(Article for publication week of 7-17- AD 2014)
"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" (John 3:14-15).
According to the Lord Himself, the brazen serpent
that Moses put on a pole was a type of Himself. We read the account in Numbers
21 and the reader is invited to go and read. The Israelites sinned against God
by murmuring and complaining. (You need to know that complaining is a grievous
sin.) God sent fiery serpents among them to punish them, and many of them died.
When they began to confess their sin and cry out for deliverance, God commanded
Moses to put a brazen serpent on a pole and all who looked up to that serpent
were healed from the deadly poison in their body.
Now here is a
picture of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ Alone. The
Lord Jesus Christ said as much. The bitten Israelites are typical of us in our
lost condition. We have the deadly venom
of sin in us. It has already wrought death in us, and it is only a
matter of time before it will bring us down to eternal death. The brazen
serpent is typical of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ says so. You may be
wondering , "how can a serpent be typical of the Lovely Son of God?"
Well, in this way: Christ was made sin for us (II Corinthians 5:21), and a
curse for us (Galatians 3:13). When He was lifted up on the cross it was as a
Substitute, and as a sin bearer for His people. Now, Christ says that the
Israelites who looked to the brazen serpent and lived are typical of sinners
who look to Christ and live.
There is life in
a look, and nowhere else! Now you read carefully, and go back and read these
two passages the Lord has given you as illustrative of saving faith. As the
bitten Israelites were certain to die except they looked to the brazen serpent,
so you are condemned to death unless you look to God's only remedy for your
condition, His only begotten Son. The bitten Israelites were as good as dead,
with poison in their veins, and so you are as good as dead and hell bound. But
glory be to God, any Israelite who would look to the serpent was healed of his
deadly wounds! So, any sinner feeling the poison of sin in his very soul, the
moment he looks to Christ who was made a curse for us, that sinner will be
healed and shall have eternal life.
Looking to
Christ is a principle act of saving faith, and we see it wonderfully
illustrated by the bitten Israelites looking to the brazen serpent. They didn't
have to climb the pole, all they did was look to the serpent on the pole. They
did not have to see the brazen serpent clearly, all they had to do was look to
it. Those furthest from the pole were healed as certainly as those right beside
it. Whether they understood how and why they were healed, they were still
healed if they would but look. So it is with looking to the Crucified One. He
asks you to do no works, just look to Himself. Even if you can't clearly see
Christ, you are still saved by looking to Him. Those who are far off by their
sins or their station may still look to Christ and be saved. Even if you don't
understand how Christ accomplishes all this, just look to Him and live. As the
Israelites who looked to the brazen serpent were instantaneously healed, so
poor sinner , you will be saved the very moment you look to Christ.
There is life in
a look, and nowhere else. I bid you look to Christ and be saved.
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