Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3.14-21

Scripture

“And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man will be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”

Observation

In the desert Moses, at the direction of the Lord, hoisted a bronze snake on a pole so that anyone who was bitten by a snake could be healed. Now Jesus is to be lifted up, and anyone who believes in Him will receive eternal life.

God loved the world so much that He sent His one and only Son so that anyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. This is for salvation not condemnation, but those who reject Jesus are condemned because they reject Him.

Application

In the wilderness, the Israelites complained about not having anything to eat except “disgusting manna.” The Lord responded by sending venomous snakes. People died, but the Lord provided a remedy in the form of a bronze snake hoisted on a pole so that anyone who was bitten could look at the bronze snake and be healed.

In a similar way, Jesus was “lifted up” on the cross so that anyone who looks at Him in faith will be healed of the poison of sin and receive eternal life.

The idea of being “lifted up” suggests an elevation to a higher place, a place of esteem and glory. The cross, of course, is the very opposite of this- a place of death, degradation and torture. For Jesus, though, the cross is the ultimate glory as it shows how great the love of the Father is for us.

God’s love for us is so strong, so passionately unstoppable, that He held nothing back from us in order to win us back to Him. No price is too high for Him to pay in order to break down the wall that sin puts up between people and God.

Now, as true followers of Christ, we can lift Him up through our words, our worship and a life of service to Him.

Prayer

Thank you Lord Jesus for going to the cross for me. May my life lift you up so that all around me will see the glory of God in me. Amen.