1st March 2026
Lifted up
‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…’
John 3:14 (NIVUK)
On three occasions in John’s gospel, Jesus uses the phrase ‘lifted up’. The first occasion is in the header scripture where he alludes to Moses putting a bronze snake on a pole during Israel’s wilderness journeys (Numbers 21:8-9). Jesus’s enigmatic statement has something to do with salvation (John 3:15-16) but needs further explanation as John’s gospel unfolds. The second reference comes in John 8, “…Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he…’ ” (v.28). This was said during a dispute with the Pharisees over Jesus’s identity. The third reference is in John 12: in the context of Jesus’s glorification (v.23), he says, “ ‘…I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself’ ” (v.32). This statement is explicitly linked with his death (v.33).
Why did Jesus speak of his death as a ‘lifting up’? A clue is given when John presents two quotations from Isaiah to explain Jewish unbelief in Jesus (John 12:38, 40; cf. Isaiah 53:1; 6:10). John comments, ‘Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him’ (v.41). In the context of both Old Testament quotations, Isaiah uses the phrase ‘lifted up’: ‘See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted’ (Isaiah 52:13), and ‘…I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up…’ (Isaiah 6:1 ESVUK). It is Isaiah who prophecies that all nations will be drawn to the Lord, transforming Zion into a universal centre of worship (Isaiah 60:3; 2:2-3).
According to John, the greatest moment of Jesus’s revelation and glorification is when Jesus is ‘lifted up’ on the cross as he is exalted in humiliation. It is the cross of Jesus that reveals Jesus’s divine identity (“I am he” John 8:28), so that all nations are drawn to him (John 12:32) to be saved (John 3:14–15).
In the wilderness, the bronze snake, an image associated with judgment and death, becomes the instrument of healing for the Israelites. Likewise, the cross, an emblem of Roman execution and shame, becomes the locus of life. The Israelites were to look at a bronze snake on a pole in order to be healed. Today, we are to look to Jesus on a cross for our healing. Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and live.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you that the cross reveals who you are, and will draw all nations to you for salvation. Please lift our eyes from ourselves and fix them on you. Teach us to trust in your saving work where we will find life, not in our striving, but in your grace.
Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church