John 3:14–21

¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ¹⁶"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."

Imagine this scene in a department store. People are riding the escalators, some up and some down. A small boy decides to go up the down escalator. He makes fair headway, but finds two things against him: the constant downward movement of the steps and the presence of passengers to dodge. In the end, the weary child gives up and rides down. To many, life is like that, like trying to climb up a "down" escalator.

This morning comes the help we desperately need—a word to lift our eyes, to quicken our step, and raise us up. It's the Good News from the God whose love lifts us up!

GOD'S LOVE LIFTED HIS SON UP ON THE CROSS, AND BY HIS LOVE HE LIFTS US UP FROM DEATH TO LIFE

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up..."

God lifted up Jesus on a cross and there he hung, suspended between heaven and earth. As if he were the escalator that goes between heaven and earth; both the up escalator and the down escalator. In the first place, the cross of Jesus is the down escalator. For in the cross of Jesus we are crushed by God through the proclamation of the Law. The cross is the ultimate Law of God which crushed his own Son. It was God who punished Jesus on the cross. It was God who whipped him, and bruised him and forsook him as he hung there bleeding and crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It was death, administered by the Law of God as punishment for sin. The cross, where God punished his own Son, shows us the anger and wrath of God against us on account of our sin. It shows us that we justly deserve God's punishment. It shows us that God indeed does punish, not like the god of our American civil religion who is soft, weak, and tolerant of sin, and just wants everyone to get along. The cross is God's Word of Law which slays us, pummels us, pulverizes us and drives us into the ground. Like a down escalator, it is God pushing us down to the bottom. What we should see as we gaze at the cross is our sin and God's justice. Sin must be punished! and the cross shows more vividly than anything else the terror of God's fury and wrath. If He did not even spare his own Son, how do you think you are going to escape the punishment of God?

So if we can identify with the boy trying to go up the down escalator, if life seems like it has a downward pull that is too strong for you, if you feel defeated by your own sins, if you are at the point of getting too tired and about to give it all up, you are right where you belong. You can't get up the down escalator. Perhaps you feel defeated by life itself. Perhaps you feel the sagging of your aging bodies, that too is a result of sin. Maybe you are overwhelmed by the incessant pull of your busy schedule, or by the expectations of others that you never quite seem to be able to live up to. Or worse yet, maybe you have the sense that God is demanding too much of you; that no matter how hard you try and keep trying, you just cannot live up to God's demands, or be as holy as he wants, and your sins keep pulling you down and you can't overcome them. If you are depressed, eyes downcast, shoulders drooping, spirits sagging in a sad heap, that is what the cross feels like on your shoulders, as you try to climb up the down escalator and just can't make it.

It that's the case, then perhaps it's time to give up! Quit trying! Like the little boy, just go back down to the bottom. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who knew that same downward pull. He was weighed down by many religious obligations. He was working hard at being righteous. Every day he set out to climb the road toward holiness; trying to go up the down escalator. He understood the terrible wrath of God and was pulled down by fear; fear of his brother Pharisees; fear of the high council of the Jews; fear of God's mighty wrath and the coming day of the Lord when he would be judged. He was burdened by the Laws and just couldn't do all that God demanded. So he came to Jesus with one question on his mind: How can I enter into the kingdom of God? How can I be saved? What did Jesus tell him? "You can't! Stop trying!" "Give it up!" "That which is born of flesh, is flesh," he said, "You have to be born again." There's nothing you can do.

And that is where the cross of Jesus comes in. We are so stubborn and we want to keep trying ourselves. We try to be more righteous and holy. We think that by trying harder we will become better people; better Christians. We are trying to climb up to God on the down escalator. But what we see in the cross is that God did not even spare his own Son. God lifted him up to die. But not for his sin, because he had no sin, rather he died because of your sin and my sin. It was our sin that God punished. It was on account of you and me that Jesus hung on that cross. So just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness Jesus was lifted up on a cross in a wilderness. The Israelites were a rebellious people. They were waiting to die, crying for help because they had been bitten by poisonous snakes. But let us not forget, it was God who sent those snakes. They were God's punishment. Not until they were crying out in fear for their lives did Moses erect the snake on a pole. Not until they were crushed, crying for help, afraid for their lives, dropping dead in the desert. God had to crush them and push them all the way to the bottom of the escalator before he could lift them up and save them.

And God is doing the same thing to you. When you are defeated; when you are sick and your body is aging and wearing out; your friends and family are dying and soon it will be your turn, that's why, it's God working on you. When you are downcast, shoulders drooping, spirits sagging, feeling depressed and guilty, it's the law of God working to crush your spirit and accuse you of sin. So rejoice! God is working in you to push you down the escalator so that he can lift you back up. There is no way you can get up that escalator. So quit trying! Give it up! Let God do it! He must crush your spirit first, because as long as you are trying to do it yourself, you are not letting God do it.

So when you are crushed to the point of giving up, that's a good thing. God is doing His work. Only when you are brought low can God lift you up. Only when you stop trying to do it on your own, can God do it for you. Just as Jesus had to die in order to be raised from the dead, you have to be brought down low in order for God to raise you up. Jesus told Nicodemus, "he had to be born again in order to enter into the kingdom of God." Nicodemus asked the right question, "How can a man enter his mother's womb again?" He can't. That's the whole point. In order to be born again you would have to die first. Just as a grain of wheat must fall in the ground and die in order to bear fruit, so you must die in order to come alive and bear fruit. [John 12:24] So when the down escalator of life pulls you to the bottom; when you are crushed, when you are depressed, when you are afraid or overwhelmed on account of your failures and sins, then rejoice! for the cross of Jesus is working in you.

The first message of the cross is that God is at work in you to crush you. Then comes the second message of the cross: "whom God puts to death, he brings to life." He demanded the life of his Son for the payment of your sins. Then he gave him new life; He raised him from the dead and brought him out of the tomb, glorified him for all eternity. Just so, once you are crushed and brought to the bottom of the escalator of life, then he will raise you up "...with wings like an eagle." [Isaiah 40:31] Once the Law has accomplished its work in you, humbled you, brought you to your knees and made you feel the terror of God's punishment, bowed low in the depths of depression and guilt, then the Gospel of Christ crucified can raise you up and create a new man in you. Jesus paid the price of your sin by his death on the cross. You cannot be holy in God's eyes. You cannot lift yourself up, or climb to the top of the escalator. You cannot meet the demands God places on you. Give it up! Quit trying! Jesus already did it for you! Jesus stood in your place and took the punishment for you. Jesus stood in your place and fulfilled all righteousness for you. It's done!

As Moses lifted up the bronze serpent, God lifted up his only begotten Son on a cross to die for you so that all who gaze upon him lifted high on the cross, might not perish, but have eternal life. He did not come to condemn you for your sin and weakness, he came to deal with your sin by paying the price, by making satisfaction for your sins.

Then Jesus was lifted up at his resurrection. Up, I say! Up from the grave. Up into deathless life. This is the heartbeat of our lasting joy: he lives!

Do you need lifting up? Are you bowed down with guilt and depression? Then the love of Jesus Christ will lift you! Jesus on the cross is the up escalator. Like the ladder to heaven that Jacob saw. Jesus is the Son of Man who has lifted you out of death and into life. He has given you peace with God by satisfying the demands of God for you. He did not wipe out your sins from your flesh, but he made peace with God for you so that God will not take your sins into account. You still will not and never can meet God's demands for holiness, so all your life you must suffer under the cross, but Jesus met God's demands for you. He came, not to judge you and tell you, you have to try harder. Rather he came to save you from your sins and your failure to be good enough. When you lay your burdens and sins at the cross he picks them up, so you can stand up straight. You are forgiven! The demands of the law are fulfilled! So you now stand holy and righteous before God, without spot or blemish. By Baptism you are born again, he has raised you from the dead and made you a new creation, born totally new as a child of God.

So, Jesus on the cross is both the down escalator, crushing your spirit with the law of God's just punishment, and He's the up escalator. By his suffering and death and resurrection, he raises you up from the ash heap of your sin and guilt, and he creates a new man in you, a new life, being restored to the image of God. Because he lives, you also will live." Soli Deo Gloria. Amen.