John 3:14,15 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness

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.

Jesus had previously employed the physical examples of wind and childbirth during His discussion with Nicodemus.  Throughout His ministry, Jesus typically taught by using parables; that is, examples from everyday life that "go beyond" their literal meaning in order to represent spiritual principles.  Jesus also taught using illustrations from the lives of actual, but unnamed, individuals who were usually described as "a certain man."  But now in answer to Nicodemus' question, "How can these things be?" Jesus makes an analogy from an historical event from the Old Testament. 

(14)  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up  As the teacher of Israel, Nicodemus would have been familiar with every detail of this event.  And because Jesus presented this story as an analogy, each element of the story must be examined.

And the people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?  For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread."  So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us."  So Moses prayed for the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."  So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. - Numbers 21:5-9

Let us first consider why the bronze serpent was necessary.  The people's hearts had turned against God.  They accused God of evil by insinuating that He intended to harm them by leading them up out of Egypt.  Whereas in fact, God had miraculously provided mana for them to eat; and they had not yet become dehydrated.  But they only supposed that God would not be capable of providing water for them in the desert.  The people berated the leadership of Moses and accused God, as it were, to His face.

 

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. - Galatians 6:7  But God, in His mercy, did not destroy the entire family of Israel.  He did, however, send chastening in the form of the serpents, according to His word; "But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished." - Jeremiah 30:11d  God's purpose in chastening brought about the proper response from the people.  They confessed, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you."

 

The people asked Moses to pray that God would take away the serpents.  But God had a different solution in mind; a remedy that would become symbolic of Christ's salvation from sin on the cross.  Jesus said, "Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up," because no other provision for sin will ever be given by which we might be completely and eternally forgiven.

 

(15)  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  "And it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live."  Jesus said that whoever believes in Him will not perish, indicating that mankind has already been "bitten."  Therefore, man is already dying.  Romans 6:23 states, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Mankind was cut off from the tree of life as a result of sin.  Man was made in the image and likeness of God, but his immortality was forfeited when Adam disobeyed God.  To use an imperfect illustration; because of the defect of inherited sin, we were born into this world like an amphibious creature that will never get out of the water.  Without Christ we will perish.

 

And just like the Children of Israel in the wilderness, what man but Job has not voiced his own antagonism toward God.  "God, why am I here?"  "Where was God when I needed Him?"  "If God is good, _______?"  The people were angry with God, but they repented. The chastening of the serpents caused the people to realize that holding a grudge against one's Maker is unwise.  But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?" - Romans 9:20

 

Even though the Children of Israel had repented, they still had to go and look at the bronze serpent to be healed.  This healing process made no logical sense.  The people had to trust that Moses had truly been instructed by God; and that God had ordained the bronze serpent as a healing agent.  The healing was supernatural, but it was real - and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

 

Now let us consider the cross.  Jesus said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die. - John 12:32,33  All people are compelled to consider the innocent Lamb of God who was crucified for the sins of others.  But just like the bronze serpent in the desert, only the people who realize they are dying will come to the cross in repentance.  People have a stigma about admitting that they are sinners.  Yet the Bible says that we have all sinned; and that, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. - 1st John 1:8

 

Because God is righteous, His judgment against the disobedience of Adam still stands; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." - Genesis 2:17  Just like in the story of bronze serpent, instead of retracting His judgment, God has made a life giving provision for those who repent and are ready to express their faith and obedience - by coming to the cross; That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

 

The Jews in the wilderness could have tried to find their own way to be healed instead of looking at the bronze serpent.  They might have promised God that they would do better.  Or they might have tried to do more good things for other people.  It is good to be good.  But none of those other attempts to be healed would have honored God and His servant Moses.  The Apostle Paul wrote to the people who thought they could obtain eternal life by keeping the law; "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." - Galatians 2:21  God has honored Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

 

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. - 1st John 4:9