Calvary Baptist Church

Calvary Baptist Church, Grenada, MS

Holding to the truths embraced by Baptist for centuries.

These are the familiar words of Jesus to Nicodemus, (John 3:14-15). "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 everlasting life."

Nicodemus was a great man among the Jews, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews. There is no evidence that he was hostile toward Jesus. He must have been friendly. His coming to Jesus by night need not be to his discredit; at such time he would have a better opportunity to talk with Jesus undisturbed. He certainly wanted to learn more about Jesus. That is always to the credit of anyone. Nicodemus was not spying on Jesus; he was honestly seeking to know more about Him.

If anyone really wants to know who Jesus is and puts himself in a place where Jesus may be seen or learned about, the revelation is forthcoming. Zacchaeus climbed up into a sycamore tree "to see Jesus who he was". Preacher brother, when you face your congregation, say to yourself and act the part, "These people have come to learn more about Jesus."

Nicodemus was not prepared to hear Jesus respond to him as He did. You may feel that Jesus was getting Nicodemus into deep water rather suddenly. Jesus knows just exactly how to proceed. He is not diverting Nicodemus' attention from the object and interest of his quest. He is

only incidentally teaching of the birth from above; in it all He is revealing Himself to Nicodemus. This is what he came seeking, and it must have pleased Jesus to grant him his wish.

This teacher of the Jews may have had little real personal interest. It could have been largely academic. Being a teacher, he would need to know about this man who is manifesting by His miracles that He is a teacher come from God. He will be under the necessity to instruct his people about this man Jesus of Nazareth. However, that may have been, Jesus brings him to the very heart of the work the Father had sent Him to do, and it seems to me He maneuvered him into a frame of mind to learn something more than a miracle worker and a God-sent teacher. Jesus has said to him, "Ye must be born from above". This provoked the questions "How can a man be born when he is old, etc?" and "How can these things be?" Jesus gives him another "must". "Even so musi the Son of man be lifted up."

Nicodemus knew perfectly well the story about Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness. We find it in our Bibles in Numbers 21:4-9. Turn and read these verses. The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way, as they journeyed to compass the land of Edom, and they spake against God and against Moses. God sent fiery serpents among them, and they bit the people and much people of Israel died. The people asked Moses to pray that God would take away the serpents. God instructed Moses to "Make 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." This was in Jesus' mind and it came readily to Nicodemus' mind, when Jesus said, "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." Nicodemus

does not ask any more questions. The Jews said in John 12:34 "We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever; how sayest thou, the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man". What is said about Nicodemus later assures us that he learned the meaning of the brass serpent, and what Jesus meant by, "As Moses . . . even so must the Son of man be lifted up."

It is just as important for us to know the meaning of the serpent of brass as it was for Nicodemus. It was God's remedy for the snake bite. It was not what the people asked for. They asked that the serpents be taken away. This would have left the bitten ones without relief. Man's way of salvation leaves the sinner without hope. God's way saves the sinner. The serpent was made of brass. Brass is the symbol of judgment. "Even so musl the Son of man be lifted up." There can be no salvation without propitiation. There can be no remission without the shedding of blood. "He saved others; Himself He cannot save." So said His mockers as He died on the cross. Unwittingly they told the truth, "Him who knew no sin was made sin for us". "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us." The brass serpent typified Jesus, the Son of man, suffering our hell desert. This had to be for us, sinners, to have eternal life.

God's remedy is easy, "Everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon the serpent, shall live."

"And it came to pass, if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." Do you suppose anyone dared to add anything? How simple! How easy! How good and gracious! Nothing required but to look. Life in a look. God's grace and power made it so. "When he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." Only one thing between death and life. "When he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." Even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosover believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Dare anyone add anything to this? It is simple and only taking God at His word. How foolish would it have been for any bitten Israelite to refuse to look

at the serpent of brass. How foolish for any sinner to turn away from the uplifted Son of man! "Even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have eternal life."