It’s a good thing we heard this reading from Numbers before we dove into the Gospel reading, otherwise there probably would have been a lot of confused looks about this opening line with Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness. Nicodemus, to whom Jesus is speaking in this passage from John, was a Pharisee - a Jewish religious leader - and he would have known this reference from his study of the Hebrew Scriptures. “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” It’s a powerful promise, and Jesus hoped that by making this connection to that long-ago story about Moses and the bronze serpent on a pole, it would begin to help Nicodemus make sense of who Jesus was and what he came to do. In being lifted up, both the serpent on the pole and Jesus on the cross would be used by God to transform sources of suffering into sources of healing, restoration, and life.
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| Photo by Jim Bonewald on Unsplash |
In the story from Numbers, which recounts the events of Exodus, this episode takes place after the Israelites have been freed from bondage in Egypt, but before they enter the Promised Land. Their time in the wilderness is lasting much longer than they would have liked, and - not for the first time - they become discouraged, and frustrated, and complain against Moses and against God. They complain about the lack of water. They complain that things were better in Egypt. They complain that the food is terrible, and there’s not enough of it! But through an encounter with venomous serpents, where many Israelites were bitten and died, they came to realize their sin, repented, and prayed for mercy.
Following God’s instructions, Moses made a serpent of bronze and put it upon a pole. When this serpent on the pole was lifted up in the midst of the people, it served three purposes.
First, the image of the serpent was lifted up as a reminder of the people’s sin. In looking at the serpent, they came face to face with the consequences of their misremembering of their history, their misremembering of God’s role in freeing them from enslavement. In looking at the serpent, they came face to face with their lack of trust in God to continue to provide for them and care for them.
Second, the serpent on the pole was lifted up as a source of healing and life. Hearing their prayers for mercy, God responded, but not in the way they expected. God did not remove the venomous serpents from their midst. Instead, God provided the serpent on the pole as a means of healing and restoration to life. Everyone who was bitten could look at it and live.
Finally, the serpent on the pole was lifted up to serve as a reminder of God’s presence. In future times of need, the people could look to this example of God’s faithfulness and care. The image of the serpent was such an important reminder that the people carried it with them through the wilderness and even into the Promised Land, giving it a place of honor in the Temple. The bronze serpent itself did not have power, but it was a sign of God’s power and presence. Later, when the people forgot this distinction and began worshiping it as an idol and making offerings to it, King Hezekiah destroyed it (see 2 Kings 18).
Like the serpent in the wilderness, Jesus, the Son of Man would be lifted up. Lifted up on the cross in his death, lifted up from the grave in his resurrection, and lifted up to the right hand of God in his ascension to heaven. Because of this lifting up, the cross continues to be for us as a reminder of our sin, a means of healing and life, and a sign of God’s presence.
Like the serpent in the wilderness, the cross is lifted up as a reminder of our sin. It reminds us of how unwilling we are to accept God’s love for ourselves, and especially for others. The cross reminds us how often we choose death and violence and destruction instead of life and flourishing. The cross reminds us of the lengths we will go to reject God and God’s ways.
Second, Jesus is lifted up on the cross, in the resurrection, and in the ascension to be for us a means of healing and life. The cross reminds us of the strength of God’s love - a love that is willing even to die; a love that is stronger than death. Through the power of this love, through Jesus, we do not perish in our sin, but rather receive salvation and new life.
Finally, the cross is lifted up to serve as a reminder of God’s presence. One of the true gifts of our Lutheran theology is our understanding of the theology of the cross. When we are looking for God, we do not look to places of success, or power, or prestige. Instead, we find God in places of suffering, alongside the marginalized, with those who are hurting. God is present with us in our suffering and grief, sharing our heartbreak and pain and leading us into wholeness and life.
Through the waters of baptism, we are joined to Christ, and we are also lifted up with him from death to life. By grace, through faith, we are lifted up from sin and receive the gift of eternal life with God, both now and in the age to come. Though the world intended the cross as a means of death, through the power of God’s love it was transformed into a means of healing and life for all. Trusting in God’s presence with us at all times, we give thanks for God’s love shown to us by Jesus on the cross, lifted up so that all creation might look upon him and live.
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