May 26, 2024 

Today's Reading: John 3:1-17

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 35:9-30; Acts 1:1-7:60; Luke 24:28-53

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (John 3:14)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. We can learn a lot by reading all of Holy Scripture. Now, you might be thinking, “Thanks, pastor, for the most obvious statement in the world,” but what I say is true. When we read the Scriptures, it is great to read and link both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We get a nice link by Jesus here with the story of the bronze serpent.

If you are not familiar with the story of the bronze serpent, I’ll recap it for you. The Israelites are wandering in the wilderness, and they are doing what the people of God do best, that is, unceasingly complain. They are leveling their typical charge against Moses (and thereby against God indirectly). They whine, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” (Numbers 21:5) Not only do they accuse Moses (and again God) of trying to kill them, they then complain about what the LORD provides for them, calling that food “worthless.” And for their ungratefulness and complaining, God sends them punishment in the form of “fiery serpents” to bite them. And bite them they do, and some die. While the others are sick, Moses intervenes, and God sends a way to be saved from their sins. He instructs Moses to build a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, and anyone who looks upon it would live. 

Isn’t it interesting that this is what Jesus uses to teach Nicodemus, the man who was so “wise?” Just like there was no venom in a serpent of bronze, there is no sin in Jesus, who would be lifted up, just like the serpent, so that all who looked on him in faith would live. The words given to Nicodemus are the same words we have today. On Good Friday, we saw the Son of Man lifted for the sins of the world so that all who looked upon Him in faith might live, not saved from a mere snake bite, but from the scourge of sin and death. In church, we physically receive the flesh and blood of Christ in our mouths to save us from eternal death. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever.

-Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

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