Jesus begins, dear friend, to open a door to a great mystery. He reminds us that when Israelites rebelled, God punished them with snakes. Many people died. The rest cried out for relief. So God told Moses to make a bronze statue of a snake, and to place it on a pole. Any person with snakebite had only to look up at the bronze snake. All doing so were healed, and escaped death (Numbers 21). Now Jesus is like that bronze snake, about to be “lifted up” in order to save others.
How different the “snake” is from John’s picture, “the Lamb of God!” Yet this too recalls ancient stories. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Abraham went to do it, confident that “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together” (Genesis 22:8). God did, in fact, send a sheep, which was killed in Isaac’s place.
Later, at the first Passover, each Israelite family killed, roasted and ate a perfect young sheep or goat. They also put its blood over their doors. God said,
“And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).
Israelites remember every year, at a similar meal, how God once rescued them by lamb’s blood. In fact, perfect male lambs are killed daily at the temple (Numbers 28, 29). Scripture often speaks of sacrifice and blood removing sins.
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).
Now John commands,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
Is Jesus the perfect sacrifice, which brings us full forgiveness?