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The sermon interprets “lifted up” in John 12:32 as both Christ’s crucifixion and his exaltation through gospel proclamation. The cross reveals divine love and victory: Christ conquers by self-sacrifice and draws people out of sin through the preached gospel. Ministers are therefore to proclaim Christ plainly and faithfully, including both gospel mercy and divine judgment. The cross is also the true center of Christian unity, while Christ’s preserving grace carries his people safely to heaven.
Theological center: Christ’s crucifixion is his glory and the decisive means by which he conquers sin and Satan, draws sinners to salvation, preserves believers, and brings them to heaven.
Applications: Proclaim Christ plainly · Pursue gospel-centered unity · Come to Christ for pardon · See the cross as glory
Primary texts: John 12:31-33 · Luke 12:50 · Matthew 24:28
“And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:32 IT was an extraordinary occasion upon which the Savior uttered these words. It was the crisis of the world. We very often speak of the “present crisis of affairs,” and it is very common for persons of every period to believe their own age to be the crisis and turning point of the whole world’s history. They rightly imagine that very much of the future depends upon their present exertions. But they wrongly stretch the thought and imagine that the period of their existence is the very hinge of the history of the world—that it is the crisis. Now, however it may be correct, in a modified sense, that every period of time is in some sense a crisis, yet there never was a time which could be truly called a crisis in comparison with the season when our Savior spoke. In the thirty-first verse, immediately preceding my text, we find in the English translation, “Now is the judgment of this world.” But we find in the Greek, “Now is the crisis of this world.” The world had come to a solemn crisis—now was the great turning point of all the world’s history. Should Christ die or should He not? If He would refuse the bitter cup of agony, the world is doomed. If He should pass onward, do battle with the powers of death and hell, and come off a victor, then the world is blessed and her future shall be glorious. Shall He succumb? Then is the world crushed and ruined beneath the trail of the old serpent. Shall He conquer? Shall He lead captivity captive and receive gifts for men? Then this world shall yet see times when there shall be “a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” “Now is the crisis of this world!” “The crisis,” He says, “is two-fold. Dealing with Satan and men. I will tell you the result of it. ‘Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.’ Fear not that hell shall conquer. I shall cast him out. And on the other hand, doubt not that I shall be victorious over the hearts of men. ‘I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.’” Remembering the occasion upon which these words were uttered, we shall now proceed to a discussion of them. We have three things to notice. Christ crucified, Christ’s glory. He calls it a lifting Him up. Christ crucified, the minister’s theme. It is the minister’s business to lift Christ up in the Gospel. Christ crucified, the heart’s attraction. “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.” His own glory—the minister’s theme—the heart’s attraction. I. I begin then, CHRIST’S CRUCIFIXION IS CHRIST’S GLORY. He uses the word “lifted up” to expres…