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Speaking Sound Doctrine |
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In John 3, Jesus, speaking
to Nicodemus, uses a type of figurative language
called double entendre that utilizes a play on words with multiple
meanings. First He says this:
John 3:3 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The word translated
"again" can mean "over again, anew" or "from
above." Nicodemus is only thinking
carnally, so he does not grasp the spiritual implication. Then Jesus says more:
John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear
the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
Here, the words "wind"
and "spirit" are translating the same original Greek word, so Nicodemus,
still confused, just says to Jesus, "How can these things be?" (verse
9).
Finally, Jesus adds even
more word-play with the following statement:
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
The word translated
"lifted up" means, literally, to be raised to a higher physical position,
but figuratively, it means to be exalted to a position of honor. However, as Jesus references the bronze serpent
that Moses fashions and mounts to a pole in the wilderness, the literal or
figurative word usages are not very revealing.
Speaking by euphemism, Jesus is here alluding to His being lifted up on
a cross in crucifixion. In the account
concerning Moses, the Israelites speak against God and Moses, so God sends
poisonous snakes upon them; some are bitten, and they die. When they repent, God does not take away the serpents
as they ask, but He provides a remedy:
Numbers 21:8, 9 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a
fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is
bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a
bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten
anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Jesus recognizes Nicodemus
as a teacher of the people in verse 10, so He is expecting Nicodemus to at
least make the spiritual assessment that sin is the poison viper that is
killing men and will continue to plague the earth, but He is providing a plan
from God to save men from the condemnation of sin.
Jesus develops the
analogy more fully later in His ministry.
To the Pharisees in John 8, berating Him and accusing Him of being
suicidal, He says,
John 8:28 …When you lift up the Son of Man, then you
will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father
taught Me, I speak these things.
He is not saying
this to suggest that the Pharisees are going to exalt Him or raise Him up in honor
but to "lift Him up" on a cross.
In John 12, nearing
the time of His crucifixion, Jesus, teaching His disciples, says:
John 12:23-28 …The hour has come that the Son of Man should
be glorified…. 27 Now My soul
is troubled, and what shall I say? "Father,
save Me from this hour"? But for
this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name….
Then, He revisits
the bronze serpent:
John 12:32, 33 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth,
will draw all peoples to Myself." 33 This He said, signifying
by what death He would die.
Jesus is ultimately glorified
by being "lifted up" in His resurrection and His ascension, but it is
striking that Jesus includes His crucifixion in the progression of His
glorification. Consider the irony that lifting
up the very likeness of the fiery serpent in the wilderness becomes the medium
for relief from its deadly effect and likewise that the very sin of lifting up
Jesus on a cross is the medium for salvation to all who look to Him in faith.
Something else needs
to be said about the bronze serpent of Moses.
The nation of Israel eventually falls into false worship over it, treating
it as an idol:
2 Kings 18:4 [Hezekiah] removed the high places and broke
the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze
serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned
incense to it….
Still even this day
among those practicing false religion without divine authority, crosses and
other images, fashioned for the purpose of worship, are displayed and paraded
as objects of reverence, much like Israel had done. We must be careful that our worship be not in
vain, following the precepts and traditions of men (Matthew 15:9).
It would not have
been sufficient for Jesus to have died a natural or accidental death. It was necessary for Him, pure and innocent as
a perfect lamb, to endure a sacrificial death in order to secure our salvation
from sin (Hebrews 9).
In the Lord's
Supper, we have the privilege of lifting up the Son of Man once more but to the
highest place of glory, honor, and esteem as a witness before men and God by commemorating
His body in the unleavened bread and His life-giving blood in the fruit of the
vine. Let us do so discerningly, humbly,
respectfully, and thankfully, according to His will (1 Corinthians 11:26-29).
Bible quotations herein are from the New King James Version.
Copyright 2023, Speaking Sound Doctrine