Holy Cross Day, 2008

Rev. Brian L. Kachelmeier

 

Numbers 21:4-9

 

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

At this point in time, the summer Olympics are a thing of the past. The end results were that China had the most gold medals at a total of 51. The United States came in second with 36 gold medals. Russia received 23 gold medals. Now it seems that usually people are concerned with gold medals. But, did you realize that the United States received the most bronze medals. The U. S. collected 36 bronze medals followed by China with 28 and Russia with 28. Yet, bronze is not viewed as important as gold. In fact, did you hear about the wrestler from Sweden who won a bronze medal, but refused to take it. At the medal award ceremonies, he took it off and left it on the center of the mat. He was protesting because the gold medal winner from Italy had won a match against the Swedish wrestler on account of a perceived referee’s error. It just wasn’t good enough to take home a bronze medal when he came for gold.

 

Now in today’s Old Testament text, we see things totally differently. The people of God would much rather have bronze than gold. Now were not talking about medals but about statues. It was a bronze serpent that meant all the difference in the world. It meant the difference between life and death. A gold serpent would have meant nothing to those Israelites in those days. It’s not that bronze is worth more than gold in and of itself. We all know that gold is worth more. That is why first place winners receive gold medals and third place runner-ups receive bronze medals. However, in today’s text we are not talking about winning a competition. We are talking about living instead of dying.

 

In our text, the Israelites complained and grumbled against God. They were reliving the so-called “glory days” of life in slavery in Egypt. They set their eyes on Egypt. Back then life was supposedly “better.” The food was “better.” Thus, they rebelled against God and His appointed servant Moses. In response, the LORD sent the fiery serpents as punishment. The poisonous bite brings death into the camp. This is recorded as an example for of us of what not to do. 

 

Verse seven states, “And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” Instead of plugging their ears to the Word of God from the mouth of Moses, now they filled his ears with the words from their mouth begging for relief. Before they turned against Moses, now they turned toward him for help. They begged Moses to pray to the LORD for their forgiveness. Therefore, we see the Law working its good not in death but in the people’s repentance. As the Law works condemnation and judgment, its primary purpose is to bring repentance in the heart. 

 

So Moses did as they requested. He intercedes for the people of God. The LORD speaks saying, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” This word of promise is attached to the bronze serpent that Moses makes. Anyone who looks at the bronze serpent on the pole, even though he is infected by the venom of the poisonous snake will live.

 

Now the power is not found in the bronze. Bronze in and of itself does not heal. Nor does a bronze statue of a snake in and of itself heal. What heals is the life giving Word of God that is attached to this specific bronze statue of a snake.

 

Our modern scientific mind would demand some type of an antidote or a medication to bring healing. It is contrary to logic or reason that looking at an image of the very thing that brings death would bring life. But keep in mind that these people would have thought the remedy was just as strange as we do now. It is not that we are smarter than they are or that they were merely superstitious. No, they had a direct command of God and a promise of God attached to this earthly means of bestowing healing and grace.

 

Our Lord consistently uses means to bestow His gifts. This earthly element is the vehicle through which the gift of life comes. Just like yesterday when we were moving into the new house we needed a vehicle to deliver the goods. In fact we needed more than one vehicle. We had a U-haul truck along with three other trucks and a trailer. It wouldn’t do any good to just wish that our furniture and belongings were at the new house. They had to be moved there. There had to be a method to get them from point A to point B. The means of delivering these goods were the trucks. The items were loaded, transported, and then unloaded.

 

Throughout the Scriptures, the LORD uses means to deliver His gifts of grace, mercy, salvation, healing, and the forgiveness of sins. In today’s text He uses a bronze serpent on a pole. For Noah and his family, He used the wood of the ark. For Moses and the Israelites at the waters of Marah, He used the wood to heal the waters and takes away the bitterness making them sweet. For all people, Jesus healed the world on the wood of the cross. Through these means or vehicles, the LORD delivers His gifts. The key is the word of promise attached to these earthly elements. It is the living Word that gives the power. Faith then clings to the promise attached and receives the gift given.

 

All words of God’s promise are ultimately rooted in the cross. It is through the death of an innocent human being that all guilty human beings gain life. Although we have not necessarily been bitten by physical serpents and injected with their venom that brings physical death, we have been bitten by a poisonous serpent. Our adversary is the ancient serpent who injected his spiritual venom in the garden. By our birth into humanity, we are born infected. This spiritual poison runs through our veins and it leads not only to physical death but also spiritual death.

 

We are spiritually sick and in need of healing. The LORD provides the only remedy. He Himself has taken upon our flesh, but without any sickness. He has no need for healing. He is pure and holy. Yet on the cross, the Old Serpent bruised His head brought Him to death. But, through the very thing that the devil thought would destroy Him, He crushes the devil’s head. Through death Jesus destroys death. Through Christ crucified we are healed. The promise is that just as in the days of Moses, all who set their eyes on the bronze snake on the pole lived even though they were bitten by the physical snakes, now all who set their eyes on Jesus on the cross shall live even though they have been bitten by the spiritual serpent the devil.

 

In the Scripture seeing is believing. Now I’m not saying that you have to see to believe but rather that the language of seeing is believing. Where your eyes are that is where your heart is. If your eyes are set on Jesus, then your heart is set on Jesus. If your heart is set on Jesus, then your heart is right with God. The only way to be right with God is to have faith in Christ. In Christ, we have been turned around from our sinful ways. In Christ our back is turned to the world and our eyes are set on Him. We are in fellowship with Him. We see Him face to face and eye to eye. In Him, we see life. Those outside of Christ see death. They cannot gaze upon Him for they remain guilty in their sins. In our baptism, we are able to approach the Father through the Son. Through Holy Communion, we are set mouth toward mouth. Through His mouth comes the words, “This is my body.” “This is my blood.” Into our mouths we receive the life giving body and blood of Christ.

 

For us He uses water, wine, and bread. We are not to carry a bronze serpent to heal snake bites or water from the Jordan to heal leprosy, or dirt from the land of Israel to heal blindness. Those were specific means for specific people at specific times for specific purposes. The church has been given specific means of grace. The Lord uses such things as water, wine, and bread in His holy sacraments. These are for all people until the end of time. Their specific purpose is life, salvation, and the forgiveness of sins. These things are written so that we would believe and by believing we have life. Amen.