Lifted Up to Save Us : John 8:25-28 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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Lifted Up to Save Us - John 8:25-28

The Jews asked, "Then who are you?" Jesus answered, "I am what I have told you from the beginning. I have many things I could say to judge you. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One that sent me. And he speaks the truth." These Jews did not understand who Jesus was talking about. Jesus was telling them about the Father (God). So Jesus said to them, "You will lift up (kill) the Son of Man. Then you will know that I AM. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority (power). You will know that I say only the things that the Father has taught me. (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

John uses such a simple vocabulary to tell the story of Jesus in such a magnificent way. The term lifted up can mean "to physically lift" something up or it can mean "to exalt." The latter use is more prominent in the New Testament and in common usage. For John, however, the two mean the same thing. Jesus is exalted when he is lifted up on the Cross. Far from being something of shame, it was God's way of reaching the hearts of people. Jesus does what he does because it is the Father's way of reaching people. Unfortunately, so many miss the wonders of this sacrificial love. Yet for those of us who have been touched by this display of grace, it is God's power to cleanse and transform us.

Today's Prayer

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For your wondrous love, O God, I praise and thank you. For your incredible sacrifice, Lord Jesus, I praise you for your obedience and your love. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

Again, Jesus said to the people, "I will leave you. You will look for me, but you will die with your sin. You cannot come where I am going." So the Jewish leaders asked themselves, "Will Jesus kill himself? Is that why he said, 'You cannot come where I am going'?" But Jesus said to those Jews, "You people are from here below. But I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don't belong to this world. I told you that you would die with your sins. Yes, you will die with your sins, if you don't believe that I AM. " The Jews asked, "Then who are you?" Jesus answered, "I am what I have told you from the beginning. I have many things I could say to judge you. But I tell people only the things I have heard from the One that sent me. And he speaks the truth." These Jews did not understand who Jesus was talking about. Jesus was telling them about the Father (God). So Jesus said to them, "You will lift up (kill) the Son of Man. Then you will know that I AM. You will know that these things I do are not by my own authority (power). You will know that I say only the things that the Father has taught me. The One (God) who sent me is with me. I always do what pleases him. So he has not left me alone."

— John 8:21-29 (ERV)

The only one that has ever gone up to heaven is the One that came down from heaven--the Son of Man. "Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. It is the same with the Son of Man. The Son of Man must be lifted up too. Then every person that believes in the Son of Man can have life forever." Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. God gave his Son so that every person that believes in him would not be lost, but have life forever. God sent his Son into the world. God did not send his Son to judge the world guilty. God sent his Son so that the world could be saved through his Son.
John 3:13-17 (ERV)

Jesus said to them, "Now is the time for the Son of Man to receive his glory. I tell you the truth. A grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die. Then it grows and makes many seeds. But if it never dies, then it will always be only a single seed. The person that loves his own life will lose it. But the person that hates his life in this world will keep it. He will have life forever. The person that serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will give honor to people that serve me. "Now I am very troubled. What should I say? Should I say, 'Father save me from this time {of suffering}'? No, I came to this time so that I could suffer. Father, do what will bring you glory!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have already brought glory to myself. I will do it again." The people standing there heard the voice. Those people said it was thunder. But other people said, "An angel spoke to Jesus!" Jesus said to the people, "That voice was for you and not for me. Now is the time for the world to be judged. Now the ruler of this world (the devil) will be thrown out. I will be lifted up from the earth. And when this happens, I will bring all people to me." Jesus said this to show how he would die.
John 12:23-33 (ERV)

The army officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus saw this earthquake and everything that happened. They were very afraid and said, "He really was the Son of God!"
Matthew 27:54 (ERV)

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HEARTLIGHT^® Magazine is produced by Heartlight, Inc. HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. PO Box 7044, Abilene, TX, USA 79608-7044. Copyright © 1996-2009. Heartlight is supported by Westover Hills Church, Southern Hills Church, and loving Christians from around the world. Scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. Used by permission. All rights reserved.