As a boy, I learned to hunt small game. Dad would take me out to a friend’s ranch. We’d follow cow paths through the brush and cactus looking for rabbit or hare. I remember one time we were out there walking along a cow path. All of a sudden we heard a loud dry rattle. You guessed it – a rattlesnake. Dad grabbed me by the shoulder. We backed up slowly and then left that brushy trail. Dad, having grown up in a rural environment, had great respect for rattlesnakes.
Serpents can kill. It’s been that way from the beginning. The story of humanity’s first encounter with snakes is familiar. Satan turned serpent came to deceive and to kill. It was the introduction of misery and death to the world. Ever since then there has been enmity – hatred – between the serpent’s offspring and humanity.
Some millennia later, the effect of the serpent’s sting is perfectly clear. After miraculous rescue from slavery; after miraculous provision – manna; water from the Rock; God’s people again show their preference for slithering snakes rather than their Savior. They complained bitterly against their Savior. They criticized their leader, Moses. God chose to send fiery serpents to discipline the complaining Israelites. The painful bite of those serpents brought more than agony and death. It brought a reminder of the hell that was introduced to the world when the serpent deceived mother Eve.
Another two millennia later, the effect of the serpent’s bite is still perfectly clear. Nicodemus didn’t understand Jesus. I mean – who really does? He came to see Jesus at night. He came because approaching Jesus in the daylight frightened him. He came at night because under the cover of darkness – we think that we can’t be seen. Darkness is the perfect cover - isn’t it? There’s no way that Jesus’ words escaped Nicodemus – who came to see Jesus in the darkness: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (v19-20)
Serpents are hard to see at night. For us urban dwellers – snakes are not an everyday threat. Or so we imagine. Darkness helps us to hide our bad stuff. True! But we wander in darkness more than we imagine. Sometimes we can’t even tell that we are in darkness because we’ve become used to it.
And the serpent’s bite still continues to haunt humanity. You’ve heard it said that gossip is sin? Think again about the wandering Israelites. They were complaining against God. They were griping about the One who saved them from forced labor and slavery. They were complaining against the One who fed them with manna and quail. They were practicing the trade of the serpent. Their words were deadly - like the venom of the serpent. And they thought that it was OK. Everybody was doing it – so it must be OK. God wouldn’t notice – would He?
Wrong! - They couldn’t hide their words from the One. None of us can. We can never hide from God. He sees right through us. He hears even when we speak in secret. He understands even the words that are unspoken.
Recognizing light and darkness is rather easy in the physical world. Especially if you have the gift of sight. But the interesting thing is that we can adapt to the darkness. I was stationed aboard the USNS Chauvenet. My main workspace was operations control. This was a brightly lit computer and navigations nerve center. It was just off the main bridge.
When I was standing a mid-watch, I’d walk to the ship’s bridge. Now the bridge is completely darkened at night. Moving from the brightly lit operations control space to the darkened bridge, caused blindness. I could see nothing because of the darkness! – Not even my hand in front of my eyes. But little by little, things began to come into focus. First the dimly lit, red instrumentation. Then I could make out the figures of the people standing watch on the bridge. Then faces. Finally, the little fishing boats on the water became clear. It is absolutely amazing. Night vision can seem normal.
The point – we can get used to the darkness. We can get used to griping about God. We can get used to speaking evil or gossiping about a brother or sister. We can get used to denying Jesus. We can get used to – metaphorically speaking - coming to Him at night so we won’t be seen so people won’t know. The real danger for us begins when we can see in the darkness. The serpent does his best work there. Yes – the bite of the serpent is still working it’s evil.
God’s solution to the fiery serpents was to expose their bite to the light. God told Moses to lift a bronze snake on a pole in the middle of the camp. When someone was bitten – they were to look at the bronze snake.
Picture how this would work. Somebody might be out in the brush gathering firewood. A serpent would bite. This person would run to the clearing - rushing to get a view of the bronze snake. Or if a person was bitten in his tent: He’d make a mad rush outside. He’d move quickly and madly to the place where he could get a clear view of the snake. This is how the person demonstrated that they trusted God. And everybody could tell what had happened. Everybody could tell that the person running to get a look at the bronze serpent had been snake bit. Everybody could tell because that’s the solution that God provided – to have life.
That’s what Jesus was telling Nicodemus too. Jesus Himself would be lifted up. He would hang on a Cross. He would shed his blood and die for us. And all we need to do is to look to the Son of Man on the Cross. So that whenever anybody feels the effect serpent’s bite: whenever we gossip; backbite; complain; gripe; carry a grudge; engage in hateful talk; express ourselves through petulant behavior – we are to look to Jesus. We are to repent and confess – bring it out into the open. Because that’s the solution that God provides for the snake bit.
Looking to Jesus exposes the sin. Looking to Jesus when we are guilty of poisoning others with venomous words – cures us. It brings our sin into the light. Looking to Jesus moves us from darkness to light. Looking to Jesus saves us from the consequence of the serpent’s influence on humanity – death.
The season of Lent reminds us of the Savior that was lifted up. It reminds us that Jesus suffered the Cross not only for us – but because of us. The season of Lent reminds us that when we sin – we have a Savior. We have God’s cure and God’s solution for our sin. Most of all, the season of Lent reminds us that: “God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (v3)
Jesus is God’s answer to darkness. He calls us into the light where no sin can dwell. He calls us to let his love live through us. He calls us to allow his compassion to be lived out in us and through us. He calls us to look to the Cross together. We’ve all been snake bit. But God has provided the cure. It’s Jesus. Amen.
