As we move through Lent, we are exploring our identity in Christ. Each week members of Saint Luke have been sharing reflections here on our blog. We’ve been challenged and encouraged already by the thoughts shared and this week is no different. Enjoy today’s reflection by Bob Mitchell & return back on Wednesday evening to discuss it with us on Zoom.
I Am Healed
As a child, I remember seeing a garter snake slithering along our backyard. I remember I ran away scared, and despite my mother calmly telling me that it was harmless, I wasn’t convinced. To this day I dislike snakes. I dislike them almost as much as I dislike spiders, tornadoes, and lima beans!
What do snakes have to do with this week’s Lenten Lesson?
In Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites were walking from Mount Hor to the Red Sea on their journey to the Promised Land. They were complaining and saying some pretty nasty things about God and Moses. God had had enough. He sent venomous snakes down to the people. The snakes bit the Israelites, and some of the people died. Then the people cried to Moses, “We sinned when we spoke against God and you. Pray that God will take the snakes away from us.” Moses prayed for the people. Then God told Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So, Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. When anyone was bitten by a snake, they looked up at the bronze snake on the pole and lived.
In John 3: 14-15, we read that just as Moses lifted the snake up on a pole, God’s Son must also be lifted up in order that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. John sees the story from Numbers as a parable about Jesus. In Numbers, the snake was lifted up; people looked at it, their faith returned to God, and they were healed. John says that Jesus also must be lifted up, and when people turn to him, they will be healed and will have eternal life.
The lifted-up reference in John has two meanings:
Jesus being lifted up on the Cross, and
Jesus lifted into glory, after his death and when he ascended into heaven
For Jesus, the Cross was the way to glory. He, first, refused it. He’d taken steps to evade it. And, he tried to escape the Cross, and if he had done so, there would have been no glory.
It’s the same for us. We can refuse the cross, but if we do, we miss the glory that follows. It’s through faith that we are healed.
God cares and loves us so much! God wants to forgive us and heal us from our sin.
The lifting up of the snake and the lifting up of Christ, both lead to the healing of God’s people. In Numbers, when the people looked up at the snake and had faith, they were healed. So, too, Jesus took our sin with him when he was lifted up on the Cross. And through his Love for us, we are healed.
Thanks Be to God!
God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
PONDER & SHARE
How do we overlook Christ’s Cross in our daily lives?
How have you been healed from sin by having faith and trusting in God?