● John 3:14-17 . . As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in him have eternal life. For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
The incident to which Christ referred is located at Num 21:5-9.
Long story short: Moses' people became weary of eating manna all the time at
every meal. But instead of courteously, and diplomatically, petitioning their divine
benefactor for a different diet, they became indignant and confrontational; angrily
demanding better accommodations.
In response to their insolence, and their ingratitude for His providence; God sent a
swarm of deadly poisonous vipers among them; which began striking people; and
every strike was 100% fatal, no exceptions.
After a number of people died, the rest came to their senses and begged Moses to
intercede. In reply; The Lord instructed Moses to fashion a replica of the vipers and
hoist it up on a pole in plain view so that everyone dying from venom could look to
it for relief.
The key issue here is that the replica was the only God-given remedy for the
people's bites-- not sacrifices and offerings, not tithing, not church attendance, not
scapulars, not confession, not holy days of obligation, not the Sabbath, not
rosaries, not weeping, not the golden rule, not charity, not Bible study and/or
Sunday school, not self denial, not vows of poverty, not the Ten Commandments,
nor even one's ideology of choice, i.e. it wouldn't have mattered whether somebody
was Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant, Baha'i, Atheist, Agnostic,
Pagan, or whatever-- the replica was it; nothing else would suffice to save their
lives.
As an allegory, the replica speaks of Christ's crucifixion for the sins of the world as
the only God-given rescue from the wrath of God; and when people accept it, then
according to John 3:14-17 and John 5:24, they qualify for a transfer from death
into life. Those who reject his crucifixion as the only God-given rescue from the
sum of all fears, are already on the docket to face it.
● John 3:18 . .Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of
God's one and only Son.
I recommend finding a quiet place; anywhere will do. Cover you face with your
hands for a sense of connection, and tell God you have never yet measured up to
His standards and you're pretty sure you never will. Tell Him you would like to take
advantage of His son's death; and thank Him for His time.
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