John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
How often have we read this scripture without seeing with spiritual eyes the depth of the meaning when Jesus made this reference to Himself?
Numbers 21:8-9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
To fully comprehend the depth we need to see through the eyes of typology. When we study types or shadows from the Old Testament we understand that when we see “brass” mentioned in the Word it is referring to “judgement”.
This brazen serpent was a type of the Lord Jesus being judged for our sins. This I could see and understand why it was brazen. But I questioned why a serpent? Wouldn’t a brazen angel have been more appropriate?
The Holy Spirit brought the 20/20 spiritual vision I needed to understand the reason for a serpent to represent the Lord Jesus. A serpent represents sin and He became sin for us!
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
What a revelation adding depth to John 3:14. He was lifted up as God’s Brazen Serpent and whosoever looks to Him and believes will be healed and restored to a relationship with God.
CHALLENGE: Even as the Israelites were bitten by fiery serpents because of rebellion, we also are all bitten by the fiery serpent of sin because of rebellion against God. But like Israel we will be spiritually healed when we look unto Jesus, the fulfillment of:
God’s Brazen Serpent Lifted up on a Cross.
It is interesting to note this is the symbol throughout the world as the medical symbol for healing, a serpent on a pole!
