“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
When the Teacher talks about being lifted up on a cross, it is natural that people would be confused. How could His death further any plan? Cause more people to follow Him?
We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?
This is completely counter-intuitive. Isn’t death the end?
Jesus says the cross is not the end, rather the beginning of something.
Not only for Jesus who will rise from the dead to become Lord of all, but the cross will also become the focal point of attraction for all people.
The cross! An unlikely triumph after all.
In fact, more people will become students of Jesus because of His death on the cross than ever followed Him during His earthly life.
What is the attraction of the cross?
Certainly not the cruelty of the nails that pierced His hands or even the rough wooden cross that suspended His body between earth and heaven!
Jesus knew people would look past the cruelty of the cross to see the love there. God's love in sending His Son to die for the sins of the world. The heart of Jesus so filled with the same love for all people!
The cross demonstrates God’s estimation of man’s worth and the extent to which He will go to bring us into fellowship with Him.
And the cross always reminds us of the open grave of Jesus. Not the end, but a new beginning.
The selflesness of Jesus has always impressed me. How encouraging it must have been to hear God's voice confirming His Son. But Jesus says - this is for others benefit.
ReplyDeleteHow often do we say things that are not to the bennefit of others?
How often do we only consider things from our viewpoint?
Jesus recognized that the voice was for others - and He points it out to them so that they can have faith - even while and after he is being lifted up.