Jesus Christ Brings Healing for All

When privately meeting with Nicodemus, Jesus Christ shared some of the greatest truths ever uttered by man. One of them was:

John 3:13-15:
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

What is this Old Testament reference that our lord is making about being lifted up? What does a serpent have to do with life? Let’s read exactly what Jesus read during his study of the Torah as a youth.

Numbers 21:4-9:
And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
And the Lord sent [allowed] fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

This brings up a few questions. What are “fiery serpents”? Where did Moses get brass to make into a serpent? Why would looking at an image bring healing and life?

Fiery Serpents

The children of Israel traveled through a hostile desert for forty years. Without God’s constant help, they would have all (more than 3 million people by one count) died from heat, storms, marauding tribes, and wild beasts. One of the most deadly dangers was the “fiery serpent.”

Bible researchers say this could refer to the saw-scale viper or carpet viper that is found in Israel today. Using different manuscripts they have found 10 reasons to indicate this was the serpent spoken of in the book of Numbers: 1) that kind of serpent lives in the Arabah Valley (which included the Jordan River Valley), 2) they thrive in rocky terrain, 3) their bite is extremely deadly and venomous, 4) they are one of the most dangerous reptiles in the land, 5) they have a “fiery” bite that causes great pain, 6) their color is reddish like the color of fire, 7) they are as fast as lightning when they strike, 8) they are known to leap so that they almost seem to fly, 9) their vicious bite causes internal bleeding which is usually fatal, and 10) they were known to be in the Arabian desert as far back as 22 A.D. A Roman historian wrote that “there are snakes also of a dark red color, a span in length, which spring up as high as a man’s waist, and whose bite is incurable.”

There is nothing supernatural about these horrible snakes. The amazing and miraculous was how God protected so many millions of people from dangers such as these. Not to mention providing water from the rocks and manna for forty years. Toward the end of Moses’s life, he wrote about God’s great care and protection.

Deuteronomy 8:14-16:
…the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end.

The godly response to such loving kindness should have been humility and trust in God. But Israel’s stubbornness and unbelief often brought disasters upon them. Numbers 21:6 is poorly translated in the King James Version. The Lord did not “send” fiery serpents, He allowed them to come because Israel was hard-hearted and complaining. They did not trust in God’s care and protection. God could not violate their free will and change their negative mental state for them. Look at how these leaping snakes could cause fear.

Isaiah 14:29:
Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying [leaping] serpent.

Isaiah 30:6:
The burden of the beasts of the south [Hebrew: negeb, the Negev Region in southern Israel]: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying [leaping] serpent.

These serpents were indeed a part of the “trouble and anguish” of desert life. This is an extreme physical kind of evil. Jesus Christ came to deliver us from spiritual evil that is even more extreme.

The Brass Serpent

Brass is an alloy made from the metals copper and zinc. It is easier to hammer into shapes than either bronze or zinc. It has a relatively low melting point and a flowing quality that make it useful in casting objects. The Bible describes brass being used for fetters, military armor, religious and household vessels, money, building materials, walls and pillars, chariot wheels and protective plates, and especially for equipment in the tabernacle. Where did Moses get this metal to make such sacred objects?

Exodus 38:8:
And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

When the children of Israel left Egypt, they took many precious metals from their captors.

Exodus 12:36:
And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

Moses used the “lookingglasses” of the women to build a giant laver, or washing tub, of brass. Ancient mirrors were not made of glass as they are today. They were usually a metal like brass, burnished to a lustrous shine.  God gave specific instructions on how to make the brass serpent.

Numbers 21:8:
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

The key here is that they were to look upon it and live. This brass serpent was to represent the evil attacks that had befallen the children of Israel—and God’s power to overcome and heal. There was nothing magic or “powerful” about the brass serpent itself. It was the trust in God’s ability to help and heal that brought deliverance to those who looked at it.

Numbers 21:9:
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Jesus Christ said that God’s power could deliver anyone who believed for God’s healing—even if bitten by a deadly viper. Mark 16:18: “[If] They shall [accidentally] take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” This happened to the Apostle Paul on the island of Malta. He accidentally picked up a deadly viper, and believed God for His protection and healing. The islanders were amazed at Paul’s deliverance from so deadly a snake (Acts 28:1-6).

Sadly, the children of Israel kept the bronze serpent that Moses had made and turned it into an idol. They forgot God, Whose power brought the healing, and they turned to witchcraft and idolatry to have their needs met. Thankfully, Hezekiah took action against such evil.

II Kings 18:3-7:
And he [Hezekiah] did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did.
He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.
And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth.

The Hebrew words translated “brasen serpent” in verse 4 are nechosheth nachash. This emphasizes what Moses made by using rhyming words, much as we could say a “metal reptile” in English. Up until Hezekiah’s time, “the children of Israel did burn incense to it.” When Hezekiah saw how something that once brought healing by God’s power had been twisted to be used to glorify the Devil, he broke it in pieces. He called it “Nehushtan”—meaning “a thing of brass.” Without God’s help and healing power, it was simply a piece of brass. It was only after returning to the true God that “the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth.”

Healing and Believing 

That leads to the final question, “Why would looking at an image bring healing and life?” Jesus Christ understood the relationship between a person’s believing and their healing.

Matthew 9:22,28,29:
But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

Matthew 15:28
Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Mark 5:34
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Mark 10:52
And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Luke 7:50
And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Luke 8:48
And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Luke 17:19
And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Luke 18:42
And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.

We have a choice each day to either believe our heavenly Father’s promises through Jesus Christ, or to believe the Devil’s perversions and lies. At times the adversary uses so-called “science” to talk people out of God’s healing power. Imagine someone in Moses’ time saying that no image made of metal could bring any help to poisoned tissues or restore such violent contusions. Those who trusted God were healed; those who did not, died.

To learn more about believing and God’s healing power, see Words and Healing.

Jesus Christ Our Complete Savior

So, what was Jesus Christ telling Nicodemus?

John 3:13-15:
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Jesus Christ was the “Son of man” or in the Hebrew, the “son of Adam.” Jesus Christ got half of his genetic material from his mother Mary, a direct lineal descendent of Adam. But the other half came from God, his heavenly Father.

Just as believing on the brass serpent brought healing to those who trusted in God’s solution to the attack of the fiery serpents, so those who trust in God’s solution for spiritual death will find true deliverance through the savior, redeemer, and lord—Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ was literally “lifted up” upon the cross to die for us. The same Greek word translated “lifted up” in John 3:14 is found later in John’s gospel.

John 12:32,33:
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Here the “lifted up” refers to Jesus’ death on the cross. He did “perish” physically, but three days and three nights later, God raised him from the dead and gave Jesus a new, spiritual body. This same Greek word for “lifted up” is used of Jesus being “exalted” from the dead to God’s right hand.

Acts 2:33:
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost [the gift of holy spirit as promised by God, Who is the Spirit], he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

God lifted up and exalted Jesus Christ to his full position of authority at the Father’s right hand (Acts 1:9). It was through the accomplished work of our lord and savior that we can receive the gift of holy spirit. When a person believes that God raised His Son from the dead, and makes Jesus lord, that person receives eternal life.

Romans 10:9,10:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Jesus Christ is our complete savior in every way. He brings physical healing, mental deliverance, and spiritual life that is eternal. Let’s “look on” Jesus day by day and reap the great blessings that come from the Son of God!