In the two verses prior to one of the most famous passages in the Bible, we read where Jesus compares Himself to a serpent hanging on a pole. Why would He say that?
We find this story unfolding earlier after the Exodus in Numbers 21, in a very strange event during the Israelites’ wandering in the Wilderness. In this portion of the journey, the people of Israel were fatigued as they were forced to march around the land of Edom because they could not obtain direct passage. The people began to murmur, complain and became rebellious towards Moses. Despite the miracles and victories the Lord had wrought before the nation, the people fell into a state of unbelief. Out of this unbelief, they complained bitterly about the food (manna) and scarcity of water and voiced speculation that they would perish in the wilderness.
“And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21:6) This was the same unbelieving generation that had also rejected the report of the twelve spies who had scouted the land of Canaan that God had promised them by refusing to go into the Land in faith. In their pride, they held open contempt for the Lord and His mercies as well as Moses. In His righteous judgment of their rebellion, the Lord removed His protective hand and sent venomous snakes (most likely asps) into their camps. It was here the Israelites recognized the error of their ways.
“Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.” (verse 7)
In Biblical typology, a “type of Christ” is an Old Testament character who either points to Christ or whose behavior corresponds to the life of Jesus Christ. As a type of Christ, Moses interceded for the people, asking for God’s blessings and protection on the very people who had cursed him. God answers Moses’s prayer showing mercy upon the Israelites and bringing about their effectual relief, but not in the manner it was requested.
It is in the next two verses that we find the shortest of Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament:
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Numbers 21:8-9)
Brass (verse 9) is “nechosheth” in Hebrew which means “copper, bronze.”
So we have this very strange event, where Moses has a snake made of brass to be placed on a pole and lifted up so that anyone who has been bitten can look upon this brass snake on a pole and live. The serpent reminded the people of their sin and the pole was placed in such a manner that any of the wandering Israelites could see it and be healed. It is a most unusual remedy and one that is completely unexplained in the remainder of the Old Testament.
Consider the symbolism:
Serpent: is a figure of evil or sin.
Brass: a metal that can sustain fire, symbolic of judgment
It is interesting that from origins of this story, even Greek mythology shares the legend of the “rod of Aesculapius” which denotes a snake wrapped around a pole as a symbol of healing. Today this symbol is commonly used to denote the medical profession.
Why do we have this story in the Old Testament?
“Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the world are come.” (1st Corinthians 10:11)
“Examples” in the Greek is “tupos” which means “a figure, image or pattern, a prefiguring” as in a “prototype”
We do not receive any explanation for this event anywhere in the Bible until we see Nicodemus approach Jesus Christ one evening in John 3. Nicodemus was a ruling Pharisee on the Jewish Sanhedrin and sought Jesus for explanations and understanding behind the authority of His healing, miracles, and teachings. After sharing that unless one “becomes born again” that they cannot enter the kingdom of God, Jesus goes on to provide explanation of the brass serpent:
“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)
Jesus had just told Nicodemus that he was unacceptable to God and that if he wanted to enter the kingdom of God he must be “born again.” In His response to Nicodemus, Jesus explains the meaning of the brass serpent, the pattern that it established, that He would one day fulfill by hanging on the cross. In the next verse, He completes the thought in the most widely known John 3:16,
“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.” (verse 16)
How do we interpret the symbolism of the serpent and Christ? Just as the serpent represented sin and evil, Jesus became our sin as He hung on the cross for us.
“God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2nd Corinthians 5:21)
Were there any other similarities?
- Both were raised up to save men from death.
- Both spoke of sin on a pole.
- Both spoke of judgment.
- Both provided immediate salvation.
- Both were easily available.
- Both were available to everyone.
- Both demanded faith
There was nothing more that could be done or added in either case. There were no home remedies, no snake bite antidotes or help from others that would cure an Israelite, only that he or she would look upon the serpent on a pole. It was by faith alone and obeying God’s instruction. Likewise, there is nothing more that we can do to obtain salvation apart from what Christ has already done for us on the Cross. There is no “Christ plus this work, plus that work.” His atonement for our sins is sufficient once and for all and our salvation is by faith alone.
“did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3)