What do Snakes, Adam & Eve, and a guy named Nicodemus all have to do with each other? Tune in to learn! Jump in with us in Sections 24 of the Gospel Harmonies @ https://www.harmonychurch.cc/tracking-jesus-timeline/. IT’S EASY TO GIVE at Harmony, text any amount to (859) 459-0316 to get started (or give online @ my.harmonychurch.cc/give ).
OPENING ILLUSTRATION:
Time for me to expose a secret about my wife… She LOVES the tv show survivor, I mean like crazy loves it. If I try to make fun of it, I’m sleeping on the couch loves it… Ha. One of the staples of the show survivor is Jeff Probst comes on at the beginning of the episode and says, “previously on survivor!”
and then they recap what’s happened up until that point.
Today, we are going to look at one of the most well-known passages of scripture in the bible.
b
But before we do, I’ve got to recap a few stories for you so we can see something you may have never seen before.
Is everyone ok with that?
So, “Previously in the bible!”
Two stories:
Story One: Adam & Eve
First, Adam & Eve, my guess is most of you are at least familiar with this story, right – you may not believe it’s actually true, but you’re familiar with it. Even if you don’t believe it actually happened, which I do, you have to at the least admit it is the story of humanity in a nutshell… Adam & Eve are the first created humans in all of history. They are formed from the dust of the ground, God breathes life into them. They live in union with God until one day the serpent comes to them and tempts them to eat from the one tree in the Garden that God had told them not to eat from… Does this sound familiar? You know the story right? In Genesis 3, they eat, realize they are naked, and sew fig leaves to cover themselves. Then God comes walking into the Garden and they hide from Him. God asks them why they are hiding and Adam lies, he says, “Because we were naked”, but they weren’t naked anymore
They are hiding because they can’t bear to be exposed…
either physically or spiritually…
Ok, Keep story one in your back pocket
Story Two: Snake Bites
In Numbers 21 there is a story about the Israelites after they have left Egypt, this is Moses leading them out into the desert, this is 1,600ish years before Jesus. A long time ago….
The people are wandering around in the desert, they had followed Moses out of Egypt thinking they were getting freedom, which they did, but it wasn’t what they thought. They were thirsty and hungry and had enemies on all sides and they had to trust God. They are in the middle of the desert, and they get mad at God, they get mad at Moses and they start to complain and grumble.
This kind of cracks me up, God sends poisonous snakes among these people… I know it’s serious, but I know this is how people are. God is taking care of them, He’s providing food and water, He’s freed them from slavery and given Himself to them and it’s not enough. So, He lets snakes start to come after them….
The people come to Moses and confess that they sinned and they ask him to pray that God will take away the snakes.
Moses prays. God tells him to make a serpent out of bronze and put it on a pole so that anytime anyone looks at the bronze serpent after being bit, they will be healed.
So, now we’ve got story one and story two, but what do they have to do with Today?
“Kent, have you gone off your rocker?”
Let me tie these together in Section 24 of the Harmony of the Gospels
Last week we talked about Nic coming to Jesus at night, Jesus told him to be born again he had to be born of water and the Spirit.
We are picking up at the end of that discussion, check it out…
John 3:9-21
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
ILLUSTRATION:
Have you ever tried to explain something to a teenager that they think they already know everything about? I was the most arrogant teen in the world and thought I knew everything – if I already knew it, you weren’t going to teach me anything…
It’s hard to see things you aren’t looking for…
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Nic can’t see it and doesn’t understand it because it doesn’t fit in the way he understands God.
I think, can’t prove it, but I think this is why Jesus started with fisherman instead of scholars – because Nicodemus already has a way of thinking about God and he can’t see any other way…
Jesus is about to blow Nic up! Check this out…
11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[a]
ILLUSTRATION:
When I was in High school I had a nickname, queso – yup, I went by “cheese” – someday I’ll tell you that story. But, there are certain people in my life who will still call me queso – they know what it means and there are others that when they hear that name, know exactly who is being talked about.
I’m not going into it today – but when Jesus calls Himself “The Son of Man” He is specifically using a title in Daniel 7 that refers to one who would come in the clouds..
You need to know that Nicodemus would have understood Jesus to be referring to Himself as the Messiah in Daniel 7 – The Son of Man.
Man, this is so chocked full – this passage, but we need to get to the meat of it…
Jesus continues…
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[b] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[c]
Did you hear it?
Story Two – Jesus is saying He will be lifted up and everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life.
B
Jesus is unabashedly dividing all of humanity into those who believe and those who don’t. Those who have eternal life and those who don’t…
b
Just as the serpent on the pole healed the Israelites of the snake bite in the desert, Jesus heals us of the snake bite given in the Garden of Eden – the sin we all live in.
And then He says this – you need to know, some bibles don’t put quotes around this, but I think it’s Jesus’ words… Listen
this is the passage you’ve heard your whole life…
Out of the motif of the snake bite – Jesus says this
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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Jesus DID come to separate – but He’s not the one doing the separating, we decide for ourselves if we will stand condemned or not.
So, what about Story One Kent?
Listen to how Jesus ends this whole thing…
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:
One of the things I’ve learned about myself is that I hate more than anything being exposed. I used to not think this was true about me. I actually held a value that as long as I told you the truth about myself that I could do anything I wanted. But that wasn’t quite the truth.
I was willing to own up to the terrible things I did, but couldn’t face the consequences of them…
I have a feeling we are all like this, it’s a born trait. It’s why we all understand Adam and Eve and their hiding from God in the Garden. Because we know what it’s like to be exposed and to want to hide.
Jesus says it is this trait inside of us all, this desire to hide from the light that keeps us in the dark.
What is it that is keeping you in the dark? What are you afraid of exposing?
God already knows it, guess what, it is already going to be exposed, the question is whether you will come to the one who can heal you of it and free you from it.
He is the serpent on the pole. He was lifted up on the cross to free you from the poison of sin in your life. You hiding from being exposed doesn’t help anything.
ILLUSTRATION:
I tell my kids when I ask them a question that I already know the answer so be honest – which is true, I wouldn’t know to ask the question if I didn’t know the answer. God already knows, the question is whether you are going to be honest enough with yourself to admit just how bad the consequences of your life are and your need for a savior. He’s waiting for you to come to Him for freedom and life!
