Where's Your "Faith" Now?

And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. [John 3.14-15] 

Nowhere in the Bible is idolatry more profoundly exposed than in the context of this verse above.

As a "respected Jewish teacher," Nicodemus would have known all about the snake on a pole Jesus referred to. Here's the story:

Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!” So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed! [Numbers 21.4-9]

Again, Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, would have been an "expert" on Jewish history and so, would have known the story well. However, there was more to the story - Numbers 21.4-9 is not all there is to it!

Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan. [2 Kings 18.1-4] 

The bronze snake on a pole was intended to point Israel to Messiah - Jesus' own words in John 3.14-15 reaffirm this. Instead, Israel, in their impatience and lust for a fix, made an idol of the "picture" never understanding its meaning. They essentially began to worship the box instead of the gift it contained.

This story of idolatry has repeated itself in our day.

Once again, the snake on a pole has become an idol. Jesus presented Himself as the snake on the pole and, for a while, like with Israel in Numbers 21.4-9, people looked to Him and were healed. Eventually however, and again, just like Israel, people began to see the snake on a pole for healing instead of Jesus. That snake on a pole is the very symbol of modern medicine. People pay dearly (make sacrifices) for it every day for healing, never giving a moment's thought about what Jesus on the Cross means in its fullness:

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. [Isaiah 53.4-5]

Hezekiah's solution is the only way to insure that the snake on a pole is not an idol - get rid of it.

Jesus' confrontation of Nicodemus remains a confrontation to us today. Where's your "faith" now?

Father, help us to see all of what Your Word reveals, not just what is comfortable to us... So be it.