Look and Live

John 3:14-21

Familiar Words, Urgent Message

John 3:16 is perhaps the most well-known verse in all of Scripture. Many say it is the gospel in a nutshell. But familiarity can make us casual. We often lift this verse out of its context, turning it into a slogan or a billboard; when it’s part of a serious and searching conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus.

Jesus has just told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” That’s the crisis. Nicodemus couldn’t understand it, how could someone so religious still be spiritually dead?

So Jesus answered with a story from Numbers 21, when Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness. And He said, “So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.”

After verse 15, it’s likely that John the evangelist steps in to give us the Spirit-inspired interpretation of what Jesus has just said. He’s not changing the message, he’s applying it.

vs.16-21 is the explanation of why the Son of Man had to be lifted up, showing:

Our Crisis: Why we need the Son of Man lifted up,

The Remedy: How God’s love is shown in the cross,

The Result: What happens when we believe, or don’t.

The Crisis: We Are Perishing in the Darkness (vv. 18–20)


This passage holds up a mirror to both unbelievers and believers.

A parable of serpents: When Nicodemus failed to grasp the truth that he must be born again, Jesus gives an illustration, calling back to the story of the fiery serpents in the wilderness.

It’s loaded with imagery: It was the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve into sin. In Numbers 21, it was the serpent that brought the bitter pain and suffering of sin.

The venom is working in those who do not believe:

They are under judgment. Not waiting for it but already under it.

All have sinned, and apart from being born again from above, there is no hope of entering the kingdom of God.

The wages of sin is death - perishing - not just physically, but eternally suffering the wrath of God.

The evidence is found in the way of the world: Loving the darkness because their deeds are evil; resisting the light because it exposes what they'd rather keep hidden. No one wants to hear God’s word because it confronts, convicts, and calls us to change.

The venom is also in those who thought they belonged:

This message wasn’t given to an outsider, but to Nicodemus, who thought he knew God.

The fiery serpents came when Israel was in the wilderness, after the Red Sea. The people of God had been delivered from Egypt, but now they grumbled against the Lord, loathed His provision, and sinned against their Savior. And God sent fiery serpents, not to destroy them, but to discipline and awaken them.

The pharisees struggled to see their own need for salvation, and would eventually reject the one God gave as a savior. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, they were bitter towards God’s providence, frustrated with the way God had chosen to save.

The venom of sin doesn’t just kill the pagan—it sickens the saint who takes his eyes off of God.

Why focus on judgment?

Vs. 17 tells us Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world would be saved through him. But His coming reveals both our desperate need and God’s saving grace.

The purpose of sunlight is not to cast shadows—but shadows appear wherever the light shines. In the same way, Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it. He came to save. Yet His very presence reveals the darkness in our hearts and confirms the judgment already at work in those who refuse to believe.”

The Remedy: The Son Was Lifted Up (vv. 14–17)


In the wilderness, Israel faced the consequence of their sin—fiery serpents, divine judgment. But in grace, God gave a remedy: a bronze serpent lifted high on a pole. There was no potion, no priestly ritual, just a call: Look and live. Jesus says, that story was pointing to something far greater, “So must the Son of Man be lifted up.” And here John gives the reason: “For God so loved the world…” (v. 16) Let’s slow down and see what that means.

The Love of God is the motive behind the cross.

God didn’t need to be talked into saving us. He wasn’t reluctant or angry until Jesus stepped in. The cross is not Jesus changing the Father’s mind—it is the Father expressing His love.

Calvin: “He loved us before the creation of the world… and gave His Son before we desired Him.”

This is a love that gives not to the worthy, but to the needy. Not to the strong, but to the sick.

God loved the World.

Nicodemus likely assumed God’s kingdom was only for Israel. But here’s the surprise: the grace of the cross is global.

The “world” in John’s Gospel is often shorthand for humanity in rebellion against God, fallen, darkened, hostile. And yet it is this world that God so loved.

“World” does not mean every single person, but a love that is not limited to Israel alone, not earned by merit, or bloodline, but offered to every tribe, tongue, and nation.

He Gave His Only Begotten Son — the cost of salvation.

Salvation isn’t free. It came at a great cost, but not one that fell to us. The Father gave up His beloved Son, the One in whom He was well-pleased.

And He was not just sent, Jesus was lifted up. On the cross He became the curse for us (Gal. 3:13), He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21), He took on our guilt and our shame.

The Son of Man was clothed in the likeness of sinful flesh, judged in our place, bearing the wrath we deserve—so that we would be clothed in His righteousness.

Look and Live

The cure God provided in the wilderness was not logical, but it was effective. He didn’t give a medicine, or a method. God gave them a sign. All they had to do was look and live.

Jesus says, “So must the Son of Man be lifted up…” He is speaking of the cross, where He was lifted up so that all who look to Him might be saved.

This is not just how we begin the Christian life, it is how we endure. The Israelites weren’t bitten just once, but every time they were bitten, they needed to look.

Christian, are you still looking to the cross? When sin stings you again… When bitterness flares… When the journey feels long and dry… Look again. And live.

The Result: No Condemnation, Only Life and Light (vv. 16–21)

The application of the cure: Belief.

Notice how John keeps using that little word ‘whoever believes.’ Belief is not a side note; it’s the key distinction. Those who believe in the Son have eternal life. Those who refuse to believe remain under condemnation.

But we need to be clear: belief is not something we bring to impress God, as if He saves us because of the strength or quality of our faith. Faith is not a work we do, it is a response to what God has already done for us in love.

Faith is like looking at the bronze serpent in the wilderness: the people weren’t healed because they climbed the pole or earned the cure, but because they trusted God’s promise. In the same way, faith is the empty hand that receives God’s gift of salvation. It is the gaze of a sinner who looks to Christ and says, ‘You are my only hope.’”

This is the Blessing of Belief:

No Condemnation “for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom 8:1

The verdict has already been rendered: you are justified, forgiven, accepted in Christ. You no longer live under the weight of guilt, fear, or rejection.

New Creation - The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” 2 Cor 5:17. God doesn’t just forgive your past, He begins a new work in you.

You walk in the light because God has given you a new heart that loves the light. You don’t hide in the dark anymore. You walk in the light. And your works, though imperfect, show that God is at work in you.

Even your repentance, your humility, your trembling obedience; those are the fingerprints of God at work in you.

Eternal Life - This is not just about length of days, but life with God, forever. A life that begins now and never ends. A life marked by joy, communion, and hope.

Invitation: Look and Live

In the wilderness all who looked were healed. So it is with Christ. Look to Him, no matter how many times you’ve been bitten, no matter how deeply the poison runs. Look. And live.

To the unbeliever: You are not being asked to earn your way, clean yourself up, or climb to God. Look to Christ, believe in the one who died for your Salvation, and you will live.

To the weary believer: You are not condemned, not now, not ever. But maybe you’ve been bitten, by sin, by sorrow, by the slowness of sanctification. Lift your eyes again to Christ. The cross that saved you still sustains you. His love has not changed. His grace is still enough. Look to Jesus, and live.