PRAYER + PRAISE
Christ’s Redemption through Resurrection
- Adam R. Cole // April 3, 2009
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” —John 12:32
Though we naturally experience anguish in the heart when reading over/meditating on the events leading up to and the moment itself of crucifixion, Jesus was able to grasp it in terms of God’s sovereign plan, suggesting (as we see in the above) that Christ had to be lifted up, had to be put on that cross, in order for humanity to be given eternal life. And, therefore, Jesus looked at the process as a man going into battle, feeling the duty and obligation to the mission that He was called to achieve. He did, however, experience inner turmoil and suffering as John points out to us in the events leading up to His crucifixion. His suffering was symbolic of all of our sins that He took upon Himself. He died and rose for us, so that we may have eternal life through believing in Him and receiving His Grace.
The reference of being lifted up is referred to in John 3:14, which itself is a reference to a moment in Numbers, where Moses crafted (at the instruction of God) a bronze snake. Moses told those that were bitten by venomous snakes (which were sent by God after His people spoke bitterly of Him) to look upon the bronze snake in order to be healed; in the case of the Jewish people then, in their 40-year wandering period, the bite of the snake represented sin. To us, too, we have that sin carried with us from Adam, and so Jesus must be that bronze snake, in a sense, that if we are to look on Him, rather commit to Him and take Him into the heart, then we can be free from sin.
What is also important here is Jesus’ emphasis on all peoples, both Jews and Gentiles. In this regard, we must understand that none one of us is without reproach and every single one of us is worthy, if we repent and commit, to come to Christ.
Let us then lift Him up and draw close to Him.
Praise: That He was lifted, to be that sacrifice that allowed us to have redemption of sins; that he adopted all of us on that day.
Prayer: That we set our gaze on Him to receive that redemption.
Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, we thank You for today. We thank You that Your essence spills into generation after generation from when You left this earth. We realize that because of Your truth that You left behind, that You were indeed lifted up, first on that cross and then to Your eternal throne. Let us come humbly to that moment of taking that to our heart and worshiping You for Your work on that cross. In Your Name we pray, Amen.