Nicodemus was a religious leader who came to visit Jesus one night. Jesus reminded him of an old story in Israel’s history about a time when the Israelites sinned against God, so God sent venomous snakes among them. Many people were bitten. Many died. Those still alive came to Moses, acknowledging they had sinned against God and asking Moses to pray to God to take the snakes away. When Moses prayed, God told him to make a bronze snake, put it on a pole, and lift it up for all the people to see. Anyone who had been bitten, if they looked at the snake in simple faith, was immediately healed!
The poisonous danger the Israelites were in reminds me that we’ve all been poisoned by sin (Ephesians 2:1-3). What do we do with our sin problem? Jesus told Nicodemus that He is God’s solution for our sin. In fact, God used the story of the bronze snake to point to the coming of the One who would be the ultimate Savior on a pole: Jesus was lifted up on a cross for all to see. Just as the Israelites couldn’t save themselves, we can’t save ourselves from the punishment we deserve. So God sent Jesus to do what none of us could do. Because of His great love for us, Jesus took the punishment our sins required by dying on a cross. But after three days, He rose from the dead, proclaiming that everyone who puts their trust in Him will be counted innocent before God.
Our response to Jesus can be as simple as the Israelites’ response to the snake. If we put our trust in Jesus, acknowledging He is Lord and God raised Him from the dead, we can be made right with God (Romans 10:9-11). Continue looking to Jesus, the One who saves. • Daniel Dore
• Does the description of us in Ephesians 2:1-3 surprise you? Why or why not?
• How does the story of the bronze snake on the pole show us how Jesus saves?
• To find out more about why Jesus was lifted up on the cross and what it means for us today, check out our “Know Jesus” page.
And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. John 3:14-15 (NLT)
Read Verses:
Matthew 28:1-10; 1 Corinthians 15
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