Our Lord Jesus Christ made a straight-forward statement in John 12:32 when he said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.” The “lifted up” is undeniably speaking of His impending crucifixion whereby He would literally be lifted up by being placed on a cross. What He meant by “drawing all men unto Him” cannot be speaking of popularity or acceptance because all men have not and are not so drawn to Him. We may safely say that the world at large, population-wise, still does not embrace Jesus or who He was. Neither is there any reason to interpret the phrase “draw all men unto Me” to mean He will draw all kinds of men, that is, races, colors, cultures, and backgrounds. Had He meant that, He surely could have made it clear. Nor did He mean He would draw all men of some select or elect group in contrast to all other remaining people. That, too, He could have made clear.
The plain sense is the best sense unless allegory or other figurative language is clearly obvious. The saying, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me,” coincides with numerous other verses clearly stating that Christ died on that Cross for the sin of the entire world. This speaks of the efficacy of Christ mentioned earlier. The “all men” of John 12:32 consists of precisely the same company as “the world” in John 3:16. The “drawing” is simply another way of stating Christ is the “propitiation for our sins, and not ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” mentioned in 1st John 2:2. Whether men realize it or not, or believe it or not, they were reconciled to God by the sacrificial death of Christ, and His payment was placed to their account. Their not knowing this, or even their denial of it, does not negate the truth of it. Likewise, most of all ages, especially our own do not know or believe that the death sentence of every human from creation to the present remains imposed upon all humans due to the sin and rebellion of our original parents, Adam and Eve.
But, man’s rejection, or even ridicule, of this biblical axiom neither refutes or changes its reality. God’s gracious remedy for this every person to person and every generation to generation death cycle is found exclusively in who Jesus Christ is and what He did. First John 4 clarifies that in saying, “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world,” to which Christ Himself added His willingness to be sent, by stating in John 8:29, “The Father has not left Me alone, for I do always those things that please Him.” All that motivated both Father and Son in the incredible act of redemption for a lost, undeserving humanity was an equally incredible love for that same humanity. When Christ died, He reconciled that humanity from its depths and extent to which it had fallen. That’s what He meant in saying His being lifted up would draw all men unto Him. John 12:32 says what it seems to say.
CC 10-07
Published by