How does John 3:14 connect to the concept of salvation through faith? The Setting: A Midnight Conversation Nicodemus slips through the dark streets of Jerusalem, heart pounding with curiosity. He finds Jesus and hears words that will echo for centuries. Among them stands John 3:14, a single sentence that bridges Israel’s wilderness wanderings and the eternal destiny of every soul. John 3:14—The Verse Itself “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” (John 3:14) The very next line completes the thought: “that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” (John 3:15) Looking Back: The Bronze Serpent in Numbers 21 • Israel had rebelled again, so God sent venomous serpents. • The people cried out; God provided a remedy. • “Make a fiery serpent and put it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” (Numbers 21:8) • “So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. If anyone was bitten by a serpent, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” (Numbers 21:9) Jesus treats this account as literal history and the perfect preview of His own mission. The Parallel: Lifted Up for Life • Both scenes feature a deadly problem: poison in the bloodstream then, sin in the soul now. • God supplies a single, sufficient provision, not multiple options. • The remedy is publicly displayed, raised high for all to see. • Life comes, not by personal effort, but by looking in trust at what God has provided. Faith at the Heart • “Everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” (John 3:15) • “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) • “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) • “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) Belief is not mere mental agreement. In both wilderness and Calvary scenes, faith means relying entirely on God’s provision, abandoning self-help, and entrusting life to the One lifted up. Why Faith, Not Works • Works shift focus to human achievement, yet the bitten Israelite could not draw out venom. • Faith magnifies grace, showing salvation to be God’s initiative from start to finish. • Faith unites the sinner to the Substitute so that “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Living Out This Truth • Look to Christ continually, just as the bitten Israelite kept eyes fixed on the bronze serpent. • Rest in the certainty that His cross fully satisfied God’s justice; no further payment required. • Share the simplicity of the gospel. Invite others to behold the crucified and risen Savior. • Worship in gratitude, knowing that eternal life flows from faith in the One lifted up. |
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