What did Jesus mean when He said, "If I be lifted up," in John 12:32?

This wonderful unfolding of the results of His death came from the lips of the Lord, and characteristically He placed last its result as regards Himself. In mentioning this He signified crucifixion as the manner of his death. Now this was the Roman way of executing the death sentence, but seeing that all the animosity against Him was in the breast of the Jew, it signified that He would die a death of utmost shame, repudiated by both Jew and Gentile. He was lifted up from the earth in order that He might be contemptuously dismissed — the extinguisher dropped, so to speak, upon His cause and His Name. And the result to be attained is precisely the opposite. He who once was crucified is to be the universal and everlasting Object of attraction! All who are drawn into God's mighty circle of blessing will be drawn by Him and to Him. Here we have in germinal form what is more fully expounded in Ephesians 1:9-14. Far from extinguishing His glory the cross becomes the foundation upon which it rests, the basis for its most perfect display, as is so movingly witnessed by Revelation 5:5-14.

The answer was that the Father had already glorified His Name, surely, in the raising of Lazarus, and that He would glorify it again, that is, as we understand, in the resurrection of Christ Himself (cp. Ps. 21:4-6; Heb. 5:7-8). The victory was therefore won in the assurance of resurrection, and the full results of the cross, as a consequence, opened out before His soul. First, the world was already judged; all its tarnished and defiled glory came morally to an end in the cross, and with it the assurance that its prince would be cast out. Finally, the Father glorified, the world judged, and Satan cast out, the Lord adds, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me."

As we have seen, it was in the first place, "The Son of man must be lifted up"; then, "When ye have lifted up the Son of man"; and now it is, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth." And then we are explicitly told, "This spake He, signifying what death He should die." Our attention is therefore called to the fact that He was cast out of this world, lifted up from the earth, and crucified on that shameful cross. But we behold in this God's triumph over man's sin, and the Lord's own victory over death, the grave, and Satan's power. Man lifted Him up from the earth, as unworthy to live any longer upon it, and there they, to add to the ignominy of His death, crucified Him between two thieves; but God stepped in and, after His burial, lifted Him up still higher, yea, to the highest spot in the universe, to His own right hand, where He has given Him the name which is above every name, and decreed that every knee in all His dominions shall bow to Him, and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Such was God's response to the rejection of His beloved Son.

239 Remark also here, a very important expression. The Lord says, "And I, if I be lifted up out of the earth, will draw all men unto me" (v. 32). He is no longer at all of this world, nor in heaven either. It is a Saviour rejected, suffering, dying, who has left the world for ever, a Saviour ignominiously rejected, driven away, cast out by the world; it is He who, being no longer on the earth, nor in heaven either, I repeat, exposed to the gaze of men, lifted up from the earth and not yet in heaven, but alone between the one and the other with God, like the altar that was neither in the camp nor in the tabernacle - it is He who is the attractive refuge of those who would flee from the world that has rejected Him to enter heaven, to which He thus opens the way for us.

Let us now observe the connection of the truths spoken of in this remarkable passage. The hour was come for the glory of the Son of man. But, in order to this, it needed that the precious corn of wheat should fall into the ground and die; else it would remain alone. This was the universal principle. The natural life of this world in us had no part with God. Jesus must be followed. We should thus be with Him: this was serving Him. Thus also we should be honoured by the Father. Christ, for Himself, looks death in the face, and feels all its import. Nevertheless He gives Himself to one only thing — the glory of His Father. The Father answers Him in this. His desire should be fulfilled. He should not be without an answer to His perfection. The people hear it as the voice of the Lord God, as described in the Psalms. Christ (who, in all this, had put Himself entirely aside, had spoken only of the glory of His followers and of His Father) declares that this voice came for the people's sake, in order that they might understand what He was for their salvation. Then there opens before Him, who had thus put Himself aside and submitted to everything for His Father's sake, not the future glory, but the value, the import, the glory, of the work He was about to do. The principles of which we have spoken are here brought to the central point of their development. In His death the world was judged: Satan was its prince, and he is cast out: in appearance it is Christ who was so. By death He morally and judicially destroyed him who had the power of death. It was the total and entire annihilation of all the rights of the enemy, over whomsoever and whatsoever it might be, when the Son of God and Son of man bore the judgment of God as man in obedience unto death. All the rights that Satan possessed through man's disobedience and the judgment of God upon it, were only rights in virtue of the claims of God upon man, and come back to Christ alone. And being lifted up between God and the world, in obedience, on the cross, bearing that which was due to sin, Christ became the point of attraction for all men living, that through Him they might draw nigh to God. While living, Jesus ought to have been owned as the Messiah of promise; lifted up from the earth as a victim before God, being no longer of the earth as living upon it, He was the point of attraction towards God for all those who, living on earth, were alienated from God, as we have seen, that they might come to Him there (by grace), and have life through the Saviour's death. Jesus warns the people that it was only for a little time that He, the light of the world, would remain with them. They should believe while it was yet time. Soon would the darkness come, and they would not know whither they went. We see that, whatever might be the thoughts that occupy His heart, the love of Jesus never grows cold. He thinks of those around Him — of men according to their need.

Note the completeness of verses 31 and 32 of John 12. The world is judged by the death of Christ; Satan (shown to be its prince) is cast out. But then, "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." How the universal and absolute condemnation of the world (the overthrow, withal, of Satan) and grace in the attractive object, and in itself efficacious work, towards all, is shown at the same time in the cross!

How blessed to know that He is God's centre of attraction, at the present time, for all men, as we read in verse 32: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Me." This surely means, "All men without distinction", but not "all men without exception", for all men have not been drawn to Him. It is in keeping with the character of John's Gospel which takes in the whole world in its scope, and not merely the Jews; and so we have such expressions as "All men," "Any man," "Whosoever," and so on.

We can only briefly refer to the last instance, though from its connection and importance it might have well occupied the whole of our space. Still, we can commend it to the earnest attention and meditation of our readers: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto Me." All the teaching from verse 23 to verse 36 flowed out of the desire of certain Greeks to see Jesus. When Andrew and Philip told Jesus, He opened out the blessed truth that the Son of Man must be glorified before all things could be put under His feet, that the corn of wheat must die if it were to bring forth fruit - fruit in resurrection of His own kind and order. This being so, to follow Him in this world entailed the cross; and if anyone .would serve Him he must follow Him, accepting death upon everything in this world, and then whore He was His servant should be, and everyone serving Him His Father would honour. In the full anticipation of all this He in spirit passed through the death He contemplated, and thus, already on the other side, He could say, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die." It is the meaning of this triumphant outburst that we have now to seek to ascertain.

The key to it will be found, we apprehend, in the incident, already mentioned, of the Greeks desiring to see Jesus. They may be taken as the representatives of all kindreds, people, and tongues, which one day will bow the knee to Jesus, and confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The Lord therefore, when He speaks of drawing all men unto Him, after having been lifted up, refers, we cannot doubt, to what will be effected in this world, in the world to come, the thousand years, when His supremacy and authority will be universally confessed. It is not, and, it might almost be said, could not be fulfilled in this day of grace, but the time is coming when He will put down all rule and all authority and power; for He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet. True it is that many in that day will yield Him feigned obedience; but it is none the less the fact that, in virtue of His death and exaltation, all will be drawn, either by His attractions or His power, in subjection to His feet. Blessed prospect! The Lord Himself, on the return of the seventy with the tidings that the demons were subject to them through the power of His name, contemplated the time when Satan would fall as lightning from heaven, as preparatory to His own universal sway. And surely it is joy to the heart of every believer to look onward to the period when the rights of Christ will be owned in the very scene where He was cast out and crucified, and when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.*

*The word for lifting up and being exalted is the same. We are explicitly told that the Lord used it, "signifying what death He should die." None the less is it true that His exaltation is in virtue, the consequence of, His death, and that it is the exalted Christ who will draw all men unto Himself. May it not be therefore that it was intended that we should include His exaltation in His being lifted up?

Isaiah also uses the term when speaking of Christ as the Servant of Jehovah (Isa. 52:13). Speaking of the glory God will give Him, the prophet said, "He shall be exalted and extolled," that is, "exalted and lifted up." This was fulfilled when God raised up the crucified Jesus, and made Him Lord and Christ at His right hand. As such, the Jews will believe on Him, and acknowledge Him as the great "I am." Seeing Him lifted up in glory, they will confess their sin in lifting Him up on the tree, and will mourn in the touching language of the next chapter (Isa. 53).

The Lord here speaks for the third time of His being lifted up to die, and says that this will be the centre of attraction for all men. As the crucified Son of man, He will draw to Himself, not merely the Jews, not only the Greeks, like those who had just desired to see Him, but all men in the widest and fullest sense. Now the gospel is preached in all the world, and whosoever believes is saved, but the Lord's words look to the future time when the whole world will bow beneath the sway of His sceptre.

By this He has drawn all men to Himself (v. 32). He does not speak of salvation but of judgment: His death brings all under His authoritative judgment: He has the right to judge as regards all: none can escape having to do with Him.

265 The Greeks are the nations coming up, or individuals of them. They are Hellenes; Grecian Jews are Hellenists. "Jesus answered them saying, The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified." He was Son of God in raising Lazarus; He was Son of God in the world without dying; He was Son of David too, and ought to have been received as such according to Psalm 2, but when He takes His place as Son of man, according to Psalm 8, He must die. He cannot take the heavenly place of glory and be over all the works of God's hand without dying. And then we must follow in that, "he that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me." A very important word; if you want to serve Christ, you must follow Him. It is not as if you could do so much service in a kind of independent way, but if I serve Him I must follow Him where He is. And then His own soul enters into this death. "Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say; Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour." Not so deep, but like Gethsemane. And then you get His perfectness brought out, seeking only His Father's glory, at all cost. He cannot be glorified without thus dying, and on the perfect submission the sense of the glory comes into His own soul. This is very instructive to us. And then comes a voice from heaven, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." You have had the Father's name glorified in the Lord in raising back Lazarus to this world, and He is going to glorify it again in raising Christ from the dead. He was declared the Son of God with power here as given in Romans 1, and raised from the dead by the glory of the Father in Romans 6. Then in verse 32 He says, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out; and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Having submitted Himself entirely, and having looked only for His Father's glory, He says that the thing where He glorifies God is the way to His own glory. Wherever we bow to a dealing of God that brings us down, we find that it is the path of more glory.

266 As a living Messiah He had to say to the Jews, but as Saviour of everybody, He must die - " Will draw all men unto me." It is not the Father drawing to Him here, but the attractive point to which men are drawn.

Verse 32 is the cross, and the effect of it goes on; every soul that is brought in is the effect of it. The drawing goes on, but it is to a crucified Christ they are drawn. A living Christ was for a Jew, but it is by a dying Christ salvation comes to the world. When living, He says, "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."