In Numbers 21, we encounter a powerful foreshadowing of the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross. The Israelites, weary and frustrated from their journey in the wilderness, speak out against God and Moses. Their grumbling leads to the punishment of poisonous snakes, which bite many of the people, causing death. Desperate, the people cry out to Moses, asking for God’s mercy. In response, God instructs Moses to craft a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. Anyone who looks at the serpent is healed and spared from death (Numbers 21:4-9).
While this account might seem strange at first, it holds profound significance in God’s divine plan for salvation. The bronze serpent is a clear symbol, pointing to a future event—the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As the Israelites looked to the serpent for healing, so too would the world look to Jesus, lifted up on the cross, for spiritual healing and eternal life.
The Bronze Serpent as a Foreshadowing of Jesus
In John 3:14, Jesus Himself draws the connection between the bronze serpent and His crucifixion: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” Jesus, in this moment, reveals that His death on the cross would be the ultimate fulfillment of the healing symbolized by the bronze serpent. Just as the Israelites needed only to look at the serpent to be healed physically, so we, through faith, need only to look to Jesus to receive spiritual healing from the bite of sin and eternal death.
The bronze serpent was not just a symbol of physical healing, but it pointed to the greater spiritual healing that would come through Christ. The people of Israel had to look to the serpent in faith, trusting that God would fulfill His promise of healing. Similarly, we must look to Jesus in faith, trusting that through His sacrifice on the cross, our sins are forgiven, and we are made whole.
The Healing Power of the Cross
The bronze serpent was an instrument of salvation in the wilderness, but it was not the serpent itself that had the power to heal. It was God’s power and the faith of those who looked upon it that brought healing. In the same way, the cross of Christ holds no power in itself, but it is through His sacrifice that we find healing for our souls.
Jesus was lifted up on the cross, taking on the punishment for our sins. He became the sin-bearer, absorbing God’s wrath so that we might be reconciled to God. The imagery of the bronze serpent serves as a reminder that healing and salvation are found only through looking to Jesus, who bore our sins in His own body, that we might be healed and made whole.
A Call to Look to Jesus
Just as the Israelites needed to look at the bronze serpent to be healed, we too are called to look to Jesus for healing. The cross is not just a symbol of suffering, but a symbol of God’s love and provision. In our moments of struggle, despair, and spiritual sickness, we are reminded that the answer is always found in Jesus. By faith, we can look to Him and find the healing, forgiveness, and restoration that our souls desperately need.
The bronze serpent lifted in the wilderness points to the glorious work of Jesus on the cross. As we reflect on this powerful image, let us be reminded of God’s great love for us and the ultimate healing that comes through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
