Serpent on a Stick

March 12, 2020

A curious incident in the story of Moses finds its way into the third chapter of the Gospel of John. The original is in Numbers 21 and involves the children of Israel once again grumbling against God and Moses for leading them into the wilderness. God‘s reaction to their complaining was to send “fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many died.” (v.6). Of course, the people cried out for relief, which is where the curious part of the story begins. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, and “everyone bitten, when they look at it, shall live.” (v.8). 

It sounds like a bit of hocus-pocus, the kind of thing we normally associate with fairy tales. And yet, it’s not only in the Bible; no less than Jesus himself references it, comparing it to his death on the cross for our sins. 

Just yesterday, I was reminded of this story in a devotional by my friend Doug Spencer, another retired UM pastor. He commented on the original story, saying, “This story is not about a few disgruntled people making a stink—that would have been so normal it wouldn’t have been worth writing about. This is a story about a contagious, hate-speech campaign against Moses and God by all the people: this is negativity, bitterness, and complaint gone viral! And as always, that kind of poisoned atmosphere was a breeding ground for fire-breathing dragons whose bite is scorching and sometimes even deadly.” He went on to say, “The first step in being saved is to identify the dragon and recognize and confess our own participation and complicity in creating and nurturing the beast.” 

When Jesus compared his death on a cross to the serpent lifted up in the wilderness, he was pressing home our need to recognize our complicity in sin—our rebellion, obtuseness, and perversion that we often think to be mere peccadilloes when in reality, they are so serious that they cost the life of God’s own Son. Too often, we speak of coming to Jesus as if it were as casual as going through the drive-through at McDonald’s. We speak freely of Jesus’ love, mercy, and grace, but too frequently refuse to take a good long look at the sin that nailed him to a cross. I am thankful tonight for my friend who years ago opened my eyes to the truth of this text, and for the deep, deep love of God that makes me look long and hard at my sin before I can be saved from it.