The Brazen Serpent

This month Christendom will celebrate an early Easter holiday in March. Come to think of it....how did this most solemn "Christian holiday" derive its name from a pagan goddess? It is at this time when the world celebrates the very Gospel itself: "…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; that He was buried; and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." Yet, for some reason we have allowed the remembrance of Christ's death and resurrection to be muddled by ancient pagan traditions (rabbits that lay eggs and other such nonsense). Nonetheless, it is perhaps appropriate at this time of year to examine a rather peculiar episode in Israel's history. This strange event was a foreshadowing of things to come:

It happened during the wilderness wanderings, after the children of Israel escaped from slavery in Egypt. On one of the many occasions that the Israelites were murmuring against God's provision, God sent deadly serpents as a judgment. In response to Moses' prayer for the people, God instructed Moses to set up a bronze serpent on a pole, and everyone who looked upon it would live (Numbers 21:4-9).

This seems like a strange remedy. Why a bronze serpent? Why did God choose this peculiar method? It would be Jesus Himself who would explain this strange remedy to Nicodemus in saying: "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 (John 3:14,15)." In fact, this would occasion the most well-known verse in the Bible: "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 (John 3:16)."

This emblem - a brass serpent raised on a pole - is distinctive in that the Lord Jesus Christ personally applied it to Himself. The more you examine it, the stranger it appears: brass was the Levitical symbol of judgment; brass was the metal that was associated with fire (as the brazen altar, etc.). The serpent was symbolic of sin, introduced in the Garden of Eden. This is a strange emblem, indeed, for the Savior of mankind. 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

And this is precisely what we celebrate: Christ being raised up in our stead. His sacrifice is unfathomable. We may spend an eternity attempting to embrace the implications of this precious truth, and what it cost Him to purchase our pardon. And, that is what we celebrate every Sunday when we come together to partake of communion. For us, this is not a once a year celebration. For the Christian who lives in the Way, this is a part of taking up one's cross daily.