Our natural inclination is to think of suffering as one of life’s low moments. John 3:14 seems to suggest just the opposite. Just as Moses lifted up a snake on a pole, so was Jesus to be lifted up on a cross. The words “lifted up” are elsewhere translated as exalted. We think of the cross as ignominy not exaltation. We think of money, power and fame as exaltation. Jesus views his suffering with his creation as an exalted privilege. We don’t want to suffer. That’s why preachers who emphasize material prosperity are popular. It’s not fashionable to teach that to be truly exalted, we must follow Christ, and if so, are we also willing to be truly exalted by suffering? Do we come to the light of the cross, or the dark and deceptive world of materialism?
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