the wisdom of Solomon.

Jonah was a SIGN to the people of Nineveh. In the bully of the great fish, Jonah experienced a three day burial and then a resurrection. The only sign Jesus would give this nation was His burial and resurrection.

Check it out in the book of Acts chapters 2-7. The main message was not the crucifixion, but the resurrection. The Jews of Jesus day believed that he had died, BUT THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THAT HE WAS ALIVE. After the resurrection, the Holy Spirit gave to the Jewish nation abundant witness that Jesus was alive. This was the only sign needed.

Jonah preached to the citizens of Nineveh and they repented. Therefore they could easily witness against the rulers of Israel. The Jewish leaders could have had someone GREATER THAN JONAH, the resurrected Christ, and yet they still rejected both the messenger and the message. What message was that? It was the GOSPEL message found in I Corinthians 15:3-4, where Paul said, "… that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scripture."

Let’s look at the story of the Queen of Sheba given in II Chronicles 9:1-6, where we read, “And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. (2) And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. (3) And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, (4) And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. (5) And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: (6) Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.” The Queen of Sheba became a witness against the rulers of Israel. She traveled a long distance to hear Solomon’s wisdom, yet the Jewish leaders rejected the wisdom of the GREATER THAN SOLOMON Christ who was in their very midst.

The point that Jesus was making was, "THE GREATER THE OPPORTUNITY THE GREATER THE JUDGMENT." This nation who now has had the opportunity to see and know in person the “GREATER THAN” in the person of Jesus Christ will have the greater judgment.

Returning back to Matthew 12, at the end of verse 41 you notice, "And behold, a greater than Jonah is here."Who is this? Jesus is speaking of Himself. Jesus is GREATER THAN JONAH in many ways.

Jesus is greater in His person for Jonah was a mere man.

Jesus was greater in His obedience, for Jonah disobeyed God and was chastened.

Jesus gave His life for the whole world, while Jonah ministered to only one city.

Jesus was greater in His love, for Jonah did not love the people of Nineveh, he wanted them to die. But Jesus’ LOVE is for all mankind.

Jesus is a message of salvation, Jonah was a message of judgment.

At the end of verse 42 you notice, "And, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." Again Jesus is speaking of Himself. Jesus is GREATER THAN SOLOMON in His wisdom, wealth, and words. The Queen of Shaba was amazed at the wealth and wisdom of Solomon, but we have far more in the Kingdom of God.

O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works thy hands hath made.

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my Soul, my Saviour God To Thee,

How great Thou art.

And when I think; that God, His son not sparing

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my Soul, my Saviour God To Thee,

How great Thou art.

Let us pause on this Palm Sunday morning 2008 to consider the GREATNESS OF JESUS CHRIST. Why is He GREATER THAN A JONAH? Why is He GREATER THAN A SOLOMON? Let me give youfive reasons.

First: Jesus is GREATER because He is God. Jesus is GREATER than a JONAH, and GREATER than a SOLOMON and GREATER than any other prophet. Why? Because JESUS IS GOD," Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God."

When you reduce Jesus to a mere man you make a mockery out of the CROSS, out of the RESURRECTION, out of SALVATION. Today we have an anti-Christ spirit who denies the deity of Jesus Christ, by trying to reduce Him to being just a man. There are those who would say that:

He is just a man.

He is a just a Jewish prophet, a great teacher.

He was just a moral example, a martyr for a cause.

He was the founder of Christianity.

Such statements as these make a mockery out of the DEITY of JESUS CHRIST. Jesus is all these, and more, He is GOD. Jesus is not "A" Son of God, a human being endowed with supernatural powers and character. Don’t be fooled by the statement, Jesus is "THE" Son of God. He is God the Son, Co-equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

It was this GREATER THAN JONAH, THIS GREATER THAN SOLOMON, sinless GOD MAN, like no other, who died in our place.

Second: Jesus is GREATER because He Spoke as no other.

Jonah was a REVIVALIST PROPHET to Nineveh.

Solomon was given great wisdom as the writer of over 3,000 proverbs.

But Jesus uttered words like no other.

How many people have been comforted with the words found in John 14:1-3? This is where Jesus promises that He is preparing a place for us, and will return for us.

How many people have found salvation with the words of Jesus in John 3:16? "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

How many people have had their burdens lifted with the words of Matthew 11:28? "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

How many at their time of death have been comforted by the words of Jesus in John 11? "I am the resurrection and the life."

How many, finding their way hard, have been up-lifted by these words of Jesus? "I am the WAY, I am the LIFE, I am the TRUTH."

In John 6:68-69 Simon Peter summed up this point when he said, "… Lord, to who shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believed and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

Third: Jesus is GREATER because He loved as no other. Jonah did not love the people of Nineveh. He didn’t even want to go to Nineveh and after his preaching and the repentance of the Ninevites, he pouted instead of rejoicing.

Solomon on the other hand loved his wine, women and song. But Jesus is God’s LOVE GIFT.

Praise God for Romans 5:8,"But God commended his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

Praise God "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so,"

Listen again to this word in Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. (37) Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. (38) For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Oh, the LOVE that drew salvation plan!

Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!

Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary.

The Bible is a love story. Every page in the Bible is just one more page of God’s love letter to me. For God SO Loved.

Weigh that LOVE and measure it in the sorrows and the pains of Jesus on the cross. Measure it as Jesus hung there on that Old Rugged Cross, tasting death for everyman.

We are told prophetically in Isaiah 53:5 "But he was wounded for our transgressions; HE was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with his stripes we are healed."

How much love? JESUS is GREATER than a JONAH, GREATER than a SOLOMON, because His love is measureless. In I John 3:16 we read, "Hereby know we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us."

There is NO GREATER love than that of the Love of God in Jesus. There is nothing in this world of cheap, vulgar, vile, Hollywood love that will keep a man or women. Today’s love is here today, gone tomorrow.

But the Love that comes from God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, lasts for eternity. No other Love draws like the Love of God. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, hat whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," has broken through to thousands of hard hearts.

This morning, stop for a moment and consider this. Maybe I am talking to those of you who once embraced the Love of God. You know what it was like when you were first saved. You were oh so happy. What a honeymoon you had with Jesus:

The love of God was radiant in your heart.

You loved Him, you walked with Him, you talked with Him.

Every day was like a new beginning in Christ.

Every day the Sun shined brighter then the day before.

The Bible was so wonderful you couldn’t get enough of it.

You couldn’t wait for church time to come.

How wonderful it all was to you. You were saved, you were justified in Christ. You felt new, and clean, and you knew you had eternity in your soul. But now you have drifted:

You don’t read your Bible like you used to.

You pray only when you feel like it.

You come to church only when the spirit moves you.

You can’t find time to serve the Lord.

This morning, our dear Lord is looking down from Heaven saying: I want you to LOVE me, not just on Sunday for one hour, but for the entire 365 days a year, 168 hours each week.

Wouldn’t it be a good thing, this PALM SUNDAY morning, to again look up to the one who is GREATER THAN JONAH, GREATER THAN SOLOMON, and see the GREATNESS OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, AND FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM ONCE AGAIN?

Why not come this morning and say, "Dear God I don’t know how you put up with my sinful ways. I know how imperfect my love is, Let me again feel the GREATNESS OF THY LOVE. Work through me to show your LOVE TO OTHERS.”

May you be able to again sing:

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine.

For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.

My gracious Redeemer, My Saviour art Thou.

If ever I love Thee, My Jesus, ’tis now.

Fourth: Jesus is GREATER because He forgives like no other. All the way from the court of Pilot to the Cross of Calvary, Jesus was repeatedly saying those first words of the cross in Luke 23:43 "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." The word forgive means "send it away." Father close the case against them. Remember their sin no more."

There is a headstone over a grave on which is written just one word FORGIVEN.

There is no art work, just the word FORGIVEN.

There is no epitaph, just the word forgiven.

There is no name given, just the word forgiven

There is no eulogy, just the word forgiven.

PRAISE THE LORD, I have been to a place over which God has written the word FORGIVEN. The place is Calvary. Because of Calvary, I am forgiven, and because of Calvary I am to likewise forgive others, "even as God for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven me."

Someone said, "Every person should have a special cemetery lot in which to bury the faults of friends and loved ones. For we win by tenderness, we conquer by forgiveness."

Jesus is GREATER THAN A JONAH and GREATER THAN A SOLOMON, because on the Cross of Calvary, He provided for the FORGIVENESS OF ALL MY SINS.

Fifth: Jesus is GREATER because He suffered as no one ever suffered:

In Luke 24: 46 we are told, "… thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to SUFFER …"

Peter, who we believe was an eyewitness to the crucifixion, wrote in I Peter 2:21, "For even here to were ye called because Christ also SUFFERED for us…" And in I Peter 3:18 he said, "For Christ also hath once SUFFERED for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.”

On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suffering and shame.

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best,

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,

’til my trophies at last I lay down

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it someday for a crown.

In Matthew 27:45 we read, "From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour." From these words, we find that on the cross, Christ suffered abandonment by God for some 3 hours.

It was a heaven sent darkness that lasted for three hours.

It was as though all of creation was sympathizing with the Creator.

Before the darkness, Jesus uttered three sayings from the cross. But when the darkness came, Jesus was silent for three hours. After the darkness left, then Jesus cried, in Matthew 27:46 in Aramaic a quote from Psalm 22:1 "Elio, Elio, Lama sa bachthani?” Which is to say, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?"

How could a Holy God look with favor on His Son who had become sin? It was during the time of darkness that Jesus had been made sin for us. In II Corinthians 5:21 we read, "For God hath made Him, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ." On the cross, Jesus had taken the sinner’s place. Literally the cry of Jesus, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me.” is the cry of an abandoned soul being "made a curse for us."

Jesus was forsaken by the Father that He might suffer the agony of separation for a few hours, so that we might live with God the Father forever and ever.

Behold a GREATER THAN A JONAH is here.

Behold a GREATER THAN A SOLOMON is here.

Today I challenge you, on the authority of the Word of God, to look to the Christ of Calvary who died there to save your soul. It is there we have the GREATER THAN in the person of JESUS CHRIST who died, was buried, and rose again!

Oh, the hands that where once pierced on the cross are now knocking at your heart’s door. Won’t you yield to the GREATER THAN, yield to that Love, and accept the Saviour who loves you and died for you? Why not come, as the Hymn we are going to sing tell us, "Just as I am, without one plea,"

Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

Just as I am, and waiting not To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I Come! I Come!

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Has God spoken to your heart after reading the sermon, “The Greatness of Jesus,” then why not, right now, talk to God about what He has spoken to you?

Acts 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

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