The Serpent and the Son of Man

Today is Good Friday. Too often I have let this holiday come and go as if it had little significance on my life. And yet, this is the most significant day in all of history. Because today is the day Christ died upon the cross as my substitute. The passage below has had a significant impact on me today, and I would like to share it with you.

"[Jesus said], 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 3:14-15

What is Jesus talking about here? How can he compare himself to a those slithery, wily creatures? Without knowing the Old Testament context, this statement makes little sense. So, let's see what Jesus is referencing here.

"From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.' Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.' So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.' So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live."

So the people of God are on the Exodus, traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Land which God promised to deliver them into. Therefore, when the people begin to grumble and question why God has brought them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, it is as if they are slapping God across the face. Did he not provide manna to eat and water to drink daily? Did he not promise to deliver His people from their enemies? So in his rightful and holy wrath, God sends serpents, and many people perish.

However, this is not the end. God tells Moses to make a serpent, set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten who looks at the serpent shall live. The poison has already entered their flesh. Death is impending and eminent. Yet, all the people of Israel have to do is look at the snake that was set on a pole, and they will live!

So how does this story of Moses and Exodus apply to Jesus' statement in the book of John? And even better yet, how does it apply to us?

We are the people of Israel. We have defamed the name of God with our rebellion and sin. We have questioned the promises of God and turned from him. Therefore, God has given us up to the poisonous serpents, the lusts of our hearts and the sin that so easily entangles. And we have been bitten by that wily creature. The poison of sin lurks in our bodies, slowly decaying our flesh and killing us quickly. We are captive to it and are destined for death, lest something is done to defeat the poison lurking within.

Praise God something has been done. The serpent was lifted up on a pole so that he who looked upon it might live, and Christ was lifted up on a cross so that whoever looks upon him might live forever! He who was lifted up has taken the poison upon himself so that our impending death might be no more (2 Cor 5:21). The Son of Man has reversed the flow of poison through our veins, so that now, all we have to do is look. Look at the God-man hanging on the cross who became my sin and died my death so that I might live. Look at his body that was broken for you. Look at the blood that flows from the thorn of crowns upon his head down to the nails driven through his feet. Look.

Today is Good Friday. Take the time to look upon Christ who was lifted up.