Jesus High and Lifted up

May 16, 1992

John 8:28 When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know...

The conflict has begun in the ministry of Jesus. The day of his popularity is passing; He has fed the 5,000 and that is wonderful. But He has talked about giving His flesh and His blood for the life of the world.

In these paragraphs Jesus has made a very controversial claim, and followed it with a challenge:

He said: I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! That is a pretty good claim!

He went on to say: ANYONE WHO WALKS WITH ME WILL NEVER NEED TO WALK IN DARKNESS EVER AGAIN! That is pretty amazing, too!

But the challenge was this:

Jesus said: UNLESS YOU BELIEVE WHO I AM YOU WILL NEVER SEE ETERNAL LIFE— YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS!

Naturally, it got some strong reaction. "Just WHO do You think You are?" was the outburst from the Pharisees. It was crunch time, time to make a decision about Jesus. They had Light with them. The Holy Spirit was working on them to reveal the truth about Jesus. But Jesus spoke of a time when there would be NO DOUBT— the whole world will know who Jesus IS!

Every time Jesus is Present, every time we hear His word, there is...

I. A CLEAR CHALLENGE TO DECIDE ABOUT JESUS

1. I AM the light of the world; FOLLOW ME AND YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO WALK IN DARKNESS (WITHOUT A GUIDE)
2. Unbelief (Pharisees) does not accept simple truth: "You do not speak the truth!"
3. Jesus says: "Unless you believe that I AM who I say I am, that I am "HE!" (i.e., the Messiah) You will die in your sins!"

   Either we exercise faith and seek Him NOW; or there will be a time when we will see the truth too late!

4. (text) "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am!"

II. JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW THE TRUTH- OR BETTER, JESUS IS THE TRUTH!

1. Jesus was speaking, of course, about being lifted up on the cross to die. He was saying, "The Cross will make things clear!" The Cross will stand throughout eternity as the mark of Who God IS, and prove that He is both HOLY and JUST.

   The scriptures record that the Roman who had charge of the crucifixion knew there was something different, something HOLY about this Man on the middle cross. The Pharisees knew it the, too.

2. But WHENEVER Jesus is, lifted UP, it is THEN that people come to know the truth!

III. SEE THE WAYS IN WHICH JESUS IS LIFTED UP

1. (As He said, Jesus was) LIFTED UP ON THE CROSS. The challenge there was SIN!

   JUSTIFICATION! Jesus our RIGHTEOUSNESS!

2. (But Jesus was also) RAISED FROM THE TOMB. The Enemy now was DEATH!

   Jesus our LIFE! REGENERATION! II Co. 5:17

3. (Jesus then was lifted up as He) ASCENDED INTO SESSION. The concern was SEPARATION, and ALONE-NESS. Jesus was going away!

   Jesus our BROTHER! God our FATHER! Jesus sent us His Spirit to BRING US INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD! ADOPTION!

   But that is only true as it becomes personal; as the truth draws near with power. When Jesus is lifted up in witness, something wonderful takes place:

4. (It is the church's privilege to lift up Jesus so the world can know the truth) PROCLAIMED IN WITNESS...
   1. ... to our own salvation by others: GRACE RECEIVED TO DELIVER US FROM THE POWER AND THE GUILT OF SIN
   2. ... by our own confession to the salvation of others: GRACE IN SEASON, OUT OF SEASON IN EVERY SITUATION TO LIFT UP THE SAVIOR AND SHARE HIS LOVE
5. EVERY EYE SHALL SEE THE PAROUSIA - JESUS, HIGH AND LIFTED UP, WILL BE REVEALED TO THE WHOLE WORLD!

CONCLUSION

What do you know for sure about God? What do you know for certain about your own standing with Him? There is one way that you CAN know!