Lifted Up

Christ our Lord said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” The evangelist then tells us that Jesus did this so as to show us by what kind of death Jesus was going to die.  To be lifted up is to be exalted, to be honored and praised by man.

And Jesus will be exalted, but only in jest. But Jesus also knew that His lifting up would not be in vain. And Jesus told His disciples that when He is lifted up, He will draw all people to Himself, that is to say, that the many would know Him as He who was lifted up. Jesus’ exaltation came when He was lifted upon the cross, having been crucified by the Jews whom He came to save, and at the hand of the Greeks, those who are Gentiles.

It is for this reason, and others, of course, that the apostle Paul has written, “We preach Christ crucified.” But Paul did not end the thought there. No, he continued, “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Find out more in this sermon from St. John's Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND!