Christian Community

Jesus speaking in John 12 proclaims: "And I, as I am lifted up from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me." The chapter is extensive, significant, and even dramatic, with a thundering voice according to humans. It speaks about His death, burial, and ressuretion.

Jesus wasn’t implying that every person without exception would put their faith in Him for salvation. Clearly, many did not. Jesus meant that people of all ethnic groups and from every part of the world would be drawn to Him through His exaltation in death. The “all people” included the Greeks who were seeking Jesus right then and listening to His voice.

Why is this important? Jesus, rising from death, would bring about a new order in this world. One that proclaims a God that is not limited to death, in any sense.

Let's look at this a little further. Prior to the crucifixion of Christ, death was the finality in this world. People died, and that was it. Then, they were sealed in tombs. It sounds basic, but it's not. Not knowing God, and this aspect of Him, human orientation had logically 'gathered' around death. The idea of power was very simple then. If you could command death, it's all yours. Nobody came back from death. The same applied to Israel, then.

Consequently, every aspect of human understanding revolved around that. All men must die. It affected commerce, trade, culture, and even worship. Sacrificing animals was actually a worship of death. God was not limited to death, but nobody knew that about him, not even those who carried his oracles around. Jewish experiences hinted to God's authority over death, as in the case of Elisha's bones and Abraham's miracle at Mount Moraiah, but it wasn't apparent. The gift of the mystery of God's Son was kept carefully concealed inside Israel.

When Jesus was crucified, the order of things changed. An extremely thick curtain in the temple that was part of Israel's worship was ripped from top to bottom, indicating its divine nature (it's worthy of note that Jesus wasn't raised from the dead yet, but God was at work). More significantly, it indicated that God had moved out of the Mosaic temple, the God that is not limited by death, could finally have his say. Talk of a curtain call.

Immediately, he goes straight to work. Here's how the Scriptures put it:

Matthew 27:52-53 (MSG) What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)"

About two days later, the same God, not limited to death, raised Jesus from the dead. The work's done. But it has really just begun. After further instruction, Jesus's Church is established on Pentecost, the Church that will gather around him, according to our dramatic verse in John 12. That Church is the Christian Community, a body of humans, that would not be limited to death in any form. It's loaded with insights and insights this world badly needs.

#Grace

#Faith

#Love

#Gospel

#Goodworks