Just as those who looked in faith to the serpent in the wilderness were healed, so those who look in faith to the lifted up Son of Man will have eternal life.Īs we think about how Jesus was like this snake in the wilderness, we can learn five things about why we need the new birth and how Jesus provides it for us. Some must have thought, “Did God really command Moses to make a bronze snake? Had Moses lost it? What was he thinking? Of all the dumb ideas, this one takes the cake!”īut Jesus took that strange story and applied it to Himself, telling Nicodemus … But now God commands Moses to make an image of a snake and put it on a pole. Didn’t Moses remember how Aaron had fashioned the golden calf and the awful judgment that came from that terrible episode? These people knew the story of the detested snake in the garden that had tempted Eve and was at the root of all evil. You have to admit, that’s a strange story! After all, one of God’s Ten Commandments was that His people should not make any graven images.
Everyone in Israel that had been bitten would live if they would look to the serpent. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. This time the people acknowledged their sin, came to Moses and asked him to pray for a remedy. I understand the “fiery” serpents to be snakes whose bite burned like fire before you died. 21:5), “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 miserable food.” As a result of their grumbling and despising God’s gracious provision of manna and His taking care of them in the wilderness all these years, the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people as judgment, so that many died. Why couldn’t they march through Edom and kill any Edomites that opposed them? So as they turned southeast, they grumbled against God and Moses (Num. They had just seen a victory over some Canaanites (Num. So, Moses turned the people southeast (the Promised Land was northwest) to make a long, difficult journey around the land of Edom.Īt this point, the Israelites grew impatient. God told Moses not to fight against Edom (Deut. Edom had denied Israel permission to cross its land on their way to Canaan (Num. The background for these verses is Numbers 21:4-9. The Son of Man must be lifted up to satisfy God’s wrath on behalf of sinners who believe in Him. For sin to be dealt with, God’s justice must be satisfied. Jesus is saying that the Spirit of God cannot just brush away sin when He grants the new birth. So Jesus tells Nicodemus (3:14-15), “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” And so it sounds like blasphemy to say that Jesus is like a snake-except for the fact that Jesus Himself drew that comparison!Īt the end of Jesus’ interview with Nicodemus (most scholars think that Jesus’ words to Nicodemus end at 3:15 and 3:16-21 are John’s words), Jesus answers Nicodemus’ question (3:9), “How can these things be?” Or, “How can these things happen?” Nicodemus doesn’t understand how the new birth can happen or how it can gain a person entrance into God’s eternal kingdom.
The same would be true if I said it of any religious leader. It would be an insult to their revered Prophet. If I were to compare the Prophet Mohammed to a snake, Muslims who heard of it would be out to kill me for blasphemy.
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