Today’s reading is John 3.
Speaking of earthly and heavenly things, Jesus tells Nicodemus, “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:13-15, ESV). If the Son of Man descended from heaven, then lifting Him up surely means returning to heaven, right?
Wrong!
In what must be one of the most shocking parallels of all Scripture, the Son of Man is compared to a snake. Moses lifted up a serpent in the wilderness. Just like that, the Son of Man will be lifted up. Jesus refers to Numbers 21:4-9. Despite a recent victory, the condemned Israelites tired of wandering in the wilderness. They forgot the reason they were dying in the wilderness was because they refused to believe God and enter the Promised Land. While God was sustaining the people so a new generation could rise up and enter His Land, the people also tired of the daily dose of manna. In response to their grumbling, God sent fiery serpents among them. Many Israelites died due to the venomous snakes. When Israel repented and Moses interceded for them, the Lord did not remove the snakes. Rather, He had Moses fashion a likeness of the snakes from bronze and fasten it to a pole. He then lifted it up in the wilderness. When a snake bit anyone, if they looked up to the bronze serpent, instead of dying due to the venom, they would live by the grace of God.
Jesus says He must be lifted up like that serpent. He must be fastened to a pole. If we wish to live, we must look to Him on that pole. Of course, you know how this story ends. Jesus will be lifted up on a cross. Don’t get fixated on the shape of the cross versus a staff or pole. Recognize the lifting up. Recognize the life giving grace through faith.
Certainly, in the story of John’s gospel, Jesus foretells an event yet to happen. But recognize the wink and nod John gives his readers. He writes for second and third generation Christians. The story of Jesus had been told for decades. Other gospels had been written. The readers already knew about Jesus’s crucifixion. As John records this statement from Jesus, he knows his readers will get the point. We aren’t waiting for the Son of Man to be lifted up. He has already been lifted up. And some people rejected Him for that very fact. Some people, like Nicodemus with being born again, were neglecting the heavenly meaning and reality of Jesus’s sacrifice. They had read Moses, but they did not understand what Moses pointed to by lifting up that serpent. Surely God didn’t work relief for Israel in this way randomly or arbitrarily. Surely God wasn’t just messing with Israel. Surely, the God, who could have just removed the serpents, would have done so unless He had a point to make. John tells us the point. God was looking ahead to the coming Messiah and establishing a pattern. Our salvation will be lifted up on a pole. We must look to Him or we will die.
You have a choice. You can either believe in Jesus and look to Him for salvation, or you can die as those who, bitten by fiery serpents, were too stubborn to look up. Which will you choose?
Tomorrow’s reading is John 3.
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PATHS:
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How does John 3 prompt or improve your trust in God?
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