God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:17
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:1-3

What are you suffering from today?
What ails you, derails you, slows you, pains you?
Jesus is the answer to your pain.
In Medieval Europe, particularly in Germany, through the 17th century, artists often depicted Jesus as an apothecary, that is, a dispenser of balms, potions, powders, and elixirs with names, such as righteousness, humility, kindness, and other virtues. Often, Jesus is seen holding a cross, the symbol of his sacrifice. Sometimes, the paintings were accompanied by comforting verses from the scriptures, such as Isaiah: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Or Matthew: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
In some of the paintings, Jesus seems to be dispensing an “anti-venom,” the cure for the bite of a snake or serpent. In one interesting depiction, Jesus dispenses grace and absolution to Adam and Eve. In each of the paintings, Jesus’ sacrificial grace relieves our hearts from sin by means of his healing power. As Isaiah notes in his passage, which later served as Jesus’ mission statement, God promises to replace our ashes with the oil of joy!
In our scripture for today, John references a scene from the Israelites journey through the wilderness, as seen in Numbers 21. The people had been griping against God pining for food and water. They were tired of manna and were giving Moses a very hard time. When poisonous serpents appear, things got even worse. So the people send Moses to pray to God to take away the serpents.
Upon praying, the Lord spoke to Moses, telling him to mold a serpent of bronze and to put it upon a pole. Whenever a serpent would bite someone, if they looked upon the bronze serpent, they would live. From then on, Moses lifted up the serpent on a shepherd’s pole, and led the people onward through the desert.
John tells us that just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life (John 3:16).
John is adamant that we understand that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
What does this mean? This is another scripture passage that at first look seems a bit strange. How does Jesus compare to a serpent, even a bronze one!
In the Hebrew faith, one of the most virile sins is called lashon hara, the sin of the tongue! We might call it gossip. It can mean anytime we speak negatively or against someone. In the case of the people in the wilderness, they spoke against Moses, and against God! In the case of Jesus, he was surrounded by those who spoke negatively against him. The Jewish people believed that the sin of the tongue, bearing false witness, was akin to poison spew.
As we all know, words can hurt, sometimes even more than the hand! One spews venom in these kinds of “biting” attacks, venom that can harm. Or in other words, “sin bites!”
All of us, at one time or another, have been bitten by sin, and now that venomous poison courses through our veins. What’s the solution? We need an antivenom –the kind we only can receive through the shedding of Jesus blood. In a sense, Jesus provides us, through his sacrificial gift a “blood transfusion” –a purifying of our blood, a relieving of our sin, a saving of our lives. Wounded by sin, when we look upon Jesus, he restores us to perfect health.
When Jesus is lifted up upon the cross, he signifies both the sins of the world and the healing power of God, just as the bronze serpent signified the venom of the desert serpents, as well as the healing power of God.
Sometimes we forget this part of our theology of the cross. As Jesus finishes his journey to the cross, he means to take the sins of the world upon him. When his body is crucified, the sins of the world are crucified! Yet God is always victorious. For in Jesus’ resurrection, God lifts Jesus up, so that all those who look to Jesus for their salvation and hope, will be saved and promised healing, wholeness, restoration, and eternal life.
With one fell swoop, Jesus’ takes the poison of our sin onto his own body in our place. He suffers the poison of our vitriol and our venomous hate. And in a beautiful twist, we ourselves in crucifying Jesus nail our own sins finally to the cross, crushing the head of the serpent (see Genesis 3:15).
Sin is poisonous.
Sin is a poison that infiltrates your heart.
Sin kills.
Sin is a venomous serpent that will pierce your heart and devastate your soul.
As the bronze serpent is the visual image of “sin” conquered and mastered by God, so too has the cross, a symbol of evil, become now our image of God’s healing and resurrection power and grace.
Paul quotes Psalm 53 in Romans 3:13, speaking of all people: “There is no one righteous, not even one; …Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
Yet, Paul says, “…Righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith (Romans 3:22-24).
This is the good news of Christ, that God heals and saves all who look to him and believe in him. We do not worship the bronze serpent, but God whose power is represented in the transformation of the venom of sin into healing and cleansing grace. Likewise, we do not worship the cross, but we worship Jesus, who in taking our sins upon him in his sacrificial act transformed sin and death into God’s restorative and saving grace.
“For whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life!”
This scripture today marks the cornerstone of our Christian faith.
In just a couple more weeks in Lent, sin once again will be crucified upon the cross in the form of Jesus, the sacrificial lamb; and in three days, in the power of God, Jesus will rise from the ashes of sin to proclaim God’s victory over sin and death.
He will be lifted up to sit at the right hand of God. And whoever believes in him shall not die, but shall live!
Are you riddled by doubt, grief, illness, or saddled with sin?
Are you tired carrying the burden of the serpent upon your person, body, mind, and spirit?
Look upon Jesus for your salv[e]-ation. He will be your healing balm, and your amazing grace.
As we continue our journey in Lent, may you trust in the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, and your strength. For in him, you will find rest. In him, you will find life.