And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
When Jesus is lifted up all humanity is drawn on to him. Why is it precisely here, when we should most prefer to run or at least to look away, that we must look upon Jesus. Why is it precisely the serpent of sin and the consequences thereof with which we must fully recon in all of their ugliness?
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
The prophet foretold that we would look upon him whom we had pierced (see Zechariah 12:10). But we is it not just the risen LORD upon whom we look. Can't we just ignore this ugliness of sin as something done once and now over?
We are not yet fullen drawn unto the LORD. And the consequences of sin are gone neither from the world nor indeed from our own hearts. We still need the power of the cross itself to change us. And thanks be to God that power is still available to us. This is why Paul boasts of nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified (see Galatians 6:14). It is that power precisely that brings transformation in the life of Paul.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (see Galatians 6:20).
The cross of Christ continues to put sin to death. It continues to pave the way to the resurrection. But it is important to remember that the cross isn't just or even primarily ugliness. It is mostly and primarily the love of God on full display. It is therefore glory.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
When we lift the cross our problems but we see God's solution. We see how serious sin truly is. But in the love of God on display we find hope.
While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
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