In other words, Jesus’ flesh became our sin and was judged, condemned, and nailed to the cross as full payment of our sin debt.
But the cross is not merely the payment of our sin debt, glorious as that is, it is also where you and I die and live:
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20
So at the cross, we “have been crucified” with Christ and no longer live. In other words, we have joined Jesus in His death on the cross “by faith.” We can clearly see that this is not a physical death because when we die physically we will not need faith to do it. But when we see Jesus hanging on the cross for us, as us, and because of our sin, it changes our heart and “by faith” we join Him in His death on the cross.
Did you notice how Galatians 2:20 begins and ends with the cross? I have been “crucified with Christ” is followed by “who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Both of these statements regarding “the cross” are connected “by faith.”
Now let's look at an example from the Old Testament:
And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. 7 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.” So Moses prayed for the people." Numbers 21:5-7
Question 7: According to Numbers 21:5-6, what was the condition of the people who were bitten?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Yes, they grumbled against the Lord and Moses and did not remember the Lord had freed them from their many years of bitter labor trapped in slavery. And they loathed the Manna which came to them without labor, efforts of their own but free food from heaven.
They recognized their sin, many were dying, and the people asked Moses to pray for them. So Moses prayed to the Lord and the Lord gave Moses a strange solution.
"And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live." Numbers 21:8-9
Now we see that if anyone was bitten, instead of dying, all they had to do was “look at the bronze serpent” and live. They needed to look and believe. Or look “by faith” at the bronze serpent and live. This is exactly what Jesus said of Himself, that when we “look” and “believe” we who have been bitten by the snakebite of sin, would live!
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:14-16
Jesus here is saying that as Moses “lifted up the serpent” in the wilderness, He, Jesus, would likewise be “lifted up” on the cross. And just like the cure was to look at the bronze serpent (which represented Jesus lifted up on the cross) and be healed from the “fiery serpents,” we look to Jesus hanging there on the pole canceling our debt, forgiving our sins, and combined with faith, we are healed by His wounds from the poison of sin and death or the snakebite of sin and death.
Question 8: According to John 3:14-6, healing from the “fiery serpents,” lifting up the serpent on a pole and “looking at it” for healing is related to Jesus being lifted up on a cross. What should we encourage people to do to be saved?
In this lesson, we focused on the first part of the gospel, the death of Jesus Christ, and its effects and benefits in the life of all who believe it. This is our message! It is the message that the church has been given to proclaim and to live!
It is my hope that you are seeing the power of this message to crucify and raise all who put faith in it, thereby making them disciples of Jesus Christ.
In our next lesson, we will continue on and discuss the importance of the burial of Jesus, and what that means to the church.