Grace and Snakes

John 3:14-15

And 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.





Numbers 21:4-9

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.



The people sinned by rebelling against God and against Moses, God’s anointed leader. God sent snakes among the people as a reminder of His authority. When the people confessed and repented, God by His grace provided a way for the people to be delivered and be saved. God had Moses make a bronze snake and put it on a pole, and as the bronze snake was lifted up and a person bitten by the snakes looked at the bronze snake, he would be healed.      



Jesus says that in the same way, when the Son of Man, Jesus, is lifted up and a person believes in Him, that person will be saved.



The verb lifted up has a dual meaning:



First, it means to be crucified.



John 12:32

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.



Second, it means to be glorified and exalted.



John 12:23

And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”



The cross of Jesus was not the end of His glory; it was the means of His glory.



The answer with the serpents for the people of Israel was not:

Killing the serpents

Making medicine to cure the snake bites

Pretending the snakes were not there

Passing anti-snake laws

Climbing the pole



The solution to the problem was obeying God and looking by faith at the uplifted serpent.



The whole world has been bitten by sin.



Romans 3:23

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.



The penalty of sin is death.



Romans 6:23a

For the wages of sin is death.



So just as the rebellion of the people of Israel against God led to death, the rebellion of each human being also leads to death.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being honest about our sin and realizing that it is so serious that it leads to death.



But just as the lifted of serpent would bring salvation and healing when by faith the people looked at it, so the lifted-up Jesus would bring salvation when by faith a person puts their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.



Romans 3:24

And are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:23b

But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.



The solution to our sin problem is not:

Condemning those who sin

Made-man solutions to solve the sin problem

Pretending there is no such thing as sin

Making laws to prohibit sin

Working really hard not to sin



The solution is, by faith, trusting God to save us based on the grace of Jesus through His finished work on the cross.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is not trusting ourselves to deal with sin but trusting God’s grace to deal with sin.



God’s grace provided a savior, Jesus, to be our atoning sacrifice for sin.



In God’s Grace Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                          Joe