Dear Christian friends:

In our text we see a very wonderful thing. Moses tells the Jewish people that they can be saved from the poisonous snake bites by looking at a brass snake hanging on a pole. Many of the people had already died because of the snake bites. Yet now, Moses tells them that if they look at the brass snake hanging on the pole, they will not die but live. He tells them to:


It is hard for us to believe this story. With our reason we cannot understand how anyone can get saved from a poisonous snake bite merely by looking. Doctors will say this is impossible. Today if anyone is bitten by a poisonous snake he has someone suck out the poison and then hurries to a doctor for help. But here God offers life for a look. Usually it costs much more than a look to save our life.

Now as it is hard to believe this story about the snake, so is it hard for us to believe the story of Jesus, that we may have life, eternal life only by faith. In John 3:14, Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." This snake hanging on the pole was a hint of Jesus hanging on the cross, crucified. So Jesus says if we "look" at His cross with faith we will not perish (be lost in eternal death and hell), but have everlasting life.

Many people think that is foolish teaching. They say and argue, "If I sin, I, myself, must suffer and pay for my own sins. Someone else cannot pay for me." They say our teaching of justification by faith without works is too easy. That is why the Catholic church and many others teach justification by works or suffering.

They invent many laws and many good works and many sufferings and then tell the people obey these laws; do these works; suffer and punish yourself and you will be saved from your sins. You saw Rev. Reinkings pictures last month how the Filipino boys on Good Friday whipped themselves and walked many miles to the church.

Often our own reasoning tells us to do similar things. We think: "If I go to church every Sunday God will like me and save me. If I go to the Lord's Supper often God will like me and save me. If I bring my money to church regularly God will like me and I will win salvation." So we also often trust in our own good works for earning salvation. That is why we often despise the preaching of Jesus crucified and His blood shed for us. We think such preaching is of little value.

We are self-righteous much of the time. We listen too much to our own reason and do not believe His precious promises in the Bible, and are not eager to hear them. We do not hunger and thirst for the body and blood of Jesus given and shed on the cross for our forgiveness and eternal life.

But our text makes it very plain that man is not saved by his own works or goodness, but only by faith in Jesus crucified. (Read verses 7-9) "when he looketh upon it, he shall live"(verse 8) And again in verse 9, "when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." These Israelites were dying helplessly; no doctors, no medicine, they only could "look" at the bass snake hanging on the pole. They believed God's promise and although that was a strange promise and contradicted their reason. By faith they were saved and lived.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus clearly states whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. This is the beautiful promise of God to us. And there are many other precious promises which show that we are saved by faith and by faith alone without the deeds of the law.

Now we perhaps think that God doesn't want our good works. No, God wants our good works not as offerings for sin, but as thanks and praise offerings. Jesus made the ultimate offering, Himself on the cross for our sins. God wants no more. He is honored if we believe in Jesus' offering, not ourself. But God does want us to show our thanks and praise by doing good works cheerfully and eagerly.

Now it is not easy for us to keep this right-faith. Our old reason and Satan and false teachers in the world tempt us to give up that true faith. Many times God had to correct Israel so they would remember to live by faith.

That's why God sent the many red snakes to bite them. They had given up faith in God and complained against Moses and God. (Read verses Numbers 21:4-5) So God corrected them here and gave them a good impression about faith.

So also God must correct us and lead us in hard ways and perhaps let us fall into deep and shameful sin so we realize that we are not self-righteous and cannot be saved by our own works, but only by faith in His mercy. So He let Peter fall and deny Him three times. Peter was too proud and self-righteous. Peter learned his lesson. May God help us to learn our lessons, too.

The dying thief on the cross also learned his lesson about faith. Martin Luther also learned through suffering his lesson about faith. May God be merciful unto us and lead us by His Word and many corrections to faith and faith alone. May He help us to Look and Live.

Amen.