How is This Possible?
John 3:9,14,15 Nicodemus asked, “How is all this possible?”… Jesus said … “Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. It is the same with the Son of Man. He must be lifted up too. Then everyone who believes in him can have eternal life.”
The question that always rattled around in my mind in the early days of believing in Jesus, was this: why is Jesus necessary in my relationship with God? Why Christmas, why Easter? Well, why?
It’s good to ask questions like that.
John 3:9,14,15 Nicodemus asked, “How is all this possible?”… Jesus said … “Moses lifted up the snake in the desert. It is the same with the Son of Man. He must be lifted up too. Then everyone who believes in him can have eternal life.”
At this point, Nicodemus’ mind went back to Numbers, chapter 21. Israel had forsaken God so He sent a plague of fiery serpents against them. Many died. But Moses repented on behalf of Israel so God commanded him to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole so that if a serpent bit anyone, all they needed to do was look at the bronze serpent and they’d live. No building of hospitals, no antivenom, no parties of men sent out to kill the serpents. No! All they needed to do was to look, see and believe, in order to be saved.
And in the same way Jesus takes our sin on Himself, in effect becoming the serpent, becoming sin on our behalf up on that cross, on that pole. And all we need to do to be born again is not to go on some self-help program, but to look on Jesus and believe. In fact, the more we look upon Christ and Him crucified, the more repentance wells up in our hearts, and the more the Spirit overwhelms us and renews our lives.
That’s the only way to be born again, the only way to enter the Kingdom of God. So let me ask you, are you born again?
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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