Lifted Up

Jesus’ claim that He will be “lifted up” fulfills Old Testament prophecies concerning the temple, according to Paul Hoskins ( Jesus as the Fulfillment of the Temple in the Gospel of John (Paternoster Biblical Monographs) , 156-7).

When “God glorifies Jesus through the events of Jesus’ hour,” it fulfills promises previously associated with the temple (Isaiah 60:7, 13). Jesus’ conversation with the woman in John 4 alludes back to Isaiah 2:1-4, which predicts that the temple mount will rise above all other mountains and temples in the last days. As the “mount of the house of Yahweh,” Jesus surpasses the temple. John 12 extends the imagery as Jesus claims that, once lifted, He will draw men to Himself. The nations will make pilgrimage to the mountain of the glorified Jesus, who is the crucified Jesus, the temple destroyed and rebuilt in three days.