We have a rare occurrence here in our gospel passage today: Jesus speaks, and his listeners actually come to believe in him. There were in fact many who did come to believe, but the greater majority did not! It was a though their eyes were blinded – even though they were looking right at him; and their ears were stopped up – even though they apparently knew words were coming from his mouth! It takes FAITH to believe in what Jesus has to say: those exercising a free gift of faith – "came to believe in him."
What he told them today, what they "came to believe" was that "when he is lifted up from the earth" – when the Cross on which he will be nailed is lifted up from the earth – and when it is looked at for all it is worth – then people will realize who he is – that he is truly God's Son, and God truly is his Father – and all this is taking place because both of them love their people so much that they would willingly undergo the enormous torments, pain, suffering and death involved – for us and our salvation! God the Father was very much in anguish too on the Good Friday afternoon when he saw what the Sin of Adam was doing to his only-begotten Son!
In our first reading today from the Book of Numbers we see a prophetic foreshadowing of the raising up of Jesus on the Cross – which preceded the raising up of Jesus from the dead! When the people of God looked up and saw the bronze seraph snake – representing the seraph snakes that had bitten them and killed many of them – they were healed. It was in the looking up at death transformed that saved them. It is in looking up at the Cross of Christ transformed into Easter Morning that will help to heal and save us!
Thank you Jesus for falling to the ground, like the grain of wheat, for being raised up on the Cross; and for rising from the dead, so that your life would be ours forever!
Look up! and LIVE!
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