Key Text: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men unto me." John 12:32
The sermon for this month is a good follow-up and really a continuation
of last month's message, "...And I will raise him up at the
last day." (John 6:40) was the text for that sermon, and
our key text of John 12:32 gives us another I Will having
to do with the resurrection.
Now, the interesting thing about the I Will for this month
is the fact that the Lord Himself is involved in the overall truth
of man's resurrection. In John 6 He spoke of man's resurrection,
and in John 12, He speaks of His own resurrection. If the Son
of God is to be to mankind the resurrection and the life, then
He must be resurrected. A dead Messiah cannot raise the dead.
Jesus illustrated this when He said, "Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
John 12:24. The much fruit of the grain of wheat or corn can come
only through death. And so it is with the much fruit in the harvest
of souls in the end of this world. For the eternal purpose of
God, the grain falls into the ground and dies. This illustration
reveals a perfect picture, a tremendous type of the death and
resurrection of our Savior.
The first part of Verse 32 really has a double meaning. "And
I, if I be lifted up from the earth,..."
1. If I be lifted up - Christ was lifted up and nailed to the
cross giving His life for us. When He died, He was buried. The
burial made it possible for the second meaning of the verse.
2. If I be lifted up - This is the resurrection and that glorious
event accepted and approved by God which made it possible for
all of God's children to someday have a resurrection in His likeness,
a lifting out of the grave. The problem of the grave is solved.
Because He lives we can face tomorrow.
"...The hour is come..." John 12:23 is the central message
in John 12. This is not the hour of His crucifixion as much as
it is the hour of His resurrection. Jesus did not say, The hour
is come that the Son of man should be crucified, but rather, "The
hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified." John
12:23. To show forth the glory of God is the ultimate purpose
in John.
I remember dropping grains of corn during the planting season.
As a small boy on the farm, I wondered how such a thing as small
as a grain of corn could bring forth such a stalk of corn with
so many ears of corn on it. Now, I know the answer. The grain
of corn had life in it. That is the way it works with the gospel
seed, the Word of God. The gospel has life in it, and that life
is planted in the children of God. (II Peter 1:4)
Jesus is giving somewhat of a short parable in John 12:24. Just
as the grain falls into the ground, so the Son of man must die
and be buried. Except the Savior die, there would be no atonement,
and just as true, if the Lord Jesus had not come out of the grave,
there should be no resurrection. Thank God for both the crucifixion
and the resurrection of Jesus.
Let us use a little sanctified imagination and try to picture
in our minds the glory of God in our key text. As you meditate
upon the following verses, perhaps it will help you to understand
more clearly the key text.
Here again in our key text we see three beautiful, three factual,
but above and beyond that, three eternal truths of God's Word.
They are as follows:
John 12:32 is such a marvelous text! I know it is not possible for this truth to be a reality at this present time, but just suppose we had been back there when Christ was resurrected from the tomb. Friend, that was the glory of God. It is certainly Bib
lical truth that our Blessed Lord was lifted up on the cross; however, it was a cross of shame and ridicule. The lifting up, the resurrection from the tomb was a lifting up of glory. "The hour is come..." (the hour of His death) "...that the Son of man s
hould be glorified." (His glorious resurrection).
Here are two great truths--one at the cross and one at the empty
tomb:
1. The cross teaches us that Christ died for sinners. At the cross
we see Christ as our sin bearer and sacrifice.
2. The empty tomb teaches us that God, the Father, approved of
the life of Christ and the death of Christ. All heaven was satisfied
that our Lord Jesus Christ had paid the sin debt. That is why
the tomb is empty. Christ was approved and accepted.
"He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto
you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, the Son of man must be
delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and
the third day rise again." Luke 24:6-7. Another verse says,
"Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon."
Luke 24:34.
Just recently during the eleven o'clock church service, I was
preaching my sermon, "The Eternal Word." The text for
that sermon was John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,..." In that message, I made the following
statements:
Friend, the Christian religion is the only religion this world
has ever had that preached the resurrection of its leader. Thank
God, He is risen.
After giving the sermon at that particular worship service, a
lady came to me and made this statement, "Pastor Thrower,
I wish all my friends and relatives where I grew up could hear
that sermon." She had grown up in a country where Jesus is
not believed to be the Son of God. What glorious news we have--He
is risen!
"...will draw all men unto me." Verse 32. Before the
Jewish people had priority, they were the ones favored. However,
there was a drastic change. Now, ALL mankind can come. All sinners
in any condition and under circumstance can come. They are incapable
of coming, but Jesus through the Holy Spirit will make them capable.
Jesus stated in our key text that He would draw all men to Him.
John 6:44 tells us, "No man can come to me, except the Father
which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last
day."
Here are two beautiful things:
1. The great eternal purpose - In the past, eternity was not just
to draw the Jewish race, but all men. Now, friend, let us not
forget, Christ is the One who draws us. He says, "I will
draw." That is the I Will of drawing people to Himself
for salvation.
2. It is Christ to Whom we are drawn - "I will draw them
to Me," He says. The lost sinner in the gutter is drawn.
The lost sinner in high society is drawn. And the lost sinner
in strict religion is drawn. All are drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ
for salvation and forgiveness. We can rejoice in the great Biblical
truth of the word, "All." That means me, and it means
you. It means anyone, anyplace, anywhere in the whole earth, but
you must come.
A revival broke out during the mid 1950's, and the little white,
wood frame church was at the end of an old red, clay dirt road
in Tennessee. Driving fifty miles back to Chattanooga after the
fifth night, the Pastor said to me, "Bob, you have preached
five sermons, and each night the audience seems like a cold iceberg.
What would you think if the two of us prayed and fasted until
the Holy Spirit came in power and broke that revival open?"
I agreed to do it, and the two of us prayed every minute we could
while we were in school. We fasted, too. On the seventh day the
Holy Spirit came in signal power.
A man attending that revival could not sleep one night. He got
out of bed and went to the chicken house. As he walked up and
down the length of the chicken house, the Holy Spirit drew him
to Christ, and there in the midnight hours, he surrendered his
will to the will of God. Drawn to Christ, the man received salvation
and the forgiveness of sins. This converted chicken rancher gave
his conversion story to the church at the next revival service.
Revival and soul winning broke out in that country community,
and almost 100 people came to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who
come are those who are drawn and those who are drawn are never
cast out. (John 6:37).
Before He was lifted up, Christ fed thousands of people. His miracle
of the loaves and fish fed 5,000 men, not even counting the women
and the children. After He was lifted up, through the anointed
preaching of the gospel at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit opened the
minds of thousands and drew them to the Lord for salvation and
forgiveness. "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews
a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them
which are called, (drawn to Christ) both Jews and Greeks, Christ,
the power of God, and the wisdom of God." I Corinthians 1:24.
"...will draw all men unto me." Verse 32. What is the
real meaning of the two words, "all men"? Seeing the
far-reaching power and journey of the gospel after our Lord's
death, burial and resurrection, it is my belief that the term,
"all men" is setting forth the truth that the gospel
goes to all the world. It is given to all people of all countries,
and with the gospel people are drawn to the Lord. Let us consider
the following verses in context with this idea:
"A very striking example of the Divine drawing power is found
in Judges 4:7, "And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon
Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his
multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand." In like
manner the Lord Jesus Christ draws us unto Himself.
"God is calling for men who are willing to leave all to become
missionaries for Him. And the call will be answered. In every
age since the advent of Christ, the gospel commission has impelled
men and women to go to the ends of the earth to carry the good
news of salvation to those in darkness. Stirred by the love of
Christ and the needs of the lost, men have left the comforts of
home and the society of friends, even that of wife and children,
to go to foreign lands, among idolaters and savages, to proclaim
the message of mercy. Many in the attempt have lost their lives,
but others have been raised up to carry on the work. Thus step
by step the cause of Christ has progressed, and the seed sown
in sorrow has yielded a bountiful harvest. The knowledge of God
has been extended, and the banner of the cross planted in heathen
lands.
"There is nothing more precious in the sight of God than
His ministers, who go forth into the waste places of the earth
to sow the seeds of truth, looking forward to the harvest. None
but Christ can measure the solicitude of His servants, as they
seek for the lost. He imparts His Spirit to them, and by their
efforts souls are led to turn from sin to righteousness."
(GOSPEL WORKERS, E. G. White, pp. 464-465.)
In closing let us consider the author of Psalm 146 who gave us
a beautiful admonition. "Put not your trust in princes, nor
in the son of man, in whom there is no help." Psalm 146:3.
Instead of trusting man and what we have and the things we can
do for ourselves, we are to trust the Lord. "Happy is he
that hath chosen the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is
in the Lord his God." Psalm 146:5 God can be trusted.
I belong to the King, and He loves me, I know,
For His mercy and kindness, so free,
Are unceasingly mine wheresoever I go,
And my refuge unfailing is He.
--Smith