John 12:31-32 “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

There are two very amazing things here. The first is that the devil thought he was triumphing over the Son of God, but Jesus said it was the exact reverse: His crucifixion was judgment on the world, because it wasn’t penalty for His sin, but for ours. The devil thought it was his moment of triumph, but Jesus said it was the moment of the devil being cast out. Time being what it is, we don’t yet see the full results of that, but the victory was finally and decisively won at that point. Bill Whittle has wisely noted that wars are generally won and lost long before they end. The battle of Midway effectively decided the outcome of WWII in the Pacific, but the majority of the casualties happened after that. Likewise, D-day cemented the fall of the Third Reich, but the Battle of the Bulge and other bloody conflicts happened after that. The battle for the world, and for the souls of men, is already decided, but the fighting is still intense. We can, however, rest assured in the final outcome! The other thing that is remarkable here is that Jesus said that He would draw all people to Himself when He was lifted up. The very next verse explicitly says that referred to His being on the cross. Nicky Gumbel, the British pastor who created the Alpha Course for evangelism and believer training, rightly points out that wearing crosses for decoration, a common thing today even for people with no faith at all, is equivalent to wearing nooses, or even a gallows. The cross was in no way seen as something attractive. The majority of people in the Roman empire had seen people executed that way, and it was in no way a pretty sight. However, for everyone who has the revelation, “He died for me,” the cross is a thing of incredible beauty. We must never play down the cross, in all its ugliness and cruelty, because the cross is what our sins deserve, and Jesus took it for us. That is attractive indeed!

This is something I’ve known as abstract truth most of my life, but my appreciation of it has only grown. When there is no awareness of sin, there is no appreciation for redemption. The second verse of Amazing Grace rightly says, “T’was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” Until I knew, by God’s grace, that I really deserved hell, I had a very shallow understanding of salvation. Now, I share the Gospel as one who has earned hell but has been given eternal life by faith instead. I must never forget that reality, because only then will people really cross over from death to life.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder. Help me share it effectively, both with those who are already believers and those who will become believers because of this message, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!