And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  

John 12:32-33 

Christ was quite clear about His crucifixion. In our text He speaks of being lifted up. The next verse is an explanation by John, the gospel writer, of what Christ meant. He was referring to the method of His execution. Thus the crucifixion is critical to the whole scheme of salvation. Elsewhere, Christ mentioned His being lifted up in the same manner as the bronze serpent which Moses lifted up in the wilderness. If any of the Israelites looked to the serpent, they were saved from the deadly effects of the snake bites they had received. The serpent in the wilderness became the type of Christ, to Whom we look and are saved from the poisonous effects of sin. This lifting up of Christ by crucifixion had always been part of the plan of God for salvation. He had foretold His sacrifice in the first message of the gospel in Genesis 3. Simeon had referred to His death in his soliloquy in Luke 2. Christ was operating under no illusions about how and where His life would end. Thus at the beginning of the week before He died, He made reference to it as God, through Him fulfilled His plan.   

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have poured out your soul unto death. 
We praise You that because You have died, 
we live.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? 

John 9:35 

‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ This is a critical question. What is the consequence of not believing? When Christ was in controversy with the Pharisees, He said to them, ‘Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’ That is the consequence of unbelief. For this reason the Gospel is important for all sorts of people in all ages, cultures, and climates. This is not the promotion of a program, an organization, or a denomination. It is the presentation of a Person Who is the Key to eternity. When Christ asked the man whom He had healed of his congenital blindness if he believed in the Son of God, He was presenting Himself as the Son of God to one whose life He had already affected. That man who had been born blind could now see physically, and was on his way to seeing spiritually. He would respond to Christ’s question with, ‘Lord, I believe!’ Our desire is that you who read this little work should also believe in Christ, the Son of God. He is altogether worthy of your faith. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.’ 

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are our Redeemer. 
We praise You that You  
still cause the blind to see.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning