Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland
Pastor: Colin Maxwell. Email: colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org
EVEN SO MUST THE SON OF MAN BE LIFTED UP
THE ONLINE EDITION OF OUR GOSPEL BOOKLET
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF INCIDENT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT (NUMBERS 21:1-9)
1
And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell
that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against
Israel, and took some of them prisoners. 2 And Israel vowed a vow
unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into
my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3 And the LORD
hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and
they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of
the place Hormah. 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way
of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people
was much discouraged because of the way. 5 And the people spake
against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of
Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there
any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the LORD
sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much
people of Israel died.7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and
said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against
thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And
Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make
thee a fieryserpent, 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. 9 And Moses made a
serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if
a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he
lived.
SPIRITUAL APPLICATION OF INCIDENT BY JESUS CHRIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (JOHN 3:14-21)
14 And as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish,
but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the
name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every
one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest
his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are
wrought in God.
THE GOSPEL APPLICATION IN THE “LIFTING UP OF THE SERPENT IN THE WILDERNESS”
*The
account in Numbers 21 is of a real, historical incident in the life of
Moses, the man of God. It is dated from around 1453 BC and took place,
south of the modern state of Israel. It is not to be dismissed as
a mere legend or teaching device. Everything in it is literal including
the miracle from which Christ drew His spiritual lesson.
* In
both incidents, there is a reference to the sins of the people. In
Numbers 21, they murmured against God. In John 3 we read that men
love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Man is
ever the guilty sinner. He carries not only the guilt of original sin,
but his own guilt when he violates the Law of God. It is this that
makes the message of this booklet so vital. We have all sinned and come
short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23)
* Death
soon followed after the sin of the people in Numbers 21. Such is the
wages of sin (Romans 6:23) There cannot be one without the other. It
really is cause and effect: We sin, therefore we die. The inviolable
holiness of God demands that it is so.
* In
neither case are those who are perishing deserving of anything less or
anything else. What is about to happen comes to us purely on the basis
of the FREE GRACE of God. Had God left us to perish in our sins, then
none of us could ever complain. Mercy and grace cannot, by their
very definitions, be deserved, earned or bought. Truly we can say: “O the LOVE that drew salvation’s plan.”
* As
folk were perishing, God graciously intervened to save their lives. In
Numbers 21 He commanded that a brass serpent be lifted up for the
salvation of the people. The Lord Jesus applied this to His own death
upon the Cross, when He was lifted up at Calvary. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. (John 12:32-33) This is God’s provision for us, as John 3:16 shows.
* The
provision having been made, it was made effectual by the look of faith.
Those who believed God looked to the brass serpent which He had
ordered. They did not look to themselves or to Moses or any of the
religious establishment, but to the one place where God signified .
This was
not unreasonable, although reason itself could not explain it. It is
enough to faith that God has said it and it is ever most logical to
faith to obey. It is not unreasonable to look to Christ for our
salvation.
* Those
who so looked were healed immediately. The deadly sting was halted in
its tracks and full health returned. Those who look in faith to Jesus
Christ alone also find healing for their sin sick souls.
* Everything in Numbers 21 is local in its content. However, the word whosoever in Christ’s explanation in John 3 shows that His death and salvation has a universal aspect to it. You need to be saved. You can be today.
THE END