How would the Son be like "the snake in the wilderness"? John 3:14
John 3:14 New International Version (NIV) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[a] Footnotes: John 3:14 The Greek for lifted up also means exalted.
John 3:14
ESV - 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
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Asked May 01 2020
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
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Tim Maas
Supporter
When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt, the people continually grumbled and rebelled against Moses (and, by extension, against God, who had appointed Moses to his position of leadership), despite the miraculous manner in which God had freed them from their Egyptian captivity. On one such occasion, God punished the Israelites for their rebellion by sending poisonous serpents among the people. When the Israelites cried for help, God told Moses to fashion a serpent of bronze, and then to mount the bronze serpent on a pole where the people could see it from a distance. When a person was bitten by one of the poisonous serpents, if he then looked at the bronze serpent mounted on the pole, he would not die as a result of the serpent's bite. In the passage cited in the question, Jesus was comparing the manner in which the bronze serpent was lifted up to the manner in which He Himself would be "lifted up" (a euphemism for crucifixion, which raised the person being executed off the ground) to pay the penalty for people's sins, and to save those who looked to Him by placing their faith in Him (rather than in their own imperfect righteousness) in order to be forgiven of their sins, and to be granted eternal life in God's presence, rather than being eternally separated from Him. Although the term "lifted up" was referring (as noted) to Jesus' crucifixion, it could also be construed to have a double meaning referring to the way in which the sacrificial nature of Jesus' death resulted in his being "lifted up" (in the sense of being exalted) because of the redemption that He achieved by His death and resurrection (as noted by Paul in Philippians 2:9).
Aurel Gheorghe
Supporter
Jesus chose a snake as a figure of Himself for a reason. The children of Israel while wandering in the wilderness sin against God and they were bitten by fiery serpents (Num 21:4-7). They could do nothing to save themselves from certain death- they were hopelessly lost. But in Numbers 21:8 we read how God told Moses to uplift a likeness of one of those deadly snakes and everyone who looked upon the serpent was to be healed. All who looked in faith upon the snake lived - those who refused died. How could a snake represent Jesus? The answer is found in 2 Corinthians 5:21. The Son of God was lifted on the cross in the likeness of sinful people. He was made in our likeness and took our place in order that everyone who look in faith upon Him will live (Phil 2:6).
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