In defending himself against the Pharisees, Jesus utters a curious phrase: "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM.” “Lift up” can signify two different things in the context of Christ’s journey - Jesus being lifted up on the cross to his death and Jesus being lifted up in the resurrection. These are not two separate events in John’s Gospel. For John, the two go hand in hand. We have a lifting up in the first reading from Numbers as well. According to instructions from God, Moses lifts up a bronze serpent mounted on a pole. It is lifted up so that those who suffer from snake bites might look at that bronze serpent and be healed. John refers to the lifting up of the bronze serpent from this passage in Numbers in the third chapter of his Gospel (John 3:13): “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” We as Christians see the death and resurrection of Christ as a sign of the love of God the Father expressed in the self-sacrifice of the Son. I think of the Triduum of liturgies during Holy Week - in Jesus giving instructions to his disciples on Holy Thursday, in Jesus’ passion and death on Good Friday, in the resurrection in the Easter Vigil mass - there is no closing of the liturgies at their end. It is one continuous liturgy during those three days. We remember what we proclaim about our faith: Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free.
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