John 3:14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The most striking aspect here is how Jesus uses a story that might seem gruesome and terrifying—a serpent biting people and causing death—to illustrate God's healing power. It's not just about God providing a solution, but about how that solution is presented: something to be seen, something lifted up, making it accessible for all, even the most desperate.
Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus that his mission isn't just about teaching spiritual truths, but about a saving act that must be performed. He uses a well-known Old Testament story: when the Israelites were dying from snakebites in the desert, God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole, so that anyone who looked at it would be healed. Jesus asserts that just as Moses lifted up that serpent, the Son of Man must also be lifted up, pointing to his own upcoming crucifixion.
Imagine being bitten by a venomous snake, the poison spreading, and your life draining away. Your only hope? A strange, metallic image on a pole.
The Plague and The Pole
In Numbers 21, the Israelites faced a deadly plague of fiery serpents after grumbling against God. Their bites brought agonizing pain and swift death. God provided a unique, and seemingly bizarre, remedy: Moses was to fashion a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole.
The Divine Prescription
The cure wasn't a magic spell or an antidote. It was an act of faith. Anyone bitten who looked at the bronze serpent on the pole would live. It was a direct, divinely appointed instruction: look and live.
Why This Story?
This wasn't just a historical event; it was a powerful picture. The deadly serpent's bite represented the venom of sin that poisons humanity, leading to spiritual death. The bronze serpent, though shaped like the enemy, held no venom itself. It pointed to God's provision for salvation.
Jesus says He must be lifted up. What does this 'must' mean, and how does the bronze serpent prepare us for this seemingly harsh necessity?
The 'Must' of Divine Necessity
Jesus uses the word 'must' (Greek: dei) to convey a profound sense of divine appointment and inevitability. This wasn't a suggestion; it was a core part of God's plan for salvation. This necessity stems from God's eternal purpose and love, not from an accident or a lack of options.
What 'Lifted Up' Means
When Jesus speaks of being 'lifted up,' He's referencing His crucifixion. It's a powerful image:
Understand the original words
nachash · Hebrew Noun
An animal or object used in a figurative or literal sense. In this passage, it refers to the bronze serpent Moses erected in the wilderness to heal the Israelites who looked upon it in faith, serving as a type for Christ’s crucifixion.
hypsoō · Greek Verb
In this context, it refers to the crucifixion of Jesus. It carries a double meaning: the physical act of being raised on a cross and the theological act of being exalted or glorified by the Father through that death.
Jesus references a pivotal moment in Israel's history from the book of Numbers. This ancient story, later distorted into idolatry, serves as a powerful metaphor for how His own sacrifice, though seemingly ignominious, would become the source of healing and eternal life for all who believe.
c. 1400 BC
The Exodus and Wilderness Wanderings
After fleeing Egypt, the Israelites journeyed through the Sinai wilderness for 40 years, facing numerous challenges and relying on God's provision and guidance.
c. 1400 BC
The Fiery Serpents Attack
During their wilderness journey, the Israelites were attacked by venomous fiery serpents as punishment for their grumbling and rebellion against God.
c. 1400 BC— this verse
The Bronze Serpent is Lifted Up
At God's command, Moses fashioned a bronze serpent and placed it on a pole. Those bitten who looked at it were healed, symbolizing faith in God's provision for salvation.
c. 1400 BC
Idolatry of the Bronze Serpent
Centuries later, the Israelites began to worship the bronze serpent as an idol, prompting King Hezekiah to destroy it.
This is the original Old Testament account Jesus is referencing, where God instructed Moses to lift up a bronze serpent so that those bitten by venomous snakes could look at it and live. It establishes the historical and symbolic basis for Jesus' statement.
This passage from the Wisdom of Solomon reflects on the event in Numbers, highlighting that it wasn't the object itself but God's power and healing through faith in His provision that saved people. This directly supports the idea that looking to the lifted Son of Man, not the literal cross, brings salvation.
Here, Jesus explicitly uses the phrase 'lifted up' again when speaking about His death. This shows He consistently used this imagery to refer to His crucifixion, linking the two passages directly through His own words.
John 12:32-34In this later discourse, Jesus again speaks of being 'lifted up' from the earth and draws all people to Himself. This reiterates the theme of His crucifixion as a pivotal, drawing event with universal implications, echoing the imagery from the serpent account.
Philippians 2:8-9Paul describes Jesus being 'humbled by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.' He then notes that 'God exalted him to the highest place.' This mirrors the concept of being 'lifted up' and then glorified, connecting Jesus' humble suffering with His ultimate exaltation.
ellicottJohn 3:14: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:"
(14) And as Moses lifted up. —This verse is closely connected by the conjunction “and” with what has gone before. Jesus has taught that in Himself heaven and earth meet; so that, while subject to the conditions of human life, He, the Son of Man, the representative of humanity, is in heaven. He goes on to show that what is true of the representative is, through Him, true of the whole race…
barnesJohn 3:14: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:"
And as Moses - Jesus proceeds in this and the following verses to state the reason why he came into the world and, in order to this, he illustrates His design, and the efficacy of his coming, by a reference to the case of the brass serpent, recorded in Numbers 21:8-9 . The people were bitten by flying fiery serpents. There was no cure for the bite. Moses was directed to make an image of…
The most striking aspect here is how Jesus uses a story that might seem gruesome and terrifying—a serpent biting people and causing death—to illustrate God's healing power. It's not just about God providing a solution, but about how that solution is presented: something to be seen, something lifted up, making it accessible for all, even the most desperate.
Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus that his mission isn't just about teaching spiritual truths, but about a saving act that must be performed. He uses a well-known Old Testament story: when the Israelites were dying from snakebites in the desert, God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole, so that anyone who looked at it would be healed. Jesus asserts that just as Moses lifted up that serpent, the Son of Man must also be lifted up, pointing to his own upcoming crucifixion.
Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus that his mission isn't just about teaching spiritual truths, but about a saving act that must be performed. He uses a well-known Old Testament story: when the Israelites were dying from snakebites in the desert, God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole, so that anyone who looked at it would be healed. Jesus asserts that just as Moses lifted up that serpent, the Son of Man must also be lifted up, pointing to his own upcoming crucifixion.
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The healing came not from the serpent's substance, but from the act of looking in faith. What does this tell us about how we receive salvation through Christ?
More Than Just Seeing
The Israelites weren't healed by staring at a piece of metal. They were healed by faith – by believing God's word and trusting the remedy He provided, even if it seemed strange. The serpent was a symbol, a pointer.
Our Gaze of Faith
Jesus is the ultimate antitype, the reality that the bronze serpent only hinted at. When we 'look' to Jesus, especially as He is 'lifted up' on the cross, we aren't just observing historical event. We are exercising faith:
c. AD 30
Jesus' Crucifixion
Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, was crucified, a public and agonizing death that serves as the central event of Christian faith.
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up," — The most striking aspect here is how Jesus uses a story that might seem gruesome and terrifying—a serpent biting people and causing death—to illustrate God's healing power. It's not just about God pr…
