Must Have JesusSample

The Snake-crushing Savior

Scripture:

14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. 16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. John 3:14-18 NLT

Okay, is Jesus comparing Himself to a snake here? Why is He talking about snakes and the wilderness right before this beautiful verse about how much God loves us? Let’s dive in!

Observation:

Jesus is referencing this moment in the Old Testament when the Isrealites were wandering in the desert. They were whining and complaining, as usual, and God sent some venomous snakes into the camp as a wake up call. The people quickly realized that they had sinned against the God who rescued them and asked for help. God told Moses to make a snake, put it on a pole, and anyone bitten who looked at that snake would live.

What in the world is the connection to Jesus? Well, Jesus explains that in the same way the snake was lifted up on a pole, He would also be lifted up on a pole (the cross) so that we could see Him and live. This is an icky comparison, because ever since the beginning of the Biblical story, snakes have been associated with the curse of Sin. But, John 3:16-17 tells us that Jesus came to rescue us from our sin and make us right with God again. And He did this in a really unlikely way. Jesus defeated the curse of sin by becoming cursed for us.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Galatians 3:13 NIV

Jesus willingly became a curse on the cross in order to rescue us from the curse of sin and make us right with God. When we see and trust Jesus for who He really is, we get to experience the life that is really life.

Application:

Once again, it comes down to trust. Will we look to Jesus and live? Do we really believe that He is who He said He was and that He did what He said He would do? Because when we do, it changes everything. It changes how we live when we realize that we have been invited to live free from the curse of sin by putting our hope and trust in the One who became a curse for us.

Prayer:

Jesus, I want to live in the freedom you died for me to have. Thank you for becoming a curse to redeem me from the curse of sin. Help me live every day with trust and gratitude. Help put all my hope in you. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.