Lifted Up!

Lifted Up!

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 KJV

The Context:

There are at least two sides to this story. First, it came from the encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus, one of the rulers of the Pharisees. He, along with members of his sect, had seen Jesus at work. From his testimony, they all knew he was from God, and could not do all the things he did except God was with him. Yet, not all of them took the step of faith to make the approach this man made. Knowledge is never enough when it comes to salvation; there is a step a man who will enjoy salvation must take, and it is to come to the one who offers salvation full and free. The devil knows scripture and used it when he came to tempt Jesus; knowledge is not enough. I must take the step to accept that Jesus is the only one who can save, and align my life and its decisions accordingly. 

The second part to this story, also related to the above, is the story Jesus told here. At a time, there was sin in the camp, and due to the rebellion of the people, God sent venomous snakes among the people, several of whom died. What was the cure: a bronze snake made like the ones that bit the people was lifted up on a pole, and the ONE thing required of anyone who wanted to live was to LOOK UP. Nothing else: just look. As simple as that sounds, the bible records that as many as looked, lived. It means that either due to assumptions, carelessness or nonchalance, some did not look, and they died. Just as the Pharisees knew yet did not do what was required to get life, so also did some of the Israelites refuse to look up and also died. We can spend all our lives blaming God for how life has turned out, or we could take advantage of the gift of life he has made available to us. As always, the choice is mine to make, and the consequences are as God has already determined them. The wages of sin are always death, no matter the education of the generation or its general acceptance or applause of all that is sinful. 

The Message:

Oh, how similar those days to what we have today. God has made it clear what the wages of sin are, yet we act like we are immune to those wages. We think that due to our sincere hearts and fervent devotion, we can escape the wrath of God that is linked to sin. God's direct prescription for sin has been made clear from creation, and nothing I do can change it. He is not asking me to look up to anyone else or to anything I can bring to the table; all he is asking me to do is trust in his finished work and enjoy all that he has sealed. 

God's instructions for healing, deliverance and life are tied up in his Son, Jesus, who was lifted up on the cross, so that all who look up to him can be saved. That which caused death was also the same thing that led to life in the desert. The focus here isn't so much as the symbol, but the obedience to the instruction. Even if an ordinary stick was placed on the pole, and God asked the people to look up, obedience would guarantee life. There was a lifting up in the desert, there was a lifting up on Mount Calvary, and there has to be a lifting up of Jesus in my life so that I can enjoy the life his own life has sealed for me. 

The Response:

The message in the desert is still similar to the message in these contemporary times: there is true life only through the son. The only thing I am asked to do is to look up in faith and believe. All the good works I may plead don't count until I have believed. All the wonderful works I may engage in only become important when they are founded on faith in Jesus. My faith in Jesus has eternal consequences. It does not end down here at all. 

The Saviour of the world has been lifted up. God has made him known and continues to make him known. The events of Calvary and all that God did through those events are known to all men. The plan is eternal life for all men. The channel is the son of God, and the activation code is faith in the son of God. The reward is eternal life and the price for rejecting this gift is eternal damnation. Now that you know, whatever choice you make becomes your eternal reality. Make sure it is the correct one. His time of favour is here.