Looking to the lifted-up Son of Man brings life, as looking to the serpent once did.
“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.”John 3:14-15 (KJV)
What does “Lifted up” mean in John 3:14-15?
Jesus refers to a story from Numbers 21, when Israel was bitten by snakes in the wilderness and healed by looking at a bronze serpent Moses raised on a pole. He says He must be lifted up in the same way.
Going deeper
This is one of the puzzling moments in the Gospels, and it comes just before John 3:16. Jesus is talking to Nicodemus in the night. He reaches back to an event Nicodemus knew well. When the people were dying from snakebites, God told Moses to lift a bronze serpent on a pole, and everyone who looked at it lived. Jesus says that He will be lifted up in a similar way, and that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
The picture is simple. The people did not earn their healing. They looked, and they lived. Lent leads toward the cross, where Jesus was lifted up. This week, spend a few minutes simply looking at Him in Scripture. Read one of the accounts of the cross slowly, and let it be enough to gaze. You do not have to have all the answers. Looking in trust is the beginning of life.
Reflect
What would it look like to simply look to Jesus this week, without needing all the answers?
Pray
Lord Jesus, I look to You. Thank You for being lifted up so that we might have life, and help me to trust You. In Jesus' name, amen.
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