At the foot of one of the greatest verses in the Bible, John 3:16, lies an equally great treasure to be found. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "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." Jn. 3:14-15 According to Christ, the serpent that Moses lifted up on a pole was a symbolic picture of him on the cross. At first look it is difficult see how that could be. But upon closer examination we will see the beauty of our Redeemer in a most wonderful way.

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." Nu. 21:8 The people were about to perish because they had sinned. God told Moses to make a "fiery serpent" and set it upon a pole, and the people simply had to look at it to live. How could the words "fiery serpent" be symbolic of Christ on the cross? Let's look at the word "fiery" first. It says that Moses made a serpent of brass and put it on a pole. How do we get a fiery appearance from a brass serpent? Well God could have supernaturally caused the appearance of fire. Once as I was giving thought to this, I was trying to picture this brass serpent on the pole, and in my mind it lit up with the reflection of the sun on it. I believe that is it. Can you picture the reflection of the sun on it in your mind?  It may have been shining so brightly they could not even look directly into it. Now how could this fiery appearance be symbolic of Christ? Where did Moses see fire before? God appeared to Moses as a flame of fire shining from the midst of a bush.  "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed." Ex. 3:2 The word "angel" here simply means "a messenger" If you continue to read, it is clearly God who appears to Moses as a flame of fire. "Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." Ex. 3:6 The "fiery" appearance on the pole is symbolic of the Deity of Christ. That is to say that Jesus is God. The same one who appeared to Moses as a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush was eventually born into the human race. This was Jesus. Jesus is complete man and complete God.  He is Emanuel, which means God with us. How then does the serpent fit into the picture? The answer is found in the book of Galatians. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:" Gal. 3:13 The answer is, He was made a curse for us by the Father placing our sin upon him. Moses is known as the old testament "Law Giver".  The same hands that carried down the "Law" (and it's penalty) was told "make" a serpent on the pole. He hammered it (or afflicted it) until it became the shape of a serpent, which represents the curse. It was made a curse upon the pole. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us. God the Father has placed the penalty for our sin upon Him. Those of us who have looked to Jesus have been given everlasting life. We have life in Christ. The curse has been removed.  "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. 8:1-2

The focus of this ministry is the deity of Christ. That is to say, Jesus is God in the flesh. To those who might think differently, I say, Look again! "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Mt. 1:23

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