John 3:14-15 – And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
When the Israelites were bitten by serpents in the wilderness Moses was told to make a serpent of brass and lift it up on a pole. All who looked at it were healed. Our Lord draws a comparison between those who looked and those who will look to Him on the cross. In this sense “seeing” is truly “believing.
The similarities of the lifting are apparent. The serpent of brass represented their sin, as did Jesus when He died for us. He was made “sin for us, who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21). It also represented their suffering. The serpent was the very thing causing them the pain and death. Sin brings death. Sin demands a payment of death. Jesus made the payment so we don’t have to.
Thank God for the simplicity of the looking. Man got into trouble because of a look (Eve “saw that the tree was good for food” – Gen. 3:6). And he can only be restored by a look – looking to Christ! You can look from anywhere. You don’t have to be in a church, a temple, or so called “holy place.” You can look without any effort. There are no works involved. Salvation is “by grace through faith.” But you must look to Christ – it is an exclusive look. Looking at the cross, the soldiers, the disciples, Mary, or anyone else will not do. You must be willing to look to Jesus.
The seriousness of the look cannot be over emphasized. Time is running out. The biggest cause of death is birth! You are going to die, and if you shut your eyes to Christ now, you will open them in hell later. A man remarked to boy about his watch, “That’s a fine watch, does it tell you the time?” The boy replied, “No sir, you gotta look at it.” Jesus died for you on the cross, but you must be willing to look to Him!
