From Death to LifeSýnishorn

DAY 1: Good Friday

Ryan Straarup, Campus Pastor, Elevation Winston-Salem

You’re probably not expecting to begin an Easter devotional in the book of Numbers, but hang with me a minute and I’ll show you why.

Where we pick up the story, the Israelites have become impatient, and irritable, and have taken for granted every miracle they’ve seen and every gift they’ve been given. God sends snakes as punishment (just typing that gives me the chills). Once they repent, God tells Moses to make a bronze snake and lift it up on a pole, and everyone who looks at it will be healed.

Hold that thought. Now, let’s jump into the New Testament.

In John 3, Jesus meets with a Pharisee, named Nicodemus, who is beginning to believe His words and teachings. Jesus begins to talk to Nicodemus about what it means to be born again, and He says, “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.” John 3:14–15. Jesus makes a comparison to help Nicodemus understand — that one day He too would be lifted up so that they all could be saved. What a picture!

The antidote for the snake bites in the wilderness was to look at the bronze snake on the pole, and the antidote for our sin is to look at the King on a cross. Deliverance in both cases requires faith. The definition of faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” The Israelites had to have faith that God would come through for them when they looked at the bronze snake. You and I have to have faith in Jesus when we look at the cross.

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

It’s a wonderful thing to put our faith in Jesus when it comes to our soul, but if we’re honest, asking God to intervene in our day-to-day seems more out of reach —as if God has bigger problems to tend to. When life gives us trouble, we can pray and believe for miracles, but then reality can stop us in our tracks.

Cancer. Divorce. Job loss. Addiction.

Maybe you’re asking yourself, “Can I hear those words and still put ‘complete trust and confidence’ in the God who created the universe?”

Easier said than done, I know. In fact, Jesus talks about this in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Trouble is guaranteed. You and I will have it. It’s unavoidable. But Jesus gently reminds us to take heart, have confidence, trust Him, and have faith.

At some point, we’ll find ourselves in trouble — whether it’s because we sin, someone else sinned against us, or simply because we live in a fallen world. No matter the sin, the price has been paid through what Jesus did at Calvary. A Good Friday, indeed. Look up! Because on that cross, He declared, “It is finished.” He overcame the world.

Reflection

• What impossible situation do you need to put in God’s hands today?
• Take a moment to pray and thank Jesus for His sacrifice.
• Attend a Good Friday or communion service to remember this day with others.