AND IF I BE LIFTED UP, I WILL DRAW ALL MEN TO MYSELF 

John 12:32(NKJV)

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

This is one popular statement made by our Lord that is being popularly misconstrued today. What was Jesus actually talking about? 

A careful and patient contextual analysis will help. 

First, what did Jesus mean by him being lifted up? 

Some days before he made this statement, Jesus was in a conversation with the Jews in the treasury of the temple shortly after vindicating the woman caught in adultery. 

John 8:21–29(NKJV)

21. Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come."

22. So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, "Where I go you cannot come'?"

23. And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

24. 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."

25. Then they said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

26. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."

27. They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.

Follow closely. 

28. Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.

29. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."

So who were the people that were going to lift him up? The Jews. 

Did you know that Jesus came to the earth so that he would be lifted up? What does this mean? 

See what he said in his popular conversation with Nicodemus a few days earlier.

John 3:13–15(NKJV) 

13. No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

15. that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

Remember this story in Numbers 21? 

When, as usual, the children of Israel rebelled and spoke against God and Moses in the wilderness, they were attacked by fiery serpents. Then God told Moses what to do to save their lives. 

Numbers 21:8–9(NKJV)

8. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."

9. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

So what does it mean that Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness? He hung it on a pole. And Jesus in John 3 above said the same would be done to him. Jesus would be hanged on a pole. That's his crucifixion.

Crucifixion was a type of “death by hanging” fashioned by the Romans in which a criminal was nailed or tied to an upright cross or stake. 

With this information in mind, let's examine what Jesus was actually saying in our theme text (John 12).

John 12:20–34(NKJV)

20. Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.

21. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."

22. Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

So non-Jews wanted to see Jesus. 

Now see the Master’s response. 

23. But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.

24. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

Using wheat as an illustration, he then talked about death—that with death comes multiplication. (When one grain loses its life, it produces many in return, i.e., gives life to many grains). 

25. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

26. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

27. "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? "Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

28. Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."

29. Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."

Follow closely. 

30. Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

31. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

32. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

So what exactly was Jesus saying? See the next verse. 

33. This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

Can you see that? 

So Jesus being “lifted up” in our text refers to the type of death he would die—CRUCIFIXION. He was nailed to cross and then the cross was lifted up (like a sign post). In other words, he was lifted up from the earth. 

We see this is in tandem with what he told Nicodemus about the serpent lifted up being symbolic of him (John 3) and how that there was a set of people that would be responsible for him being lifted up—the Jews (John 8).

In fact, his audience understood that he was talking about death; that's why they responded thus:

34. The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, "The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"

In other words, “how can you say that someone that is meant to abide forever will die?”

It makes no sense to the natural man but see how the supposed “foolishness” of God confounds the wise. 

Remember verse 24? When you plant a seed (or a few seeds) of maize, it yields MANY MORE. God in His infinite wisdom gave up one Son to raise up MANY (Ephesians 2:5–6). 

“...unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

So Jesus being “lifted up” in our theme text is not talking about worshipping God. It's about his crucifixion for our sakes. This has happened once and for all.

“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

ALL PEOPLES.

Not just Jews but also Gentiles (like we saw in verse 20). Salvation in Christ Jesus would be made available for ALL MEN premised upon him being lifted up. 

So Jesus being lifted up in death is not an ongoing process today. It is a past event (over 2000 years ago) but with eternal far-reaching benefits. 

Hallelujah! 

Victor Ibosiola © 2023

Excerpt from John 3vs16: The Jesus and Nicodemus Dialogue (2018).