Jesus and the Serpent

“Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].” (John 3:14-15, AMP)

In Numbers 21, we find the nation of Israel wandering the wilderness and waiting to get into the land God promised them. While traveling a road called Hor that ran along the Red Sea, the people began to do what people do best: complain. The Bible says they spoke against God and Moses, saying, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” (Numbers 21: 5, NIV)

The Lord, angered by Israel’s ungratefulness for the things He provided them and sustained them with as they wandered the Middle East, sent venomous snakes upon the people. The snakes bit the people and wreaked havoc throughout this nomadic nation. Scripture even records that many Israelites died from these snake bites, so they came to Moses– y’know, the guy they were just mocking– and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” (v 7, NIV) 

Moses prayed for Israel to be delivered from God’s wrath, and the Lord told Moses to make a snake, put it on a pole, and raise it for the people to see. Anyone who was bitten and looked at the snake would live and be delivered.

Seems like a weird story and very typical of that chapter in Jewish history: Israel sins, God judges them, they repent and ask Moses to set it right, God works up a truly wild way to not only save Israel, but to put His power on display and prove to them that He is the one, true God yet again.

So why, in the middle of John 3 at Jesus’ meeting with Nicodemus, does Jesus reference this story? 

The simple answer is that Jesus is using this story as an analogy and a shadow of God’s work of salvation that is to come. And the awesome truth is, way back in the days of Moses, this event was just a type of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension back into heaven.

But how? Is Jesus likening Himself to a snake? Isn’t that just the opposite of who He is? The answer is yes, to all of the above. Yes, Jesus is the snake on the pole in this picture, but in this case, the snake is not a symbol of evil and sin through and through. In Jewish customs and ceremonies of the time, bronze was used as a symbol of God’s righteous judgment. The basin of the temple where priests washed their feet before entering the tabernacle was made of bronze, thus also symbolizing purification and cleansing. 

Moses would have known this, and being instructed by God to make a serpent to sit atop a pole, made a wise choice in the material used to make this snake so as to also make it a meaningful symbol. This snake that God instructed to be made would judge the sin of Israel’s heart, healing them not only from venomous wounds but also purifying their hearts from their wickedness and ungratefulness. All who looked on that bronze snake were healed and saved from God’s wrath.

In just the same way, Jesus is that for us. He is that bronze snake, lifted high for all to see. He is the one who was set on a cross and lifted up, to be the final sacrifice and judgment for the sins of His people. 

And Nicodemus, who was struggling to understand Jesus’ talk about being born again, should have been able to understand this analogy as a man who was educated in the scriptures and knowledgeable about Jewish history.

Just like Moses lifted up that bronze serpent on a pole in the desert to cleanse the sin and suffering of the Israelites, Jesus is telling Nicodemus that the Son of God must also be lifted up to do the same for the whole world. And whoever looks upon Him and believes would be saved from their sin and have eternal life after their days on earth are done.

Jesus is that bronze serpent to us, friends. He was made into a man and lifted up as a sacrifice so that we could look to Him in our sin, our wickedness, and our flesh, and be spiritually healed. He was offered up so that we could believe in Him and be saved. And after He was raised on a cross to die, He rose from the grave to crush the devil’s head– that truly evil and irredeemable serpent. And after He rose from the grave, He ascended into heaven to be with God the Father, promising to come back to the world again in order to finish the job. 

What an awesome God we serve– a Savior who speaks to us in terms we understand the way He spoke to Nicodemus the Pharisee in analogies that would help him to understand Jesus and God’s will for the Son. What a good King we have, who would go to such great lengths to help us understand His promises and His Word in a way that strengthens our faith. 

We truly are a blessed people, today and everyday, that seemingly silly or trivial stories were preserved in the Bible, and that Jesus Himself would show us His sovereignty buried in and interwoven into those stories. 

What other god would go to such lengths to have ordinary people understand them so well? What other god loves their worshipers deep enough to want them to see their character?

There is no other God like Jesus. There is no other God like the Father. All we need to do at any moment is to look to Him and there we will find healing, peace, comfort, strength, grace, salvation, and love.