Most people like a good story, if it is not too long, and entertains, educates or inspires. For this column, I have chosen one such story from the Bible.  The tale unfolds in only six verses (Numbers 21:4-9), but is full of meaning and drama. I selected it because of its relevance to your life and its importance to your future.  Here it is:

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.  And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.  And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.  And Moses prayed for the people.  And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.  And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

To paraphrase, the people of Israel, whom God led out of four centuries of slavery in Egypt, were very discouraged because of the rigors of their passage through the desert, en route to the Promised Land.  They complained bitterly against God and against Moses.  They griped about the lack of fresh bread and water and declared themselves sick of the manna God miraculously provided to sustain them. They accused God of having led them out only to let them die in the wilderness.

This loose talk was not only ungrateful and blasphemous, it betrayed an utter lack of trust in God.  It went beyond criticism of His leadership to outright rejection.  Judgment was swift.  God responded to this venomous speech by sending venomous snakes among them.  The snakes bit people, resulting in many deaths. The loudmouths were suddenly contrite and asked Moses to pray to God on their behalf, to forgive their sins and get rid of the snakes.  Moses did, and God provided a remedy, albeit a very strange one.

Moses was directed to make a model of one of the “fiery serpents,” mount it on a pole and set it up in the middle of the camp.  God promised that anyone who was bitten and then looked up to the snake on the pole, would not die from the poison.  Moses made the model out of brass and mounted it as instructed.  Sure enough, every person who suffered snakebite and then looked up to the serpent on the pole as God prescribed, lived.

Here’s where things get even more interesting.  The Gospel of John records that a Pharisee named Nicodemus, came to see Jesus by night, so as not to be seen with Him.  In the course of that stealthy visit, Jesus pops out with this:

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man [Jesus’ favorite term for Himself while on earth] be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  (John 3:14-17)

Why did Jesus link these two events?  Let’s take a closer look:

Scene 1: Ancient Israel sins against God and God’s chosen leader (Moses).  Poisonous snakes slither in from all directions.  There is no escape.  When you are bitten, you die.  The people repent and seek God’s mercy, knowing that they don’t deserve it.  God makes forgiveness available to all, but it is activated only by faith.  When you are bitten, you will live, IF you lift your gaze to the serpent on the pole, believing in God’s promise and power to save you.  God spares those who trust Him.

Scene 2: All people sin against God and God’s chosen king (Jesus).  The poison of sin seeps out from inside and in from outside.  There is no escape.  When its venom does its work, you die and hell awaits.  Some repent and seek God’s mercy, knowing that they don’t deserve it. God makes forgiveness available to all, but it is activated only by faith.  When the serpent bites you, you will live, IF you lift your gaze to the cross, believing in God’s promise to save you through the blood of Christ, by the power with which He raised Jesus from the dead.  God spares those who trust Him.

The dots Jesus connected for Nicodemus form a pretty clear picture—the incident in the desert was used by God to point to His Son, Jesus, and the salvation to be offered through Him.   This salvation comes not by our deeds or intentions, but by the merits of Jesus Christ. God’s plan to save lost humanity from death and hell was based on substitution—on Jesus paying the death penalty our sins had earned, and chalking up His righteousness to our account.  We contribute nothing to this transaction.  It is the gift of God—mercy received and appropriated solely by faith.

But there is still a bit of fuzziness around one nagging detail—how does a snake on a pole tie to Christ on a cross? Isn’t a poisonous serpent a more fitting symbol of the Devil?  After all, the first book of the Bible calls him “the serpent” (Genesis 3:1) and the last book still dubs him, “…that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world…” (Revelation 12:9).  What does this imagery have to do with Jesus?

The answer is found in II Corinthians 5 v.21: “For he hath made him [Jesus,] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” [emphasis added].

The fiery serpent represented not the person of Christ, but what He would do on the cross—die for the sins of the world, destroy the works of the Devil and shatter the power of sin and death.   ^“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”  (Colossians 2:14-15)

Fun Fact: The brass snake was evidently preserved by the Israelites, who brought it with them into the Promised Land.  We know this because of an event that happened about seven centuries later, captured in II Kings 18:4: [Judah’s godly King Hezekiah] “…removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it…”

It seems that over the years since Moses fashioned this powerful symbol of God’s plan of salvation and of the work and impact of the coming Messiah, the people forgot its true significance. Silly superstition arose.  They ascribed magical qualities to the brass snake. It eventually became an object of idolatrous worship, in direct violation of the commandment against making images of God’s creatures to serve as [false] gods.  And so the lesson was lost on them, at least for a time.

The question is, will its lesson be lost on you, too?  Do you agree that what God says is true: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)?  Do you understand that “…the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)? Can you see how sin has poisoned you, and your relationships with God and with others?  Are you willing to humble yourself and approach God His way, on His terms—through Jesus Christ, the sacrifice for sin that God has provided for you?

Do you recognize that there is nothing you can do, give or sacrifice that could ever buy or barter your way to eternal life?  Are you ready to admit that you need a Savior?  No?

Read the passage from John again. What do you see?

The reason Christ came is given: to save the world rather than condemn it.  

His motivation is given: God’s love for all people is so limitless, that He gave His own Son to pay the price of our ransom. God, who IS love (I John 4:8) cannot love you more than this.  

The reason Jesus was crucified is given twice, in almost identical words: “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” and, “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  Christ died to provide a basis for our justification (God’s unmerited favor, received by faith).

If you have not already done so, call on the name of the Lord.  Repent of your sins. Confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Tell God that you accept the pardon Jesus died to give you.  Ask God’s help to follow and serve Christ until He comes again for His Church.  Please hurry. You haven’t much time.  Sin’s poison is doing its work. Believe that God raised Jesus from the dead.  Look up, and live!