Tuesday of the
Fifth Week of Lent
(Numbers 21:4-9; John 8:21-30)
The Gospel of John is full of double meanings. Life
and death, for example, have both
physical and spiritual significances. In
today’s passage, Jesus speaks of “’going away,’” and the Pharisees mistake him
to mean that he is going to kill himself.
Actually he is saying that he will return to his Father in heaven soon. When Jesus tells the same Pharisees that they
will “’lift up the Son of Man,’” he has another double entendre in mind.
Jesus is lifted up twice in the gospel. The first lifting takes place with his
crucifixion. The scene is reminiscent of
the reading from Numbers when Moses lifts up an artificial serpent on a poll to
heal all onlookers who were bitten by snakes after complaining, like college
students, about the quality of their food.
Although many think of the crucifixion as at least a setback for Jesus,
in the context of John’s gospel it is victorious. Jesus is crucified following his Father’s
plan and in control of all that happens.
The second lifting up occurs when Jesus is raised from the dead in
absolute glory.
Looking at a crucifix, we do not shudder but find
hope. One reason for confidence is that
most crucifixes do not reveal the gore of an actual execution. But it is also true that Jesus’ loving sacrifice
on the cross gains for us the forgiveness of our sins. Linked to his victorious resurrection from
the dead, his crucifixion assures us of transcendence of sin and death. Spurred by faith in Jesus, we perform similar
acts of love that merit for us eternal life.
