“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” – John 12:32, ESV
That line still stops me mid-scroll. John adds that Jesus said it “to show by what kind of death he was going to die.” Lifted up means the cross. The Greek word, hypsoō, means both “lift up” and “exalt” (Blue Letter Bible). The place of execution and the place of exaltation are the same place.
That’s backwards by the world’s math. Rome saved crucifixion for slaves, agitators and people with no rights (Britannica). Jesus said that is exactly where He would draw the world to Himself.
Look and live
The pattern goes way back. Israel was dying from snake bites, and God told Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole: “everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8, ESV). Jesus pointed right at it: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15, ESV). Look and live. Not look and perform. Look and trust.
Paul says Jesus “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him” (Philippians 2:8-9, ESV). The way up went down through the cross.
The church has marked this for a long time. The September 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross goes back to the dedication of Constantine’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre around 335, and Orthodox, Catholic and some Protestant churches still keep it (Britannica). You don’t need a feast day or a relic to get it, though. The point was always the One who hung on it.
Still drawing today
Here’s what I believe as a Spirit-filled believer: that drawing didn’t stop in the first century. Jesus said the Holy Spirit “will glorify me” (John 16:14, ESV), and He’s still doing it. When somebody gets saved, healed, set free, or finally quits running, that’s the cross still drawing. “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV). Power, not just a nice idea. “With his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, ESV).
And believers overcome “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11, ESV). So tell yours. Somebody needs to hear what Jesus did for you.
Some days work is nothing but chasing firewalls and load balancers. The cross still stands over all of it. So keep Him lifted up. Above the outage board. Above the unanswered prayer. Above the plan that won’t compile. He’s still drawing people. Have a blessed day!
References & Further Reading
- Bible Gateway – John 12:20–36 (ESV) – Jesus on being lifted up and drawing all people.
- Bible Gateway – John 3:1–21 and Numbers 21:4–9 (ESV) – Nicodemus and the bronze serpent.
- Bible Gateway – Philippians 2:5–11 (ESV) – Christ humbled to the cross and exalted.
- Blue Letter Bible – Strong’s G5312, hypsoō – The Greek word for “lifted up,” which also means “exalt.”
- Britannica – Crucifixion – How Rome used crucifixion and on whom.
- Britannica – Exaltation of the Holy Cross – How the September 14 observance started around 335.
- Bible Gateway – 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 (ESV) – The word of the cross as the power of God.
