“The Strange Story of the
Bronze Snake”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Today’s Gospel Reading includes what is probably THE most familiar and
beloved verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16. Let’s say it together: “For God
so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life.” However, right before THAT verse, which is so familiar and beloved,
Jesus introduces it with one of the most obscure and mysterious events in the
Bible, “The Strange Story of the Bronze Snake”: “Just as Moses lifted up
the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” This strange story is referred to in all of today’s Scripture readings,
beginning with the Old Testament Reading: “They traveled from Mount Hor along
the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on
the way.” Because of their rebellion against the Lord following their exodus from
Egypt, before they could enter the promised land the ancient people of God first
had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. This has a parallel to us,
today. For, we must all first wander in the wilderness of this world
before we can enter the Promised land of heaven. For me, next month will
mark 57 years of my wandering in the wilderness on the way to the promised land. “But the people grew impatient on the way.” The Hebrew says
literally, “the spirit of the people became discouraged.” Is that how you
feel sometimes, on your journey through this world? Do you become
impatient with the struggles of life? Does your spirit become “discouraged
on the way”? “But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and
against Moses.” Now, becoming discouraged because of the struggles you
face in your life is not a sin in itself. Jesus tenderly invites, “Come
unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” However, Paul says in Ephesians, “Do not give the devil a foothold.”
And that’s exactly how Satan wants to exploit your feelings of impatience and
discouragement, to give himself a foothold, an opening into your life to lead
you astray. Peter warns, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” Like
the ancient people of God, Satan wants to use your impatience and your
discouragement with the struggles of life for his own purposes, to escalate from
discouragement, to dissatisfaction, and finally to open unbelief and rebellion
against the Lord. “But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and
against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
desert?’” It can be very difficult for us to understand and accept Paul’s
declaration in Romans, “And we know that God works all things together for the
good of those who love him.” It’s that word “all” that’s so hard. Because, that means not only what we consider to be the good things
that we are blessed to receive along our journey through life. The word
“all” means that somehow God is also working together for our good also the bad
things that we endure. Trusting in God’s goodness toward you, even when
bad things happen in your life, is perhaps the greatest test that we face on our
journey through this world, a test that we often fail, like the ancient people
of God on their journey through the wilderness. “But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and
against Moses, and said, ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable
food!’” In the original Hebrew there is a great irony in their complaint,
which doesn’t come through in English. When they say, “There is no bread .
. . and we detest this miserable food” it is actually the exact same Hebrew
word. Literally, their complaint is, “There is no bread . . . and we
detest this miserable bread.” So, in their own complaint they actually
admit that they have bread, they just don’t like the bread they’ve got. That’s often how it is with us. In the Small Catechism, Martin
Luther lists some of the gifts God bestows upon us: “He has given me my body and
soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still
takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink,
house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He
richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and
life.” It’s rather amazing that the Census Bureau reports the average American
household at the official poverty level actually owns their own home, and has a
car, two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, an Xbox or
PlayStation, refrigerator, stove, microwave, washer, dryer, and cell phone.
For most of us, it’s not that we’re lacking any of the essentials or even the
luxuries of life. We just don’t like the ones we’ve got. God
graciously gives us so many wonderful gifts—a job, a spouse, a home. But,
like the ancient Israelites, we forget the blessings we do have, and
ungratefully complain, “There is no bread . . . and we detest this miserable
bread.” Of course, the bread they’re talking so negatively about is the manna
God miraculously sent from heaven. Receiving this manna was actually an
extraordinary blessing, as the psalm says, “He rained down manna for the people
to eat, he gave them the bread of heaven. . . men ate the bread of
angels.” And, despite their complaint “We have no water,” for 40 years God
did provide them with water as they traveled through the parched wilderness,
usually by directing them to sources of water, but several times miraculously
making water gush forth from a rock. As Moses says in Deuteronomy, “He
brought water for you out of solid rock, and gave you manna to eat in the
desert.” “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is
no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” Another
difficult lesson for us to learn on our journey through life is contentment.
Hebrews puts it this way: “Be content with what you have, because God has said,
‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with
confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.’” Paul tells
Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and
clothing, we will be content with that.” “Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them.” The venomous
snakes in this story symbolically point back to the Garden of Eden, and the
snake there, that Revelation describes as, “that ancient serpent, who is the
devil and Satan.” Luther comments, “The devil stung Adam and injected his
poison . . . by nature we all are still subject to death . . . for we have
all drunk the serpent’s fatal venom . . . transmitted to all of us by Adam.”
So, the venomous snakes in the story symbolize that we all have been bitten by
Satan, infected with the deadly venom of sin. “Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them.” In our
dissatisfaction and complaints against God, part of what we fail to recognize is
how often he prevents disaster from coming upon us. God didn’t have to
conjure up snakes to infest the Israelites. For, the wilderness they were
traveling through is notorious for massive numbers of vicious, venomous snakes.
But, up to this point God had held these snakes back and prevented them from
attacking his people. In the same way, there is deadly danger and disaster all around you on
your journey through life. We don’t begin to appreciate all the ways
God is constantly protecting us from such dangers and disasters. Sometimes
when I’m driving and make a wrong turn or I’m stuck in traffic, I try to ease my
frustration by wondering, “Did God perhaps just protect me from having some
accident, by giving me this unexpected detour or delay?” As the psalm
says, “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” “Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and
many Israelites died.” Psalm 103 says, “He does not treat us as our sins
deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. . . as a father has
compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”
So, the Bible promises that God does not send such traumatic events as a direct
divine punishment on those who trust in him: “He does not treat us as our sins
deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” However, at this point many of the Israelites had so completely fallen
away from the faith that the Lord does send venomous snakes upon them as a
punishment. As Paul warns us in today’s Epistle Reading, “We should not
test the Lord, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes. . . These things
happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us. . . So,
if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” What about the Israelites who had not fallen away, but still had faith
in the Lord? Hebrews explains that “God disciplines us for our good.”
For those Israelites who still retained faith in the Lord, this episode was not
a punishment from God, out of wrath, but a loving, fatherly discipline, for
their good. It was a powerful preaching of the Law, not with words, but
with the snakes, venom, and death, for their good, to shock them out of their
rebellion and bring them back to the Lord. “Then . . . the people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke
against the Lord and against you.’” So often when we make an apology or
confession it really isn’t sincere. The classic non-apology apology is,
“I’m sorry that you were offended.” Or, we tack a “but” onto the end, to
really blame others and excuse ourselves. “I’m sorry I was angry, but you
made me so upset.” In contrast, the classic sincere confession and apology is found in the
ancient Latin liturgy: “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa”; “my fault, my
own fault, my own most grievous fault.” A sincere confession and apology
doesn’t blame anyone else, or try to excuse yourself, but admits in sorrow, “mea
culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa”; “my fault, my own fault, my own most
grievous fault.” “Then . . . the people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke
against the Lord and against you.’” The Israelites could have tried a
non-apology apology for their sinful rebellion. “We’re sorry we grumbled,
but you know it’s been a long journey; the desert heat just got to us; and the
manna has become monotonous for us.” However, the wording in Hebrew of their
confession indicates that it was completely sincere. They didn’t try to
blame Moses or the Lord for their rebellion, but instead they humbly declared
the Hebrew equivalent of, “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa”; “my fault,
my own fault, my own most grievous fault.” “The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against
the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.’
So Moses prayed for the people.” In the next verse we’re going have the
most dramatic symbolism for Christ in this story. But, already in this
verse, Moses is a type of Christ. Paul says in Romans, “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was
raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
Like Moses pleading with God on behalf of the Israelites to grant them
forgiveness, Christ is continually interceding on your behalf with his heavenly
Father, pleading for him to grant you forgiveness. The Apostle John puts it this way, “If anybody sins, we have an
Advocate with the Father, who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ,
the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only
for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” Because of his atoning
sacrifice, your sins are all forgiven. Peter says in Acts, “Everyone who
believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” And Jesus
promises, “Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal
life.” “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone
who is bitten can look at it and live.’” In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus
himself explains for us the meaning of this strange symbolism: “Just as Moses
lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that
everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” That’s the real meaning of “The Strange Story of the Bronze Snake.”
Jesus says, about the Old Testament, “These are the Scriptures that testify
about me. . . Moses . . . wrote about me.” So, while “The Strange
Story of the Bronze Snake” is a real, historical event, it is also symbolically
prophetic. This Scripture testifies about Christ; in this account Moses is
writing about him. Later in the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “But I, when I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” Then John adds, “He said
this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” In Genesis,
immediately after the fall into sin, the Lord promised to send a Savior, the
Messiah, who would crush the serpent Satan. Gradually throughout the Old
Testament, the Lord reveals more and more about who the Messiah will be, when
and how he will come, and how he will accomplish his mission of salvation.
The bronze snake on the pole was the first Old Testament prophecy that showed
the kind of death he was going to die. “But I, when I am lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men to myself.” Just as the serpent on the pole is rigid and lifeless, Jesus will be
lifted up for us on the cross, crucified, dead, and buried. Just as looking upon
a dead serpent on a pole saved the ancient Israelites from the snake’s venom and
gave them life, looking in faith upon the dead Savior on the cross saves you
from the venom of sin, from the bite of that ancient serpent Satan, and gives
you victory over death and eternal life. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone
who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it
up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze
snake, he lived.” “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man
must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever
believes in him is not condemned.” That is the meaning of “The Strange Story of the Bronze Snake”—for
you! Amen. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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