(4) Fiery Serpents and Bronze serpent

 

(4) Fiery Serpents and Bronze serpent

Numbers 21:5-9 『And the people spake against God and against Moses, saying, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water, and we loathe this worthless food.' So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many Israelites died. Then the people came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD to take the serpents away from us.' So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Make a fiery serpent, and put it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.' So Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.'"

When the Israelites left Egypt, they disobeyed God, so God sent fiery serpents to kill them. But when Moses pleaded for their lives, God had Moses make a bronze serpent and lift it up, saving the people from death. Similarly, Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected, giving all humanity spiritual life.

John 3:14-15 “And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.”

He believes in Jesus, but all who believe in Jesus have been bitten by a snake. Nicodemus cannot believe this. In other words, he does not realize that he himself has been bitten by a snake.

The fiery serpent symbolizes God's judgment and death on the cross, while the bronze serpent symbolizes salvation from death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those who are united with the resurrected Lord will live spiritually. The cross and resurrection are like two sides of a coin. Believers believe in dying with Jesus on the cross and being resurrected with him.

We too believe in Jesus, but if we fail to realize that we are all bitten by snakes and are infested with their venom, we have never repented. Believing in Jesus without repentance will not lead to salvation. Until we realize that all people are filled with the venom of vipers, we cannot receive the word of God. This is something that human intellect cannot grasp or comprehend. Only when the light of heaven shines can we understand.

Peter followed Jesus for three years, learning from Him, and experiencing countless miracles. Yet, Jesus told his disciples, "This very night they will all fall away." Peter replied, "Even if they all fall away, I will not." Jesus replied, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." The same goes for everyone else. If you don't change, this is what happens. "Change" is the belief that the past and the future are different. Was it Peter's faith before he ran away or after he ran away? Believing that Jesus died for me is one thing, believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and becoming one with Jesus are two separate things. If you don't become one with Jesus, nothing changes.

The subject of "change" is not me, but God. When God looks directly at the Son of Man lifted up on a pole, He will do so. My task is to become one with Jesus, who died on the cross. In other words, I must realize that the Son of Man lifted up on a pole is not only the Lord who died in my place, but also that I myself died on the pole. When many churches say, "You must change to be saved," how do the listeners perceive it? If I become the subject, my faith will deny Jesus. But when I become the object and become one with the dead Jesus, God will grant me rebirth.

If I become the subject, I will believe that I can only become holy by praying more diligently, practicing my faith more thoroughly, and repenting of my sins daily. Fundamentally, if I fail to become one with the dead Jesus, this kind of religious life is nothing more than a self-serving one.

Regarding "change," those who live a life of faith for themselves may think of it as a gradual, gradual transformation that takes place through gradual effort. However, when we repent and become one with the dead Jesus, that transformation takes place in an instant, like the tearing apart of the temple veil when Jesus died on the cross. Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection are like Moses lifting up the serpent, the Son of Man being lifted up.

And those who realize the venom of the snake has spread repent and become one with the resurrected Son of Man, who was raised high on a pole. When Jesus died on the cross, his suffering was like a serpent twisting and dying. However, the resurrected Jesus shines with glory like a bronze serpent.

Those who believe in Jesus and become one with Him are saved. This is because believers realize that they have been bitten by a serpent. They must become one with Jesus, who died on the cross. The old self must die. Furthermore, those who do not believe that they have been resurrected with Jesus cannot attain salvation.