The Christian
life commences with a look - the Lord invites,
"Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of
the earth; for I am God, and there is none
else." It continues with a look - the Bible
says, "Let us run with patience the race that is
set before us, looking - unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith." It concludes with a look
- the Bible says, "Our citizenship is in heaven;
from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ." Thus you see there's a look to
the Lord. A ruler found that out a long time ago. He
came to the Lord looking for life. Seeing the hunger
of his heart, the Lord said, "As Moses lifted up
the servant 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."
Mark the
condition. Israel sinned against the Lord, and He
sent fiery serpents, which bit the people and many
died. Hurrying to Moses, the people confessed,
"We have sinned...pray to the Lord." So
Moses interceded on behalf of the people, and then
the Lord said to Moses, "Make a serpent and
raise it on a pole. Anyone who looks at it, shall
live." Moses made a serpent of brass and lifted
it up on a pole. Those that looked, lived.
Mark the
comparison. It was through the agency of that old
Serpent, the devil, that our first parents were
seduced and sinned. Thus the serpent was a type of
Satan and sin. As the Israelites were in deep
distress, and dying from the poisonous sting of the
serpents; so is man in deep distress, and dying from
the poisonous sting of sin. As the serpent of brass
was lifted up publicly, in the sight of man; so was
the Savior lifted up publicly, in the sight of man.
As the brazen serpent was a serpent without poison,
so the blessed Savior was a man without sin. As the
people obtained relief by looking at the brazen
serpent, so people obtain redemption by looking at
the blessed Savior. As the feeblest look brought life
to the people in that day, so the feeblest faith
brings life to the people in our day.
Mark the
constraint. The Lord said in John 3:14, "As
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even
so must the Son of Man be lifted up." The word
"must" is a harsh word. For you to have
life, the Lord had to die. For you to be saved, the
Lord had to suffer for your sins. There was no other
way. The expression "lifted up" is used of
Jesus in two senses. It's used of His being lifted up
on the cross, and it's used of His being lifted up
into glory at the time of His ascension into heaven.
Had Jesus not gone to the gory place, you and I
couldn't go to the glory place. Salvation is all of
the Savior. This is seen in the uplifted serpent. The
children of Israel weren't told to make any medicine
for their salvation, and neither are you. The pills
of penance can't save your soul. The children of
Israel weren't told to make an offering for their
salvation, and neither are you. Your wealth and your
works can't save your soul. The children of Israel
weren't told to look to the servant for their
salvation, and neither are you. It's not the leader,
but the Lord that saves; it's not the cross, but the
Christ of the cross that saves.
Mark the
consequences. If a person who had been bitten by the
serpent, looked at the serpent of brass, he lived.
Regardless of how many times he had been bitten, or
how terrible was the bite, or how far the poison had
traveled in his body - if he but looked, he lived.
Such is the gospel declaration, "Whosoever
believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal
life." The most wretched sinner may look to the
Lord and be saved. For believing is heart-looking. A
friend of mine preached on this text, and he closed
his sermon by saying, "Daughter, sing the song,
'One look at Jesus.'" She sang with all her
heart: "One look at Jesus and it settled it all
for me!" Just as soon as she finished singing, a
man came to the front weeping bitterly. He dropped to
his knees and He put his trust in the Lord and was
saved. He testified, "I had been looking at my
sin, at the hypocrites, and I couldn't find peace.
But when she sang, 'look to Jesus' I saw my mistake.
I fixed my attention on the Savior; I received Him.
Yes, 'one look at Jesus, and it settled it all for
me.'" Why don't you look to Jesus now, my
friend?
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version.
