Introduction: Scripture Reading- Colossians 2:16-18
- Explain the series (Shadows; types and anti-types)
- Shadows are not the real thing. God wanted to lead the Israelites from shadows to substance. Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
- Read Colossians 2:8-3:3
- Read Numbers 21:1-5
- The bronze serpent lifted up in the wilderness by Moses was a powerful symbol of God’s provision for physical healing and points to the ultimate healing through Christ's death on the cross.
I. The Israelites' Sin and Judgment
- Numbers 21:6: The people were bitten by fiery serpents as a judgment for their sin and disobedience.
- Sin brings death and separation from God, symbolized by the serpent.
- Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
- Student on cell phone during class.
- God will punish sin, but there is hope.
II. God's Remedy – The Bronze Serpent
- Numbers 21:8: God instructed Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up, so that anyone who looked at it would live.
- Was God instructing Moses to build or construct an idol for the people to worship? No, He was simply offering a way of healing or redemption from the sin of rejecting Him and His guidance. He was giving them an opportunity to turn their focus from sin back to Him. This shows that God always offers a choose and a way out if we choose to turn back to Him.
- The bronze serpent represents Christ, who would be lifted up on the cross (John 3:14-15).
- Jesus is teaching Nicodemus after he asks a question [v. 1-9] (v. 10, didaskolos- an instructor or teacher)
III. Jesus Lifted Up on the Cross
- John 3:14-21: Just as the serpent was lifted up, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
- Numbers 21:8-9 “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
- There was absolutely no power in the physical brass serpent. The power came from God and the offering of healing was granted ONLY when they believed and obeyed by looking up and seeing the brass serpent.
- The same is true with the offering that God extends to all, Jew and Gentile alike today. There was no power in the physical wooden cross Jesus was hung on. [John 3:16, Rom. 5:15-21, Heb. 5:8-9, Rom. 6:1-23, James 2:14-17]
- Christ’s crucifixion brings healing from the serpent of sin and eternal death. God is instructing man that his focus should be on God and not the physical things of this world. We do this by being obedient to His commands.
- 1) Hear the Word (Rom. 10:17)
2) Believe (“without faith it is impossible to please Him.” -Heb. 11:6)
3) Repent of sins; turn away and be committed not to live in sin or as a servant to sin any longer (Acts 17:30, Rom. 6)
4) Confess faith before men (Acts 8; Ethiopian eunuch)
5) Be immersed in water (I Pet. 3:21)
6) Arise a new creature, committed to live faithful unto death.
IV. The Problem of Idolatry
- How did later Israelites respond to the brass serpent? 2 Kings 18:1-5
- How does man respond to Jesus on the cross?: The “True Cross”
- St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great; pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 326 A.D.; looking for the “True Cross” or the cross Jesus died on.
- Led to the Catholic church selling pieces of wood, claiming it was from the “True Cross.” John Calvin argued that it would be impossible, and they would run out of wood. The argument against this was that it was like Jesus and the miracle of the loaves and fishes, they were selling bottomless or all you can buy pieces of wood. [War to regain the “True Cross” from Muslims.]
- What was the shape of the cross at the time Jesus was crucified: it is irrelevant, because the physical wooden cross, has no religious meaning to God or the first century Christians. Rather, it was the act itself of THE Christ or THE anointed one becoming THE Savior. [Gal. 6:14 & 16 “v. 14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. v. 16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”]
- What is the remedy to the idolatry problem during Hezekiah’s reign?: He destroyed the idol(s) and “trusted in the LORD God of Israel.” As king of Judah, he had authority to go through the land and do that. Can we destroy every persons’ physical idol, no, but we can destroy any in our lives and TRUST in the LORD God of spiritual Israel today (the church).
-Again, this is about turning our focus from the physical world back to God and the things above (Col. 3).
Conclusion:
- Just as the Israelites were saved by faith and obedience in looking to the bronze serpent, we are saved by faith and obedience in looking to Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins.
- Just as the Israelites had the opportunity to reject this “free gift” of God, we too have the opportunity reject the “free gift” of the offer of salvation through the death of Jesus. This is true the first time we hear about the offering to become a Christian and we can reject it after we become a Christian. (“I no long want this gift, so I’m going to throw it away.”)
- Invitation: What is your choice or decision today? Faithful obedience through accepting the offer of salvation or disobedience through rejection? If you want to receive the reward of salvation and ultimately heaven, then why not choose Christ today?!