LIFTED UP

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 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.”

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:12-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion from the opening verses of John 3, we found Jesus offering instruction and imparting wisdom on a man who was supposed to be the one imparting godly knowledge on other, a man named Nicodemus who the scriptures told us was a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish ruling council.

You’ll recall that Jesus told Nicodemus that the kingdom of heaven could not be attained unless someone was reborn through the Spirit, not just any spirit but the Holy Spirit. When Nicodemus failed to grasp what he was being taught, we found Jesus questioning how he couldn’t discern the spiritual depth of the conversation when he was seen as Israel’s teacher (John 3:10).

As we continue to look at the words of Jesus in John 3, we find Him providing even more education, expanding on entry into the kingdom of heaven by telling Nicodemus how one could be lifted up to that place and by what authority that lifting up would happen. Look again at our passage for today here:

I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the One who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 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.”

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:12-16

Remember how Nicodemus was trying to use his own reasoning when trying to figure out what Jesus meant when He said one would have to be born again, a reasoning that had him wondering how someone could reenter their mother’s womb. Of course, we know Jesus wasn’t talking about a physical rebirth but a spiritual one and He saw Nicodemus’ main problem was a lack of belief and trust in what He was telling him. And so we find Jesus trying to use another angle to get His point across and in an attempt to help Nicodemus understand, He draws from an Old Testament legend, Moses, who any prominent Jew would be very familiar with.

Going back to the Book of Numbers (Chapter 21), we find the Israelites falling into disobedience and disrespect for God while on their exodus from Egypt to Canaan. Most of their disrespect was centered on complaining and speaking out against God who they saw as leading them out into the wilderness to die from starvation. As far as the Israelites saw it, God had delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh right into the arms of death. Some even started to think they would have been better off if they had never left Egypt in the first place.

Well, as you would guess, this didn’t exactly set well with God who sent venomous snakes to attack the Israelites, many of which died as a result. The ones who survived ran to Moses and confessed their sins against God, asking for Moses to intercede for them in prayer. Moses did just that and as a result, the Lord gave him a solution to the snake bite problem. Moses was to fashion a snake out of bronze and then put it up on a pole. Anyone who would get bit by a snake needed only to look up at the bronze snake while it was lifted up and they would be miraculously spared.

What did that to do with Jesus and what He was trying to convey to Nicodemus?

Jesus tells us with these words:

“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.”

Here Jesus is giving Nicodemus a snap shot of what is yet to come by looking into the past. Of course, we know that He was speaking about His own resurrection and ascension after His earthly ministry had ended. And just as people were saved when they looked at the elevated snake, anyone who placed their trust and belief in the Son of Man (Jesus) would be lifted up just as He was into eternal life.

OK, that all sounds great by who made this even a possibility?

For the answer, we only need to turn to God, the Author and Maker of all things. John shares this about what God did for all mankind through Jesus:

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Why did Jesus come to do what He did in bearing the sins of all through allowing Himself to be a sacrificial atoning sacrifice and in doing so give God’s people an opportunity for salvation?

He did it because it was the will of God the Father who gave up His Son out of love so those who believe in Him would not have to perish but rather find eternal life, the message at the heart of what arguably is one of the beloved and well known verses in the Bible.

All this leads to one closing question:

Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?

If so, then you will find yourself lifted up to live with Him and God the Father forever, a promise born out of the deep love God had and has for all His people.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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