Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
— John 3: 14-15
I’ve written about this passage before in “Complications” but it deserves a second look as an affirmation verse.
Salvation isn’t complicated. The people who were saved from the venomous snakes in the wilderness were saved from death if they simply looked upon the bronze snake.
I marvel at this passage. We humans like to make things complicated. (I should know! I am the king of complicators!) History is full of the writings of people who want to make it difficult to find God. I suspect Jesus looks down on what they have done and sadly shakes his head.
Do you think for even one moment that the God of all Creation would go through the living hell that Jesus put himself through on the cross so he could cherry-pick only the most righteous people for heaven?
In Luke 14: 15-24 Jesus tells a parable about the feast in the Kingdom of God. When the invited guests refuse to come the master says:
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.’ (Verses 21-23)
There are a lot of things we can learn from God’s Word about what it means to live our faith. The one thing we don’t talk about very often is how easy it is to believe.
Application: Let go of your religious rules for a day and live as one who simply believes in Jesus.
Food for Thought: What does the snake on a pole have to do with Jesus on the cross?
Please feel free to comment on the blog post as well as the “Food for Thought” question.
Jesus was also lifted up on the cross so that all who look to Him are delivered from God’s wrath. I think you said it well here brother and I don’t have much to add. I am just amazed that Jesus did this for us. I guess that is why it is amazing grace.
Thanks Rich!
It is amazing what Jesus did for us! We are incredibly blessed!!
I’m not sure why God instructed Moses to lift the snake on his staff. Actually seems rather unJesus like to pay attention to a serpent rather than God.
Off topic, but I like the part in Luke that stated “…but there’s room for more.”. It still true today.
🤓
Thanks Rob!
I don’t know if the snake is significant either. It made sense in the story in Numbers 21 since the Israelites needed healing from the snakes, but I wonder if there is a deeper symbolism. Maybe something having to do with the battle between good and evil, between the serpent in Genesis 3 and the redemption of man on the cross.
Good discussion. The serpent is usually in context to Satan. Cursed is the one who hangs on a tree. Jesus became sin for us, who (Jesus) knew no sin. His suffering went beyond the physical. It was a total loss of His deserved dignity.