Lifted Up
Notes
Transcript
Cross Glory
Cross Glory
We all know what it’s like to be tired, frustrated, and perhaps afraid of what comes in the future.
It’s that bone weary, exhausted, “too much to do and not enough time” kind of tired.
It’s the boss handing you the project at 4:29 in the afternoon.
It’s the doctor telling you the ailment is getting worse but you’ve followed every rule and instruction to the dot.
It’s the single parent making dinner for kids after a hard day’s work, only to hear them complain about what’s offered.
It’s too broke for vacation but too rich for the kids to get scholarships...
It’s one more briefing
I don’t know about you, I don’t feel lifted up in those moments.
Most of the time we want to escape it, don’t we?
Our prayers sound a lot like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion.
saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Right now I’m seeing a lot of people drinking from cups they wish God would take from them.
I see cancer and fear of cancer.
I see families mourning deaths they didn’t expect.
I see widows without the spouse they’ve loved for decades.
I see cars break down when folks don’t have the money to fix them.
I see young people who think they’re too little of one thing and too much of another thing, and the self condemnation is crushing.
I see husbands and fathers who never had fathers, trying to learn what it means to be men
I see people who have experienced trauma that was not their fault.
Well, if Jesus cried out to have the cup removed, I don’t think I can be too hard on anyone who does the same.
What I will say, though, is that whether God takes the cup from us, or allows us to continue drinking, we still have victory.
Here’s what Jesus has to say in today’s Gospel lesson.
I invite you to stand as you are able...
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Lifted Up…Two Types
Lifted Up…Two Types
This is hard to catch in the English, but Jesus is offering one of those plays on words he so often employees.
You’ll remember the story of Moses lifting up the serpent in the desert in Numbers 21
The Israelites were travelling through the wilderness were grumbling against God.
So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
Then the Israelites repented...
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Moses had to lift up the serpent on a pole.
Jesus knows that in the same way, he must be lifted up on the cross to become the salvation of all people, not just the Israelites...
Interesting fact, though…the terms used for “lifted up” are just a little different.
“And as Moses lifted up (hypsose)…even so must the son of man be lifted up (hypsothenai).
The lifting up of the serpent for Moses is spatial and speaks to some level of exaltation.
The Israelites were saved, after all, by looking upon the serpent, thinking of God’s physical salvation of them, and receiving healing.
But it wasn’t the most important sort of salvation.
Every single Israelite who survived a serpent bite is now passed on.
More was needed than a serpent lifted by Moses.
Eternally Glorified
Eternally Glorified
Hypsothenai, the lifting of Jesus, is a different sort of lifting up.
The Jesus lifting up is perhaps best translated as “to be raised to the highest honor.”
It’s exaltation for today, but it’s also the highest honor for eternity...
Other places in Scripture
And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
The good news of the lifting up of Jesus is that it not only temporarily saves one people, but all people.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
The lifting up of Jesus on the cross is the victory.
He didn’t lose on the cross and then win in the resurrection.
Jesus WON on the cross and then declared it in the resurrection.
And what was that victory?
“…that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Now if the Jews, by looking to the brazen image of a serpent, escaped death, much rather will they who believe on the Crucified, with good reason enjoy a far greater benefit. For this takes place, not through the weakness of the Crucified, or because the Jews are stronger than He, but because “God loved the world...”
It turns out that the great victory and exaltation of Jesus is your salvation.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
And what was that law?
Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
By bearing our sin burden, Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law of love.
What About Now?
What About Now?
But what about all that specific stuff I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon?
Those trials and difficulties you experience where you can’t seem to find relief.
Yes, Chaplain, the glorification of Jesus is the cross...
I do believe in Him and I do believe I have everlasting life.
But on this side of eternity, I feel as if I’m in Gethsemane rather than glory.
There has not been a single Lent in recent memory where the burdens of this world haven’t come crashing in.
Many of those burdens come through observing the struggles of other people.
A couple things...
Many worldly trials and difficulties have a way of resolving over time.
Sometimes it comes simply through relief.
At other times it feels miraculous.
The kids do finally appreciate the dinner you made.
You do finally understand your job well enough to work unsupervised.
The Airmen do finally listen when you speak at the commander’s call.
The finances do improve over time.
Those victories…victories you might think of as Moses lifting the serpent on the pole victories…they are a gift from God.
Some trials and difficulties, though, won’t be resolved entirely in this world.
There is no Moses lifting the serpent victory in some of the things we experience in life, things that I hesitate to mention because I know you’re experiencing them.
What is the victory in difficulties that cannot be resolved so easily?
Hear dear friends, these words from Jesus.
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
For they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The great promise to all of us, dear friends, is that just as Jesus was lifted up and glorified on the cross...
As we go through the crosses of this life, he promises to bless us and lift us up.
Our difficulties are real, but the promises of God are eternal and sure.
God Has Been There
God Has Been There
Wherever you are today, God is right there with you.
Jesus experienced joy, and Jesus experienced difficulty.
Your savior knows it all...
He rejoices in your Godly joy.
He has already declared the victory of every suffering on your behalf.
His victory does not negate the pain we experience, but it does provide trust that suffering is not the victor.
When your spirit is poor, you’re promised the Kingdom of heaven.
If you mourn, He promises to comfort
If you struggle with sin in pursuit of righteousness, righteousness will be given.
Just as Jesus was lifted up and secured the victory of salvation, He promises to lift us up when we walk through any and all scenarios on this Earth.
So, dear friends, you may not feel victorious at the moment, but claim it anyway.
The troubles and pains of this world, even those that are most painful, are but for a moment.
The exaltation of Jesus is His eternal glory, and it is the glory that lifts us all up until that last day...
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Gracious God, we believe, help our unbelief. Help us to believe that the sorrows of this world are but for time, and that the Victory of Jesus is for eternity. Help us to believe in your promises, and make us a church that declares your victory today, and every day. Amen