05/28/2026
The Brazen serpent…
There is a moment in the Old Testament that seems strange the first time you read it.
The people of Israel had sinned, and poisonous serpents began biting them in the wilderness.
The bites were deadly.
People were dying.
There was no cure.
No medicine.
No human way to remove the poison already inside them.
Then God tells Moses to do something unexpected.
“Make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. Anyone who looks at it will live.”
At first, it almost sounds confusing.
Why a serpent?
Why bronze?
Why would healing come simply by looking?
But centuries later, Jesus reveals the meaning behind the entire story.
He says:
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”
Suddenly, everything changes.
This story was never just about snakes.
It was always about Jesus.
The serpent represented the curse destroying the people.
Bronze throughout Scripture often symbolizes judgment.
God was showing that the curse itself would be judged publicly so healing could come to everyone who looked in faith.
And that is exactly what happened at the cross.
Jesus did not become sinful…
but He became sin for us.
The full weight of shame, guilt, judgment, and death was placed upon Him so life could be given to us.
And notice something beautiful:
The people were not told to heal themselves first.
They were not told to become worthy.
Not told to clean themselves up.
Not told to earn mercy.
They were simply told:
Look.
That is the Gospel.
Look and live.
Not strive and live.
Not perform and live.
Not pretend and live.
Look to Jesus and live.
Religion constantly points people back to themselves.
Their failures.
Their weakness.
Their effort.
Their inability to be perfect.
But grace points somewhere else entirely.
To Christ.
The Israelites were not healed because they looked perfectly.
They were healed because of what they were looking at.
And the same is true today.
So many people stay trapped in shame because they keep staring at their wounds instead of the Savior.
They replay their mistakes.
Measure their failures.
Wonder if they can ever become good enough for God.
But Jesus never said:
“Fix yourself first.”
He said:
“Come to Me.”
The cross was never a partial solution.
When Jesus said,
“It is finished,”
He meant the debt was fully paid.
The curse was dealt with completely.
The work was accomplished once and for all.
And maybe someone reading this needs to hear this today:
Your past does not define you anymore.
Your failures do not get the final word.
Your wounds are not stronger than His grace.
You do not overcome darkness by obsessing over darkness.
You overcome by fixing your eyes on the Savior who defeated it.
The invitation today is the same as it was in the wilderness:
Look to Jesus.
And live.
