THE UPLIFTED SERPENT AND THE UPLIFTED CHRIST

1 JOHN 3:14

Sermon of the Week #200604-1-27-06

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. John chapter three is one of the most important interviews to be found in the Word of God; Jesus and Nicodemus. In this interview the Lord spoke of the Old Testament incident of the Brazen serpent, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” This was not a mythological story; Jesus regarded this Old Testament account as a true historical event. He could have chosen many others, but He did choose this event to compare to His own lifting up on the cross.

On the way to the Promised Land Israel had become discouraged because of the way. Not only did they get tired of the way of the Lord, but they also got tired of the food God gave them; manna from Heaven. The Israelites referred to it as light bread. The meaning of light bread was really vile bread. This was an expression of contempt for the food God gave them. The term light bread was a derogatory term. It could be called miserable, worthless, rotten food. They had a longing for the fish from the Nile River which they did eat freely in the land of Egypt. They longed for the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic. All of this rich food helped them generate a race of slaves to serve Pharoah. After God delivered them from bondage and led them across the Red Sea on dry ground, they decided they preferred to live in bondage and eat Pharoah's food, rather than the manna of God that they called miserable, rotten food. What an insult that must have been to God.

This is typical of much of the Lord's people today, who after they have been delivered from the defilements of this world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, decide they prefer to go back into the slavery in the land of spiritual Egypt.

Many Christians today have addicted themselves to every fleshly appetite including the opinions of false teachers, the cucumbers of compromise, the garlic of another gospel, the melons of man to the manna of God. As the Apostle John says, “They love the glory of men more than the glory of God.”

Many of God's people today are enslaved to drugs, pornography, passion, booze, the idolatry of sports, and sexual perversion that Paul calls a vile passion. They have contempt for the bread of God's Word and the weekly observance of the Lord's Supper. Their contempt is shown in their senseless round of activities in entertainment and the constant jibber-jabbering about sports on radio, all the while feeding on the slop of the soaps on television and no time for the bread of life.

At this point today, the same thing happens that happened to ancient Israel; the serpent appears! The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people to bite the people, and much people of Israel died. Don't forget the fiery serpent is still around. In Revelation twelve he is called the great red dragon, the old serpent who is called the Devil and Satan. Actually in the wilderness the serpents had been there all the time. Moses in his farewell address according to Deuteronomy five reminded the people of God's protection before this event. Moses asked, “Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water, who brought forth water out of the rock of flint; who fed thee in the wilderness with manna?”

The fiery serpents were there all the time, but God had protected His people and fed them. When they began to blame God for all their problems, God withdrew His protecting hand and the serpents came. People like to blame God for their problems. One man who had a problem asked me to pray to my God for him. Then he said, “If your God will not answer your prayer in ten days, I am going to kill myself.” These Israelites blamed God also for their problems and accused Him of feeding them rotten food that wasn't fit to eat. That did it! Then God let the serpents take over.

We cannot help but remember that the protective hand of God has been on America from the beginning. When we see that it is politically incorrect to use the name of Jesus Christ in public prayer, the law against prayer in the schools, the offensiveness to say Merry Christmas and the contempt of the inspired Word of God, we wonder how long before it becomes politically incorrect to say or sing on the airways “God Bless America”. After all we must not offend some Godless reprobate. At some point God may withdraw His protective hand from America. Was Nine Eleven the beginning of the end? Could be!

So the serpents came and the bite was painful and deadly. It appears that they died, whether from a bite that was only a slight scratch, or one where the snake got them down and gnawed on them. It was appropriate that the Lord send serpents among the people, after all the enemy of mankind first appeared as a serpent in Genesis in the Garden of Eden. He will appear again in Revelation for a final time where John records, “And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

In the wilderness, if they had been like us, they would have asked Moses to persuade the elders to raise a few million dollars for research. Perhaps, if we spend several million dollars we can develop a serum that will make everybody immune from snakebite. There must be a pill or a shot if we spend enough money. Perhaps, if we organize a snake-fighters league that would be the answer.

They found out there was only one answer and that was God's plan. He said, “Make a serpent of brass and set it on a pole and whoever looks at it will be healed.” No one would have thought of such a thing in a million years. In desperation they turned to God for the answer. The answer was the serpent lifted up on a pole.

According to Jesus, the only answer to the sin-problem today is the uplifted Christ, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so MUST the Son of man be lifted up.” MUST be lifted up. MUST was a favorite word with the Master, “I MUST be in My Father's House. I MUST preach the Kingdom of God to other cities, We MUST work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. I MUST abide in thy house. Other sheep I have which are not of this fold them also I MUST bring and they shall hear My voice.” So here He tells us, “The Son of man MUST be lifted up.” Had the Lord of Glory not been lifted up on the cross, we could never be lifted up to Heaven, “The Son of man MUST be lifted up and you MUST be born again.” Now there are some similarities in the uplifted serpent and the uplifted Christ.

MAKE A SNAKE

First God said, “Make a snake”. The Lord instructed Moses to make a snake, just one, not several. He was not told to make a black snake, a rattlesnake or a copperhead. The people had no choice in the matter; there was just one serpent that was lifted up. There was also one Savior that was lifted up. Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that Moses was only told to make one snake. Remember, Paul said, “There is one body and one Spirit even as ye were called in one hope of your calling. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.”

Listen again, there is only one body or church, one Spirit and His Word is the Bible, there is only one hope. Without Jesus there is no other hope, because there is one Lord and Jesus is His name; one faith, only one saving faith; one baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. One God and Father of all and that God is the God who has an only begotten Son named Jesus who was crucified and raised from the dead. Just one of all seven categories and Jesus made that clear when He said, “No one cometh unto the Father but by Me.” Peter reinforced that thought when he declared, “There is therefore now none other name given among men whereby we must be saved.” Not only did Moses make a snake, he made a brazen snake.

A BRAZEN SNAKE

Moses lifted up a brazen snake. The brazen serpent was God's judgment of the serpent's poison. The serpent that was lifted up had no poison. In a similar manner when Jesus was lifted up He was sinless; tempted in all points like as we are and yet without sin.

The brazen serpent was not a real snake. He was only a symbol. Jesus was the real thing. It was a real man they nailed to the cross. Paul says in Philippians the second chapter, “He took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made after the likeness of men and being fashioned as a man He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Again in Romans eight Paul says, “God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Remember, “He was made to be sin who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” On the cross when He was lifted He felt as though He was guilty of every sin that was ever committed or ever will be committed. He was every rapist, every sex deviate, every murderer, every drunkard, every pimp, every liar, every thief, every extortioner, every hypocrite and every drug-pusher. He was made to be sin. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Moses made a snake; he made a brazen snake. Now notice that Moses lifted up the snake.

LIFT UP THE SNAKE

Moses lifted up the serpent. The Lord said that He must be lifted up also. He was lifted up when He was nailed to the cross. Jesus said “And I, if I be lifted up will draw all men unto Me.” He is also lifted up every time the gospel of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is preached. He is lifted up every time a believing sinner is immersed into Christ for the remission of sins. He is lifted up every time a public prayer is made in the name of Jesus Christ. He is lifted up every time we spend a dollar for the preaching of the gospel.

The serpent is lifted up, so lift up Jesus. Show them the bruised and battered body of the One who was lifted up. How high is the Lord lifted up at the time of the Lord's Supper? How high is He lifted up at the time of the giving of our funds? As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up. And now next note that he told them, “Look at the snake.”

LOOK AT THE SNAKE

They asked God to take away the serpents and God did, but He did it His way. God said, “LOOK at the serpent and you shall be healed.” Such a command would not make sense for many today. There is no natural reason why such a plan would work. There is no scientific proof that such a procedure would work. There is no mathematical equation that could possibly make any sense. Remember Paul said in First Corinthians, “The preaching of the cross is foolishness to them that perish, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. The foolishness of God is wiser than men.” He also explains why some cannot believe when he said, “Now the natural man cannot receiveth the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them because they are spiritually discerned.”

Look at the Christ lifted up in Mathew eleven where John the Baptist sent and asked a very important question, “Art Thou He that cometh or LOOK we for another. Jesus said go tell John what you have seen. When John heard what Jesus had done he knew his search was over.” Those who LOOK at what Jesus has done today have found the most important thing in life. Your search is over. LOOK to Jesus who was lifted up.

The Apostle John said in his nineteenth chapter, “They LOOKED on Him whom they pierced.” Go and LOOK at Jesus in the observance of the Lord's Supper every first day of the week, and LOOK on Him whom you pierced. In the first chapter of John, Andrew and John LOOKED upon Jesus as He walked and followed Him. Jesus asked, “What seek ye?” They asked, “Rabbi where abidest Thou? Jesus said come and see. They came and saw where He abode and they abode with Him that day.” Andrew and John wanted to spend some private time with Jesus. If you are LOOKING for Jesus, you will want to spend some private time with Him each day. Spend private time with Him in the place where you abide.

In Hebrews nine we get a good LOOK at Jesus when we read, “It is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment; so Christ also having been offered once for the sins of the many shall appear a second time apart from sin unto them who LOOK for Him unto salvation.” Are you LOOKING for Jesus to return?

Then Jude has a wonderful word of encouragement when he tells us, “Building up your selves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, LOOKING for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

One sure way to get a good LOOK at Jesus is to read the eighty-nine chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Almost half of the New Testament tells the story of Jesus and the theme of the whole story can be told in John chapter three, verse fourteen, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” Read the four gospels and get a good LOOK at Jesus who was lifted up.

The ground around the cross is level. The scholar stands there beside the High School dropout, the billionaire stands there with the person who works for minimum wage. All are equal before God because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. LOOK at the foot of the cross and you see the Apostle Paul who said he was the chief of sinners and beside him is Cornelius who prayed always and gave much alms to the people. The ground is level at the cross.

LOOK to the uplifted Christ on the cross and be healed. Don't LOOK to the preacher. Don't LOOK to your denomination. LOOK to Jesus. Don't LOOK at the hypocrites. LOOK to Jesus. Don't LOOK at yourself. LOOK to Jesus. LOOK to the uplifted Christ.

They were not told to LOOK at Moses or LOOK to the serpent on the pole. We are not to LOOK to Moses. There is no salvation in Moses or the law of Moses. Paul said, “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.” Moses cannot save anyone. LOOK to Jesus on the cross. They were not told to pray to the serpent, but “LOOK at the serpent.” Some think they have to pray for salvation. Praying for salvation to be saved just won't do it. God wants to save you. He has provided the means; He just wants you to accept what He is willing to give you. Stop praying for it and accept it. LOOK and live!

You don't have to beg God to save you. He is ready to do it. Believe in Jesus and obey as Jesus Himself would say, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.” Believe and obey. How about what the same Apostle tells us in Titus, “We are to LOOK for the blessed hope and appearing of the great God our Savior who gave Himself up for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity.” The day will come when all men saved and lost will LOOK up and see the Christ who was lifted up on the cross.

As a final reminder, John tells us in Revelation chapter one, “Behold He cometh with the clouds and every eye shall see Him, yea and they that pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth shall mourn because of Him. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”