24th Sunday in Ordinary
Time, Year C & Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - Sept 14, 2025
Numbers 21:4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17
Theme: “Because by Your Cross You
Have Redeemed the World”
A.
A Brief Exegetical Analysis of John 3:13-17
1.
Historical and Literary Contexts
This Gospel passage is part of Jesus’ address to a
larger audience (3:13-21) following the conversation between Nicodemus and
Jesus (3:1-12). Before this, Jesus had a clash with the Jews when he expelled
them from the temple because they had turned it into a marketplace. This led to
the Jews not believing in Jesus (see 2:13-25). Nicodemus disagreed with his
fellow Jews, who questioned Jesus’ divine authority, but he could not openly
express his faith in Jesus for fear of them. That is why he met Jesus at night
to tell him that, unlike other Jews, he, along with the Jewish community he
represented, believed in him. In his response, Jesus explained the necessity of
being born from above to enter the kingdom of God. This means, like the
baptized, Nicodemus should not be afraid to live out his faith in Jesus openly
(3:1-12). Jesus’ question to Nicodemus in v. 12 acts as a bridge, as it
concludes their conversation and opens Jesus’ discourse to a larger audience
(3:13-21), to which our Gospel story belongs. The story of John the Baptist’s
final testimony to Jesus (3:22-30) immediately follows this section.
2.
Form, Structure, and Movement
This Gospel story, rich in imagery, can be split
into two parts. Jesus first talks about his heavenly origin and his upcoming
crucifixion, highlighting the glorification of his cross (vv. 13-15). Next, he
explains that his crucifixion is God’s gift to the world for salvation (vv.
16-17).
3.
Detailed Analysis
Vv. 13-15. Jesus affirms his divine origin when he
declares that he has come down from heaven (v. 13). He compares his crucifixion
on the cross to the bronze serpent that Moses “mounted” in the desert during
the Israelites’ forty-year journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. This story
recounts how the people were bitten by seraph serpents sent by God due to their
sins. Those bitten by the snakes were dying. However, when they repented, God
instructed Moses to raise a bronze serpent and told all who had been bitten to
look at it for healing (Numbers 21:4-9). Instead of the verb “mount” used for
the event of the bronze serpent, the evangelist uses the verb “lift up” in
reference to Jesus' crucifixion to emphasize Jesus’ glorification through his
Cross and Resurrection, as well as the healing and salvation that his
crucifixion brings to humanity.
Vv. 16-17. Jesus’ crucifixion is a gift from God,
given out of his love for the world (16a). The purpose of this gift is not to
condemn (v. 17a), but to offer eternal life to the world (vv. 16b, 17b).
However, faith in Jesus is necessary to receive this salvation (v. 16b).
4.
Synthesis
Jesus affirms his divine origin. He talks about his
glorification, which will be revealed through his crucifixion on the Cross and
Resurrection, granting eternal life to the world. Faith in him is required to
receive this salvation.
B.
Pastoral Implications
1.
Liturgical Context
Today’s liturgy invites us to reflect on the
exaltation of the Holy Cross of Jesus, the source of our salvation. Instead of
the bronze serpent mentioned in the first reading, Jesus, with great humility
and obedience to God, chose to be lifted on the Cross to save us (Gospel and
Second readings).
2.
What the Church Teaches Us Today
The first reading recounts how the people of Israel,
during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, were dying after being
bitten by seraph serpents sent by God because of their sins. When they
repented, God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and place it on a pole,
instructing the Israelites bitten by seraph serpents to look at it for healing.
The spiritual sense of this story is that, like the Israelites, we are on our
spiritual journey from this world to our Promised Land, the heavenly kingdom.
We continue to sin against God, and since sin separates us from him, we also
experience spiritual death. Therefore, repentance is essential for our
spiritual healing. We are no longer meant to look at the bronze serpent for
healing. Instead, we should look at Jesus Christ lifted on the Cross, whom God
greatly exalted and gave the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9).
To “look” at Jesus means to approach him through the sacrament of confession to
ask for forgiveness of our sins. It also means to exalt his Holy Cross by
“bending” our knees in adoration and “confessing” with our tongues that Jesus
Christ is Lord, as Saint Paul teaches us in our second reading (Philippians
2:10-11).
May the liturgy of this feast of the Exaltation of
the Holy Cross of Jesus help us always “look” at Jesus on the Holy Cross
through confession and adoration. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor of Holy Family
Catholic Church, Jackson, MS &
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate
Coordinator
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