John 3:14-15 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

The verse after this gets the most attention, but this part also is justly famous. The thing is, the average person isn’t particularly familiar with the story of Moses lifting up the snake. The story is in Numbers 21:4-9. The people had been complaining again, this time about the lack of water, and they had become completely jaded with the miraculous provision of manna every morning and wanted something different to eat. The Lord decided they needed to be reminded that things could be worse, and He sent venomous snakes among them to teach them that lesson. Under the Lord’s instructions, Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole, and everyone who had been bitten, if they looked at that bronze snake they recovered. That sounds like a bizarre story to us today, but it’s interesting that it’s specifically the stories that secularists tend to choke on – Noah, Jonah, the bronze snake – that Jesus explicitly references. That should teach us not to take any part of the Bible lightly! The image, as Jesus expressed it, is remarkably apt, because Jesus was indeed lifted up in much the same way as that snake, and it is by believing that His death was for our sake that we receive the gift of eternal life. We do, however, need to be careful that we treat crosses and crucifixes as reminders, rather than as having power in themselves. 2 Kings 18:4 records that good king Hezekiah had to break up the bronze snake, because people had made it an idol, which they called Nehushtan. Our focus needs to be on God Himself and not on anything else, even if God gave it to us for our good.

Raised in a Baptist home, I was taught that symbols are no more than symbols. That in itself is good, but sometimes those symbols are very important. My view of baptism shifted after reading a book titled If You Care to Accept It, which is about a move of God in New Guinea. Baptism itself certainly doesn’t impart sinless perfection, but we should expect it to make a real difference in the person receiving it. Likewise, I am particular about the bread and the cup of Communion. (We use grape juice, for a number of reasons.) They are symbols, certainly, but we need to be reminded to give our bodies to Christ, just as He gave His for us, and we daily need His blood to wash our hearts and minds of the filth in which we live. As a pastor, I need to keep pointing people to the invisible reality behind the symbols we use.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Sometimes we get confused as to what is symbolic and what is real. Help me keep it straight in my own heart and mind and lead others to do likewise, for their blessings and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!