"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15).
Most people don't like snakes!
The sight of their scaly bodies, beady eyes and forked tongues tend to make us wary and tense. In Africa there are many deadly species of snake, including cobras, mambas, and adders. One of the most feared is the Black Mamba.
A single bite from this snake is able to inject enough venom to kill 10-15 adult men. The powerful neurotoxins pass through the body rapidly, causing nausea, convulsions and death.
When the ship Paul was sailing on to Rome was caught in a violent storm it ran aground on the island of Malta (Acts 28). The weary survivors were aided by the islanders, who built a fire for them to warm themselves.
But while Paul was collecting wood for the fire, a poisonous viper came out from a pile of sticks. The snake bit Paul's hand and latched onto him. When the superstitious islanders saw the sight, they began to whisper to one another: "This man must be a murderer! He managed to escape from the sea, but now fate has caught up with him."
But Paul fearlessly shook the snake off into the fire. The islanders watched him closely and were amazed when he suffered no ill effects from the venom. Expecting him to swell up, or suddenly fall down dead, they concluded that he had to be a god! (Acts 28:5-6).
Looking over this remarkable event, what do you think was going on in Paul's mind at the time?
If I could guess, I would say that our hero was probably thinking of the bronze serpent in the Old Testament (Numbers 21). When the Israelites rebelled against God in the wilderness, He sent poisonous vipers among them, and many were bitten and died.
When the people repented of their sin, the Lord instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent that was to be fixed upon a pole. The moment any Israelite was bitten, all he needed to do was look up at the bronze serpent and he would be made well.
Recognizing Christ's power to heal, Paul may have quietly prayed a prayer like this: "Lord Jesus, right now my eyes are fixed on You. Remove this poison from me as you did for the Israelites in the wilderness. It's in You that I trust. Amen."
When He hung on the cross, Jesus suffered the penalty of the sins of all mankind. Through His death, He bore our guilt and removed the sting of death (1Cor. 15:56). How are we saved from sin's poison?
How may we receive God's gift of life?
In exactly the same manner the Israelites were healed in the wilderness - not by works, but by believing faith: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). If you have looked to Jesus to save you, sin's poison has been purged from your soul. To you Christ says, "Go your way, your faith has made you well" (Lk. 17:19).
In His strong love,
Demitri
