John 3:14 “The Bronze Serpent”

Welcome—Isaiah, prepatory work,

(Read) 2 Timothy 3:15-4:2.

(Prayer) God’s praise, Church unity, Joy in Scriptures, See Christ in the Scriptures

Introduction

Now you might be asking yourself today: “Why would we be going to the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament, when we live in a day that is post Cross and have the clarity of the New Testament at hand?” And the simple answer is: Because we preach Christ and Him crucified, and Christ is seen in both the Old and the New Testament. Saint Augustine simply put it at “The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.”

When we consider from which texts were the Apostles such as: Peter, James, John, and Paul preaching from, or even from where was Jesus preaching from before the New Testament was written, the answer is simply: “THey were preaching from the Old Testament. In fact the book of Isaiah, just behind the book of the Psalms, is the second most quoted book in the Old Testament quoted in the New. The Hermentutics (Which means: the Theory, method and, science of interpretation) of the Early church, were such that they always saw Christ in the Old Testament: Whether it was prophetically speaking, prepetory in providence, typological in character, or redemptive in nature, they saw all of Scripture as pointing and heralding the message of the Gospel, which in short is: Christ perfect life, his substitutionary death, his defeating of the grave, and his reigning in Heaven. All of Scripture, no matter the story, no matter the event, no matter situation, always was bringing us to the foot of Calvary where our savior was pierced for our transgressions.

(Illustration) I remember the first time Shepherd saw a water fountain being drunk out of, and I am sure that many of us have had similar expirences. You go up to the drinking fountain purse your lips and press down on either the button or the push bar to have water come out for which to drink. Well Shepherd, and every other small child usually goes up to such a drinking fountain, they purse their lips, and no water comes out because they lack either knowledge of pressing the bar down or they lack the strength needed to push the button. A person who goes to the Old Testament, and reads it in such a way that they never see Christ there, are like a child who purse their lips at a water fountain that they can not drink from. We approach the Old Testament knowing that Moses and all the prophets spoke of Christ and therefore we can find that source of water in the Old Testament.

Why do I bring this to your attention this morning? Because, Isaiah is a book full of prophecy, full of events, And full of typology. And so we need to do a little bit of prepatory work on our means and methods of studying the Old Testament at large before we just jump into the book of Isaiah. And for today particularly, we will consider Typology.

You may have never heard of this word:Typology. What is is Typology: Well let me first tell you what it is not. It is not whimsical allegorizing of scripture, nor is it overtly spiritualize the scripture, too see Christ in Scripture. Now the immediate danger in this is to inappropriately look and assign Christ where he is not I recall as a child, my mother loving to watch America’s Most Wanted with John Walsh, and imprinting on my young mind the different sketches that were drawn by the professional artists. I couldn’t help but be at the mall in Boise, thinking that every man was the Zodiac Killer.

Typology in scripture, is not done Willy nilly by saying that you have found Christ there, but it is recognizing the events, people, and situations as Gospel presentations of Christ in their contours. Some people read the Old Testament never seeing Christ, to which they are lacking in their biblical interpretation, and then on the other hand some people read the old picking up ever pebble, rock, and stone and looking under it to find Christ. But the better way that I purpose to approach Typology is seeing that Christ is not found under every rock, but that every pebble, every rock, and every stone in the Old Testament pave the cobble stone path to The Rock of our Salvation and that they in some ways resemble what they are a precursor too. God has been so gracious in revealing what His son Jesus Christ would do, that not only has He made promises about the Seed who would crush the head of the Serpent, and not only sent prophets like Isaiah with a message about the Messiah, but He has actually set of people, events, and situations that point us to that which was to come. They help make up the redemptive historical pathway to Christ.

Typology is simply defined as: “any person, place, event or thing in the Old Testament that serves the covenantal purposes of God, in a preparatory manner, until the fulfilling all things in redemption through the anti-type, Jesus Christ, or some particular benefit of His saving work.And the example we will be examining is one that has nothing to do with the book of Isaiah, but is a clear example of Typology.”

Turn with me to John 3:14. The title of today’s message is “The Bronze Serpent.”

(Read)John 3:10-15–Exegete and preach! (Go SLOWLY through this text)

This is a reference to something that Nicodemus would have been very familiar with but would would have never thought to see CHrist within. Turn with me to Number 21.

(Read) Numbers 21:4-9– Exegete and preach! (Go SLOWLY through this text)

Now put yourself in the shows of the first century, there with Jesus, you are a leader and teacher of Israel. Maybe you could look at this text and be able to say: That your great great great great great great great great great granddad was there with Moses in the wilderness and that he was bitten by a snake but thankfully he looked at the bronze serpent and was healed. But what would the Israelite like Nicodemus Teach from this text?

He might rightly teach that God can send fiery serpents as judgement for sinning against him. Nicodemus could rightly say that God demonstrated His kindness by hearing the prayer of Moses. Nicodemus could teach rightly, that God was kind to heal the Israelite people who sinned against him. Would Nicodemus be right in all that he was saying? All these teaching of Nicodemus or for any first century Jew, these would be true. But here is the important question: would Nicodemus and his study of scripture fall short according to Christ? Turn back with me to John 3.

(Read) John 3:10-15.

This is the danger for many Protestants today. There has been tendency to veir from the interpretive grid that Jesus and the Apostles were constantly using. Jesus, who is God in flesh is standing before a man who claims to be a follower of God, yet because he was not born again, could not recognize Jesus for who he really was.

Do you think that Christ would be pleased with any of us today, us who proclaim to be born again Christians, would he be pleased with a study of scripture that does not reveal him and Him crucified?

“From Childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writing, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith.”

Was Jesus there in Number 21? We should be able to say “yes and no”

Anybody that turned to that bronze serpent for salvation of there souls, would die as an idolator. So then why would Christ reference it here in John 3. Because he was there in Number 21 serving as the antitypical fulfillment of what that type was pointing towards.

Application

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

I can look at each of you today, amend tell you from both John 3 and from Number 21, that you are a snake bitten people. You are a people who have been disobedient to God. You are a people who are wandering in the wilderness. You are a people who complain and sin against God. But I can also tell you today from both Numbers 21 and John3, that you can turn from your sins and turn to Christ lifted upon the cross and be saved by your snake bitten wounds.

(Read) John 3:16 Exegete and Exhort

Why would God save us through this means? Because He is merciful and it our salvation is to be to the praise of His glorious grace. He has always been pronouncing the story of our redemption.

Church, do you see the urgency? Do you see the reason to turn from the sin of this world? Do you see the beauty of Christ? God gave His son so that we would not perish! IF this is the first time that you have heard this message, be born again and look to the better Bronze Serpent, Jesus Christ on the cursed tree of Calvary.

If this is the 100th time you have heard this message, may your eye continually rest on Him who heals our wounds.

The reason for coming to this text today is to prepare us to witness how great the book of Isaiah is. This is really a primer message for us to consider how God has reaveled His singular message of redemption. And I hope today, that we would be a people who see and love and cherish the shadows and type of the Old Testament.

(Pray)