5th week in Lent, Tuesday – 8th April 2025 – Numbers 21,4-9; Jn 8,21-30
Salvation and Glorification
Jesus’ destiny as the Son of Man is to be “lifted up.” This phrase comes up three times in the Gospel of John (Jn 3,14; 8,28; 12,32-34). The phrase means two kinds of being “lifted up” – lifted up on the cross and lifted up in resurrection. John loves this phrase because for him the death and resurrection of Jesus go together. For him, the cross is Jesus’ moment of glory, the triumphant climax of his mission, but also includes Jesus’ glorification, his lifting up to sit at the Father’s right hand. The first statement, to Nicodemus, reveals the mystery of the cross as salvation. In reference to Num 21,4-9, lifting up refers to God’s instruction to Moses to save Israel, who were attacked by poisonous snakes and now recalls how salvation would be brought to mankind through Christ. The second statement focuses on the cross as the culmination of Jesus’ revelation. Seen with the eyes of faith, the cross will reveal Jesus’ divine identity. Jesus’ suffering and glorification is a sign of the Father’s love expressed in the self-sacrifice of Jesus. The third “lifted up” comes in Jesus’ speech in Jn 12,32-24, which asserts Jesus’ drawing everyone to himself through death. Here drawing everyone to himself also implies the effect of Jesus’ risen life. Thus John, with Old Testament associations, helps to understand Jesus’ suffering and glorification with both the human and divine dimension in mind.
