The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up [Numbers 21]
4Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. 5The people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food." 6The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
7So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people. 8Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." 9And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
John 3:13-15 "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
The grumbling continued. This time the "LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died." The only thing that saved them after they repented was to look up at the fiery serpent made out of bronze that God provided.
In the book of John when Jesus is explaining the way of salvation to Nicodemus, He explained that the Son of Man would also be lifted up. In order to have eternal life we must believe in Jesus, looking to Him only to be the One who saves us. Jesus' next words were, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." (John 3:16-17)
Jesus, we praise You that You were willing to be lifted up on the cross to offer us eternal life. Life with You that will last forever. Only You can save us from our bitterness and grumbling. Cause us to lift our eyes and fix them on You, Jesus. You are our life. God, we praise You for giving Your only, deeply loved Son out of Your deep love for us.
Verna McCrillis, 7/29/2010