Lifted Up

Prayer

Strange Story of Bronze Snake

So, one of the great action adventure movies of all time is, without doubt, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

And one of the best running gags in the movie is Indiana Jones and snakes - and how much he hates snakes.

Scene where he goes into the cavern (one with the rolling ball) to get the gold statue and he has to escape from the natives trying to kill him and he jumps into seaplane - and of course what’s in his seat - a snake. He yells out, “I hate snakes, I hate ‘em!”

And the scene where he’s making his way down a rope into the Egyptian ruins and he’s trying to look down at the bottom - and he can’t figure out why the floor seems to be moving. It’s because it’s filled with snakes. Classic line, “Snakes! Why does it have to be snakes?”

It’s one of the things that make him such a great character - he’s very relatable in that way. Because, let’s be honest, snakes are super creepy, even the ones that aren’t poisonous. They’ve got a strong ick factor about them, they’re just shifty creatures.

Which makes the story from the Old Testament I want to begin with this morning all the more strange.

As I mentioned before, this is the beginning of Holy Week where we journey along with Jesus in the last week of his life. Today is Palm Sunday. Sometimes we refer to it as Passion Sunday (to focus on Jesus’ passion, his suffering, his death before the resurrection).

Holy Week begins with triumphal entry, Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem, riding on the donkey as the crowds wave the palm branches, recognizing him as the promised Messiah, the one who would rule as King over Israel

By the end of the week, Jesus will share the Passover Supper with his disciples (remember in our Maundy Thursday service), then he is arrested, put on trial, flogged, crucified and buried (the events of Good Friday). And, our course, next Sunday, Easter, where we celebrate his rising from the dead!

This year we’ve been making our way through the Old Testament, so this morning I want to draw upon a story in the Old Testament that explicitly points to Jesus and what Jesus did for us on the cross.

We’ve been in the book of Genesis, but we’re going to jump forward to book of Numbers, hundreds of years later, when the Israelites are wandering in the desert on their way to the Promised Land after being freed by God from enslavement in Egypt (by this time they have the numbers, but they still don’t have the land God promised, which is still controlled by the various tribes of the Canaanites).

They had a chance to enter into the Promised land, but they resisted, fearing the people who lived in the land and failing to trust God, so God condemns them to wander in the wilderness, the desert for 40 years. It’s in this wandering this story takes place.

Story, as you might imagine, involves a snake - actually, a lot of them. Numbers 21:4-9...

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” 6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

The Bronze Serpent in the Wilderness

The whole Israelite people are traveling from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea in order to avoid Edom (the Edomites, descendants of Esau), so they don’t have to fight them.

Problem is that the route sets them back toward Egypt - which makes them feel like they’re going backwards instead of progressing, getting nowhere, what’s the point of all this?

So they grow impatient and start complaining. Note that they speak against Moses and against God (getting bold here). Why’d you bring us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? No bread?! No water?! Just this stinkin’ manna. We hate it.

Because we skipped centuries of the Israelites’ history, we haven’t gone through this part of the story, but God didn’t bring them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, but to live. To be free! God by his power and might freed them from slavery after they cried out to him. And he’s been providing food (what they describe as miserable food) every day for them so that their needs are met. Because he wants life for them.

It’s such a sobering reminder of how easy it is to take things for granted - all the things God blesses us with, just as he did for the Israelites. Day after day God provides for us, as he did for them. We would have nothing - nothing - without him.

gratitude is essential to spiritual growth - it reflects a right heart toward God because it expresses the right standing we have before God.

So God punishes them for their grumbling, their complaints - their wickedness expressed as ingratitude.

And here’s where the snakes come in - God sends venomous snakes and they bite the people. And, as you might expect, many of the people died.

People realize their sin and they come to Moses in a heart of repentance, asking forgiveness, asking that God would take snakes away. So Moses prays on behalf of the people and God responds - note how readily and quickly God forgives and seeks to restore.

But what God tells Moses to do is awfully strange. He tells Moses to make a snake and put it up on a pole, a bronze snake statue. Anyone who is bitten is to look at it and if they do, they will live. So Moses does - and the people are saved from God’s wrath.

So, why this? Not the grumbling and complaining - they (we) have been doing this for a long time - but why does it have to be snakes? I hate snakes. Why does God send venomous snakes? But even more perplexing - why this strange statue - why a snake on a pole, lifted up so everyone can see?

The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up

Strangely, enough, this brings us to Jesus and the events of Holy Week - Jesus and the cross. Here’s where we come to our New Testament passage where we encounter Jesus having a late night conversation with a Pharisee - and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, by the name of Nicodemus.

Nicodemus knows there’s something special about Jesus, whom he refers to as Rabbi, Teacher (that’s significant). He sees the signs that Jesus has performed and he knows that he has been sent from God.

They get into a conversation about what it takes to enter into the Kingdom of God, to experience the promise of eternal life. Now Nicodemus would have believed that it was necessary to obey the Torah, the Law - that was the way to demonstrate righteousness.

But Jesus counters that you must be born again, born of the Spirit. Nicodemus has no idea what he’s talking about - how can this be? How can you be born again? How can you experience life with God?

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

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Jesus makes a direct connection to this strange story (that Nicodemus would have been familiar with) of bronze serpent being put up on a pole in order to save the dying Israelites - in this same way, the Son of Man must be lifted up - in order to save not just the Israelites, but everyone.

So what did Jesus mean? What is it about a snake on a pole and people looking at it in order to be saved from snake bites - how in the world does that have anything to do with Jesus?!

Let me offer some important connections here. The key lies in the phrase, “lifted up”, the Son of Man must be lifted up in the same way that the snake in the wilderness was.

It seems ironic that Moses is instructed to put the very thing that God sends as punishment against the rebellious Israelites onto a pole. But that’s exactly the point - that’s where we find the connection with the Son of Man.

The snakes were the punishment. They were death to the Israelites. Snakes exemplified their sin and God’s wrath poured out against them. As John Piper says, God uses the very instrument that brought death to save them.

So it is with Jesus. Jesus takes our sin, our death upon himself on cross. Our punishment is death for our sin and Jesus takes that upon himself - so we don’t have to. In the same way, God uses the very instrument that brought death to save us. So, that’s the first essential connection.

Second one - here’s where the “lifted up” part becomes so crucial - lifting up is all about being able to be seen. Remember, the Israelites who had been bitten were to look at the bronze snake in order to be healed. That’s why you put it up on a pole, easy viewing. Why we put flags or signs on poles - so they can be seen.

It was one of the central features of death by crucifixion as well - the Romans intended it to be a warning sign - people were crucified along major roads so that those passing by would easily see them and get the strong suggestion, don’t be like this guy.

They would put signs over their heads indicating who they were and the crime they committed - not only, don’t be like this guy, but don’t do what this guy did. The Roman officials put a sign over Jesus - it read, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

So Jesus, too, is lifted up, hanging on the cross. We are to be at his feet, looking up - this is for us. This is for me. My life comes through your death. Jesus, I look to you, and your death on the cross, so that I might be healed. So that I might have life.

A friend of mine pointed this out - and I hadn’t made this connection before - that being lifted up, hanging between heaven and earth - is not just for us to look up and see Jesus and his sacrificial death as the source of life for us. But for God, too, as he looks down - he sees his Son, lifted up, taking our sin, taking the death we rightly deserve, on him. His wrath, his righteous opposition to sin, is satisfied.

The Son of Man, lifted up, hangs between heaven and earth, between God and us, our mediator, the one who makes life possible for us. When God looks down he sees the perfect sacrifice for sin - Jesus, on our behalf. When we look up, we see the one who loved us so much that he would offer himself freely that we might have life.

So the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Spiritual Disciplines

Greek word for lifted up has another meaning, besides literally, being physically lifted up. It also means, “exalted.” Jesus, in being lifted up on the cross, is the one we are to exalt.

In 1 Corinthians, when Paul talks about the foolishness of God being wiser than wisdom of men, weakness of God (Jesus), being stronger than strength of men, this is what he’s talking about. Our King is the crucified Lord. Our King is the one who humbled himself, enduring the shame and brutality of the cross, for our sake.

Two ways to put this into practice this week...

Spend some time this week looking up to the cross - really, to the crucifix, Jesus on the cross. The Son of Man lifted up. Reflect on his suffering, his sacrifice, the heart that spurred him to willingly offer himself.

Then, exalt him. Praise him! Sing songs of praise. Proclaim your love and gratitude and devotion to Jesus. Live in gratitude expressed through praise (rather than grumbling)

Inspiration - Finish this morning with fun little note, brings us back to snakes, why does it have to be snakes?!

Because there’s another place where snakes are used as symbols of healing and life - we see it all time, but we don’t typically think about it - medical profession.

There’s two variations, one is known as the Rod of Asclepius, that’s a staff with a single snake wrapped around it. Asclepius was the Greek god of healing. Then there’s the one you’re probably more familiar with - Caduceus, wings with the two intertwining snakes. This comes from the staff of Hermes - but since Hermes had no connection with healing - strange that this is the symbol that became the more common one.

So, even here, wonder why the snake became a symbol of healing among the Greeks. There’s theories about this - that snake venom was considered to be remedial (wonder how that worked out?), and that snake shedding its skin was a sign of rebirth and renewal.

Some biblical commentators have suggested that this ancient view of snakes as healing may be why snakes are used in this story of Numbers. Except that doesn’t make sense on two levels - one, this story far precedes the eminence of Greek culture, and two, it was God was sent the snakes and proscribed the use of a snake for their salvation.

One source suggested the exact opposite - that this story in the Old Testament is actually the source of snakes associated with healing. After all, this happened somewhere around 1450 BC.

And we come to learn that the Israelites actually held on to the bronze serpent statue, they took it with them in their travels, likely to serve as both a warning and a reminder of God’s mercy and saving power.

But, as they so often did (and we so often do), they turn it into an idol. Listen to this verse in 2 Kings 18:4 (this is over 700 years later, during the reign of King Hezekiah, who sets about reforming the kingdom of Judah):

He (Hezekiah) removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)

Nehushtan sounds like both bronze and snake. So they actually name the statue, the bronze serpent and worship it as a god!

So we see that the Israelites worshiped a snake god that it associated with healing and life!

And it’s a sobering reminder of how quickly we can look to the wrong thing. There’s lots of things being lifted up. Let’s be those who lift up Jesus. Who look to Jesus, our crucified King. Let’s place our trust in him, and the amazing and life-giving sacrifice he offers us through his being lifted up on the cross.