<p>3:14-21 One of the most powerful links between the cross and the judgment is to be found in Jn. 3:14-21 (which seems to be John&rsquo;s commentary rather than the words of Jesus Himself). Parallels are drawn between:<br />- The snake lifted up on the pole (=the crucifixion), teaching that whoever believes in the crucified Christ should live<br />- God so loving the world (language elsewhere specifically applied to the crucifixion: Rom. 5:8; 1 Jn. 3:16; 4:10,11)<br />- God giving His Son (on the cross, Rom. 5:15; 8:32; 1 Cor. 11:24), that whoever believes in Him should live<br />- God sending His Son to save the world (1 Jn. 4:10; Gal. 4:4 cp. Jn. 12:23,27; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1)<br />- Light coming into the world (at His death, the darkness was ended).</p><p>All these phrases can refer to the life and person of the Lord; but sometimes they are specifically applied to the cross. And further, they are prefaced here in Jn. 3 by a reference to the Lord as the snake lifted up on the pole. The essence of the Lord, indeed the essence of God Himself, was openly displayed in its most crystallised form in the cross. There was the epitome of love, of every component of God&rsquo;s glory, revealed to the eyes of men. There above all, the light of God&rsquo;s love and glory came into the world. In this context John&rsquo;s comment continues: &ldquo;This is the condemnation / judgment, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest&quot;. If we understand &ldquo;the light&quot; as pre-eminently the cross, we see further evidence that there indeed was and is the judgment of this world. The Lord described His impending death as &ldquo;the judgment of this world&quot; (Jn. 12:31); and here He says that the judgment of this word is that He is the light of the world and men shy away from Him. The link between the light of the world and the snake being lifted up on the pole would have been more evident to Hebrew readers and thinkers than it is to us. The &ldquo;pole&quot; on which the snake was lifted up was a standard, a pole on which often a lamp would be lifted up: &ldquo;a beacon upon the top of a mountain... an <i>ensign</i> (s.w.) on an hill&quot; (Is. 30:17). The &lsquo;light&rsquo; would have been understood as a burning light rather than, e.g., the sun. The light of which the Lord spoke would have been understood as a torch, lifted up on a standard. The same Greek word is used in describing how the jailor asked for a &ldquo;light&quot;, i.e. a blazing torch, in order to inspect the darkened prison (Acts 16:29). Speaking in the context of the snake lifted up on a pole, Jesus would have been inviting His audience to see Him crucified as the light of their lives. And this would explain why Isaiah seems to parallel the nations coming to the ensign / standard / pole of Christ, and them coming to the Him as light of the world (Is. 5:26; 11:10,12; 18:3; 39:9; 49:22; 62:10 cp. 42:6; 49:6; 60:3).Lk. 1:78,79 foretold how the Lord would be a lamp to those in darkness- and this had a strange fulfilment in His death. His example there on the cross was a light amidst the darkness that descended on the world. In the light of His cross, true self-examination is possible. Significantly perhaps, the Greek word for &ldquo;light&quot; occurs in Lk. 22:56, where Peter sits by the &ldquo;fire&quot; and was exposed. It was as if Peter was acting out a parable of how the &ldquo;light&quot; of association with the suffering Christ makes our deeds manifest. The day of &ldquo;light&quot; is both the crucifixion, and the last day of judgment, when all our deeds will be made manifest before the light (Lk. 12:3). By coming to the cross and allowing it to influence our self-examination, we come to judgment in advance.</p>