gospel

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life." Jesus said this to a man called Nicodemus.

To fully understand these words of Jesus, we need to go to the account of Moses in the wilderness. (Numbers 21)

Here is what happened, the Israelites fought against the Canaanites and won. God gave the Canaanites over to the Israelites.

Then they went further on their journey.
But because they could not obtain passage through the land of Edom, the nearest way, they became impatient and spoke against God and against Moses.

They sinned against God.

God delivered them out of slavery in Egypt and they despised it.

Then God sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites, and they bit the Israelites and many of them died.

So the people went to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Ask God to take the snakes away from us."

Then Moses went to God and asked Him to take the snakes away.
But God told Moses to make a snake out of bronze and then to place it on top of a pole. Anyone who gets bitten by a snake can look up at the bronze snake and he will live.

He won't die.

Moses did what God said and made a bronze snake and put it on a pole.
And everyone who were bitten by a snake and looked up at the bronze snake on the pole, lived.

They didn't die. Even though they were bitten by a poisonous snake, they lived.

Jesus said that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so He also must be lifted up.

Why?

To safe us.
To safe us from death.
To safe us from our sins.

In the book of Romans it's written, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." A few chapters on Paul wrote, "The wages of sin is death…"

The snakes in the wilderness caused the Israelites to die.
And like the snakes our sin will cause us to die.
The wages of sin is death.

But God had a plan.
God always has a plan.

His plan was this: Let us take the thing, sin, that causes the death of people and let us put it on a pole, on a cross, and everyone who looks up at the sin on the cross shall live!

Paul wrote the following to the Corinthians," God made the One (Jesus) who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become God's righteousness in Him."

The wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We won't die if we look to Jesus.
We will have eternal life if we look to Jesus.

Isaiah 45:22 "Look unto Me, and be saved."

Just as the Israelites looked up to the snake on the pole and lived, may you look up to Jesus who paid for your sin on a cross and receive His life and His righteousness and His forgiveness. May you look up to Jesus and be saved! May you put your trust and your hope and your faith in the One who gave His life for you so that you may live! May you give your life to Jesus and follow Him!

If you would like to make a commitment to God and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour then pray this from your heart:

God, I realise I have no real life without You. I realise that You love me and You gave Your Son Jesus to die for me. Jesus, I need everything Your death and resurrection has made available to me including salvation. I am looking to You to safe me Lord. Jesus save me right now; forgive me for all my sin and wash away my sin and shame with Your blood; make me brand new! Thank you for saving me Lord. I declare that I am now Your child and I now call You Father. My hope is in You Jesus.

Amen