”14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."
John 3:14-15New International Version (NIV)
John 3:14-15 Devotional (Daily Bible Verse)
The Son of Man had to be lifted up
In John 3:14-15, Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man and used the words “The Son of Man had to be lifted up” to reveal to Nicodemus that those who would believe in Him could have eternal life in Him. And in His revelation, Jesus compared His lifting up to the snake that Moses lifted up in the wilderness.
At the time, Israel had traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea in order to go around Edom (Numbers 21:4a) which had denied Israel permission to pass through their land/territory while they were on their way to Canaan (Numbers 20:14-21). Israel, therefore, grew impatient and grumbled against God and Moses (Numbers 21:4b-5). And God, consequently, judged them by sending venomous snakes among them, causing many of them to die (Numbers 21:6).
Israel, therefore, went to Moses and confessed that they had sinned against him and God through their grumbling. They, therefore, asked Moses to intercede for them so that God could take away the snakes from them (Numbers 21:7).
Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness
God, consequently, instructed Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole such that whoever was bitten could look at it and live (Numbers 21:8-9). And indeed, those who looked at the snake did live.
The Son of Man had to be lifted up
The Son of Man, therefore, had to be lifted up in a similar manner to the snake that Moses lifted up in the wilderness. And this lifting up referred to Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross at Calvary. Because Jesus often referred to Himself as the Son of Man, probably inspired by the record in Daniel 7:1-14, where Daniel recorded that he saw “one like the son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven” (Daniel 7:13).
When Daniel sought to understand what he had seen in his vision, an angel alluded to the son of man being the Messiah (Daniel 7:27). Therefore, when Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man, He literally claimed that He was Messiah.
Jesus, therefore, had to be crucified to satisfy God’s wrath on behalf of or in the place of sinners. And the sinners who would then believe in Him would receive eternal life. Because sin leads to death (Romans 3:10, 23, and 6:23).
But God provided a way out of the wages (bondage) of sin through “the lifting up of Jesus Christ” on the cross at Calvary (1 Corinthians 1:18). And God’s way was the only way out (John 8:28, 12:32, 12:34, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Galatians 3:13-14)!
Even when Jesus prayed to God to remove the drink He was to drink from, He did not have His will (Matthew 26:36-46). God had His will.
Everyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life
Generally, Jesus stated that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life (John 3:14-15). After all, He had incarnated so that you could have life and have it in abundance (John 10:10).
Prayer/Blessing
Lord God, thank You for lifting Jesus up. Because through Your lifting up of Jesus, I now have eternal life.
I thank You for saving me. And this is my thanks to You my Saviour, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
Nehemiah 7-8 (see How to Read the Bible in One Year or How to Read the Bible (for Beginners))
