A Devotional Commentary on the Weekly Besora Reading

Sean E.

John 19:17-41 - The Lifting Up of Yeshua

This week's passage looks at the death of Yeshua, our righteous Messiah. Some people often overlook this event as it such a gruesome scene. Others subjugate it to Yeshua's resurrection that followed three days later. This is the story of one who would come and die for his people, who, though an heir of his father David and the one who would one day rule forever on David's throne, had a road of suffering ahead of him. For now his kingship was a different one, a kingship that required sacrifice.

Yeshua first had to suffer according to the words of the Hebrew Scriptures and then to take his place as the King of Israel. In John 19:28 we read, "After this, being conscious that all things had now been done so that the Scriptures might come true, Yeshua said, ‘Give me water.'" John here speaks of the significance of Yeshua's death in light of the Hebrew Scriptures and Yeshua's role as the one to fulfill them. 

Earlier in John, Yeshua spoke of his impending death (that we read about this week) and the reasoning why the Messianic hope would include his death, we read, "'And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.' But he was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which he was to die" (John 12:32-33). In context, this passage is looking at the "lifting up of Yeshua" as a reference to his impending death on the Roman cross. 

Yeshua said that in his being lifted up that all will be drawn to him. First of all the lifting up of Yeshua, his death that we read about this week fulfills these words of Yeshua. The death of Yeshua draws people to him; we as his disciples are those who have been drawn to him.

Let us consider the role we can play to lift Yeshua up within the Jewish community by living Torah honoring lives. So if we seek to truly give the honor due to our Messiah then a life of walking Torah is our duty. As we seek to follow Torah we are "lifting up Yeshua" and thereby we are playing our part in building a Messianic Judaism that can be a focal point for drawing the Jewish people, our people to their Messiah. May we lift Yeshua up everyday by living Torah faithful lives!