And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John
3:14-17)
When the Israelites were wandering in the desert,
God sent a plague of snakes to punish the people for their rebellious
attitudes. Those doomed to die from
snakebite could be healed by obeying God's command to look up at the elevated
bronze snake and by believing that God would heal them if they did (Numbers
21:8, 9). Every time the words "lifted
up" occur in the Gospel of John there is a reference to Jesus’ death (John
8:28; 12:32, 34). When Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, those who looked at it lived. So it is with the Son of Man (John 1:51). Our salvation happens when we look up to
Jesus, believing He will save us. God
has provided this way for us to be healed of sin's deadly bite.
