<p>12:32- see on Jn. 3:14-21; 19:13.</p><p><i>And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself- </i>The Lord's lifting up on the pole resulted in all men being drawn unto him (Jn. 12:32); but this is taking language from Isaiah's prophecies of how the Lord Jesus at His return would be raised up like an ensign (s.w. pole, Num. 21:9), and all people would be gathered to Him for judgment (Is. 5:26; 11:10; 18:3; 49:22; 62:10). There is evidently a connection between the Lord's lifting up on the pole / cross and gathering all men to Him, and the way in which all men will be gathered to Him at His return. His cross was a foretaste of the judgment. Our feelings before His cross <i>now </i>will be those we experience before Him at the final judgment. See on Jn. 19:37.</p><p>The Lord foresaw that if He were lifted up, He would <i>thereby</i> draw all men men of all types, of all nations and languages unto Him in truth (Jn. 12:32). And a brief reflection upon the effect of the cross in human lives will reveal that this has indeed been the case. The cross was an instrument of torture; yet it inspires men to write hymns of praise about it e.g. &ldquo;When I survey the wondrous cross&hellip;&quot;. Men have never written hymns of praise to the guillotine or hangman&rsquo;s rope. Nor have men made small relics of an electric chair and glanced towards them for inspiration at hard times.</p><p><i>From the earth</i>- Gk. <i>out of</i> the earth. The reference is not only to the lifting up in crucifixion, but to the lifting up in resurrection and then ascension glory.</p><p><i>All men- </i>&ldquo;All men&quot; would be drawn together unto the crucified Christ (Jn. 12:32). There is a theme in John's Gospel, that there was disunity amongst the Jews whenever they rejected the message of Christ crucified (7:43; 9:16; 10:19- which implies this was often the case). Conversely, acceptance of His atonement leads to unity. The crucified Son of Man must be lifted up by our preaching before the eyes of all, so that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish (Jn. 3:14,15). &ldquo;I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me&rdquo; (Jn. 12:32)- but we draw men by our spreading of the Gospel net, preaching to &ldquo;all men&rdquo;. Thus the extent of the Lord&rsquo;s achievement on the cross depends upon our preaching of it.</p><p><i>Whenever</i> we come into contact with Him, or reflect upon Him and His death, we are in some sense coming before Him in judgment. Indeed, <i>any </i>meeting of God with man, or His Son with men, is effectively some kind of judgment process. The brightness of their light inevitably, by its very nature, shows up the dark shadows of our lives. In the cross we see the glory of the Lord Jesus epitomised and presented in its most concentrated form. In Jn. 12:31,32, in the same passage in which Isaiah 6 and 53 are connected and applied to the crucifixion, He Himself foretold that His death would be &ldquo;the judgment of this world&quot;. And He explained in the next breath that His being &lsquo;lifted up from the earth&rsquo; (an Isaiah 6 allusion) would gather all men unto Him (cp. &ldquo;all men&quot; being gathered to the last judgment, Is. 49:22; 62:10; Mt. 25:32). When He was lifted up, then the Jews would know their judgments (Jn. 8:26-28).</p><p>The whole congregation (LXX <i>ekklesia</i>) of Israel were &quot;gathered together&quot; before the smitten rock, which &quot;was Christ&quot; crucified (Num. 20:8 cp. 21:16; 1 Cor. 10:4). The &quot;ensign&quot;, the pole on which the brazen serpent was lifted up, would draw together the scattered individuals of God's people (Is. 11:2); and as stricken Israel were gathered around that pole, so the lifting up of the crucified Christ brings together all His people (Jn. 12:32 cp. 3:14). See on Jn. 17:21.</p>