“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (Jn. 12: 32)

The Gospel lifts up the name of Jesus. It exalts Him far above mankind, and sets Him in His rightful place, on the throne of grace. As we present the Gospel message, it draws men unto Him, the Gospel incarnate. The power is in the Word, and not in the delivery; it is God-given, and not man made. We all know this, but in practice we seem to forget it! In John 6: 44, we see that “No man” can come to Christ but that the Father draw him, and the Father will accomplish this in three different ways:

First, the cross: Jesus was “lifted up” above the earth on the cross, and Calvary has been established as the beginning of our modern day calendar. All men still use the timetable of the cross for reckoning certain times, and all men’s attention was drawn to Calvary, and to the Christ of Calvary. This is the literal sense of the meaning “lifted up”, and it obtains a great amount of glory for the Father.

Second is the lifting up of His name in the hearts of His followers. As we exalt the name of Christ, and testify of Him, we see that others are often drawn to him by word of mouth. Our testimony and our praises are then used to glorify the Father in the lifting up of Christ. We lift Him up on high in praise, and He does the drawing of others to Him through His Spirit which works within us.

Then, the third application is the resurrection of Christ. In rising from the dead, our Lord indeed drew the attentions and affections of man the resurrection is the completion of the Gospel; without it, the Gospel would lose its power. It is the climax of the Gospel of Christ, and it draws men to Him in the very need that it provides—the salvation of souls.