Arulvakku

31.03.2020 — Being lifted up by/for Humanity

5th week in Lent, Tuesday – 31st March 2020 – John 8,21-30

Being lifted up by/for Humanity

Jesus has come from the Father in order that people may be lifted up to him. He has been sent by the Father and will return to the Father by way of the cross. His coming into the world was not primarily to die in obedience to his Father’s will, but to save.  Jesus, by being lifted up, replaces the bronze serpent thereby offering Himself for the salvation of all humanity. Only here the responsibility for the “lifting up” is thrust on the people, in two references it is God who does the exalting (Jn 3,14; 12,32-34). Thus, even as they crucify him, they will also exalt him and in this act recognize him as the one who is. In the elevation of Jesus on the cross, the revelation of God will take place, and the listeners will know the oneness of the Father and the Son. If they believe that Jesus is the revelation of the Father, they will bridge the gulf between what is “from below” and “from above. Hence, anyone who believes in Him and follows His way of life will inherit the eternal life, but those who die in their disbelief cannot come where Jesus is going.