Realisation is tremendously important in spiritual life, as Jesus often taught. We realise things personally. No committee of church leaders, no council, can realise something. We realise each one individually as we progress through life and progress in discipleship with Jesus. Jesus tells how his crucifixion would lead to realisation that he is the Messiah, the Son of Man sent in the flesh from heaven. The centurion at the foot of the cross realised this. "Surely this was the Son of God" is the gist of what he said (translation disputed). We can individually reach a point when we realise two things: firstly that Jesus is this premier person sent by God and is the very Son of God, acknowledged fully as such by the Father when raised from the dead; and secondly that the Father and Jesus are utterly united in all they do. These are the goal realisations of the gospel of John: "That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that, believing, you may have life in his name". The crucifixion lifting up Jesus like the snake on the pole lifted up by Moses, is mysteriously the crucial thing to bring about this realisation.
