Day 35--the Bronze Serpent

'Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived.'

NUMBERS 21:9

Yes, this one is pretty odd. So the Jews were walking around the desert for a very long time after Moses got them out of Egypt, and they became impatient and began speaking against God, so God sent snakes to them and many died. So the Jews tell God 'oh no, we're really sorry, please stop this!' and what does God do? He commissions Moses to make a bronze serpent, just like the ones that were biting the people, and lift it up on a pole, and those who looked at it were healed.

Symbolism much? Just to give you an idea...

Does it look familiar? Ringing any bells? Anyone? Anyone?

LET ME GIVE YOU A HINT--

BOOM!

The bronze snake is lifted up so the people  could be healed of the attack of the snake. The Son of God, Jesus, is lifted up on a cross so that we can be healed of the attack of the snake--the devil, sin. And why is a snake the cure for snake bite? Well, it's not that the snake is the cure--it's that the snake up in the pole is rendered powerless. And our sins, nailed up in that cross, are rendered  powerless!! Jesus, the Lamb, the blameless victim, is covered in our sins--he rips them away from us and takes them up on his shoulders and up to be crucified with Him. 

This is why, in today's gospel, Jesus tells the Jews 'When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He' (John 8:28). When we look up at the crucified Christ, lifted up in humiliation, we see how great is His love! A symbol of death,  the most horrible method of torture and humiliation became to us the biggest demonstration of the most pure, beautiful, overwhelming love of God, stretching up His arms towards us, shedding every drop of His blood for us, who can never possibly deserve it. Breaking our chains, setting us free, healing our wounds, giving us the peace we so long for. That is the awful and awe-striking truth of the cross.