“I Gave My Life for Thee”

1. Read: “For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

2. About the Text:

1) We have a beautiful song in our book that reflects this sentiment.

2) “I Gave My Life for Thee” was written by the young woman Frances R. Havergal.

3) In 1858, at seventeen years old, she was visiting the Dusseldorf Art Museum.

4) She was inspired by the artist Domenico Feti’s work “Behold the Man.”

5) At the bottom of the work were the words, “I have done this for you; what have you done for me?”

6) She composed this song which was published in 1860.

7) This song is written from the first person perspective of Jesus.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

1. “I gave my life for thee, My precious blood I shed, That thou might’st ransomed be, And quickened from the dead; I gave, I gave My life for thee, What hast thou giv’n for Me?”

2. Jesus death paid the ransom we owed because of sin.

1) “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

2) “For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

3. Jesus did this so that we might have eternal life through Him.

1) “For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40).

2) “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20).

4. What have we given for Him?

1) Jesus gave everything He had on earth.

2) Will we give some of what we have for Him?

3) “Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2).

1. “My Father’s house of light, My glory-circled throne, I left for earthly night, For wand’rings sad and lone; I left, I left it all for thee, Hast thou left aught for Me?”

2. Jesus existed in heaven before coming to earth to be a man.

1) “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).

2) “For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:2-3).

3. He left all of heaven’s treasures behind to live in poverty.

1) “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

2) “And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

4. What have we left for Him?

1) Have we left behind anything?

2) We must give up the world in order to have Jesus.

3) “For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?” (Matthew 16:26).

1. “I suffered much for thee, More than thy tongue can tell, Of bitt’rest agony, To rescue thee from hell; I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, What hast thou borne for Me?”

2. Jesus suffered greatly.

1) “And he was parted from them about a stone’s cast; and he kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared unto him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground” (Luke 22:41-44).

2) “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered unto him the whole band. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And they platted a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spat upon him, and took the reed and smote him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the robe, and put on him his garments, and led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27:27-31).

3. Jesus took the penalty of hell for us that we wouldn’t have to suffer it.

1) “whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; or the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:25-26).

2) “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6).

4. What have we borne for Him?

1) Have we endured for Christ?

2) Have we suffered for Christ?

3) Would we give our life for His cause?

4) “Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer: behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

1. “And I have bro’t to thee, Down from My home above, Salvation full and free, My pardon and My love; I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, What hast thou bro’t for Me?”

2. Jesus has brought us salvation, forgiveness, love and many other blessings.

1) “And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

2) “in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins” (Colossians 1:14).

3) “and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).

4) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3).

3. What have we brought for Him?

1) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service” (Romans 12:1)

2) “But this I say, He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Let each man do according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

1. “I gave My Life for Thee”

1) What have we given for Jesus?

2) What have we left behind for Jesus?

3) What loads have we carried for Jesus?

4) What have we brought for Jesus?

2. Invitation