Back when I was a
guy, this was one of my favorite times of the year. I loved the excitement provided by March
Madness. I relished the idea of filling
out a bracket and competing with my friends to see who “knew college basketball
the best.” I was even known to toss in a
few dollars and draft teams in an office lottery, and pray, if I drew a 13-15
seed, that my new team had drawn Syracuse in the first round. I see you all laughing at various parts of
the story. Some of you are laughing at
my “when I was a guy” description of myself.
Others of you have felt the pain of tossing $20 in the office pool and
pulling out the upset champion of the Horizon League tournament or the Southern
Conference tournament. One or two of you
might have selected Syracuse as a Final Four team in your brackets only to see
them flame out in the first round as a #2 seed.
I mention the
tournament because of the prevalence of John 3:16 signs in the arenas back in
those days. It used to be that some guy
in a Bozo the clown wig would be holding a sign that said John 3:16 in plain
view of the camera during free throws. What really amazed me about his ministry was that he could get to both ends of the court behind the basket for every free throw! I
would imagine, especially here in Nashville with the heavy Baptist and Church
of Christ influence, John 3:16 might be the
verse that best summarizes the Gospel.
When I was . . . disagreeing with God about my call, that was a ministry
that I thought sounded more like me. I
was willing to be that guy. I would
travel to important sporting events. I
would make the sign. I would suffer for
God by proclaiming His love to the world at Tourney games, at Super Bowls, at
NBA games, and maybe even the Olympics!
I see you men nodding. It would
be a great ministry, wouldn’t it? Except
maybe for that stupid wig. Maybe we
could convince God that the wig detracts from the message?!
I start off with
that funny story, though, because we are going to focus today on the story that
informs that famous verse of “For God so loved the world. . ." and is anything but funny. How do we know that? Jesus begins verse 14 by reminding us all
that He will be lifted up just as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness. When we as Christians or we as clergy skip
over such challenging stories, we do ourselves and those who are seeking God or
a deeper relationship with Him a terrible disservice. What do I mean?
Look at your
story in Numbers today. How many of you
have ever read this narrative before? It
goes without saying that you have read it every three years since the adoption
of the Revised Common Lectionary; yet how few of us remember the story? And it is a great story. The people gripe at God. He punishes them with venomous snakes. They repent.
He instructs Moses as to the anti-venom.
And the people continue their wandering.
All that does not include the background.
I shared with the
Wednesday night group that my favorite description of the book of Numbers by a
commentary writer was that it was like the old desk or table or counter where
we keep all those things we are loathe to throw away but not quite sure what to
do with right now. I am sure none of you
do this, but I have been known to collect piles on my desk, on an island
countertop in my house, and a dining room table. To outsiders it looks like a mess. To me, it is that paperwork “I might one day
need.” I see some elbows in ribs and
knowing nods. One or two of you might do
this as well. That’s one of the
descriptions of the book of Numbers. God
gave Moses all this information. He
wrote the other four books of the Pentateuch, but he had all this leftover
information, mostly numbers, that he needed to use. Let’s be real: if we can’t throw away a
receipt, what do you think we would do with information given to us by God? Hoarding would not even begin to describe my response!
In truth, Numbers
is a great book for modern Americans, and not just as a cure for insomnia. One of the most popular defenses in this
country is “it’s not my fault.” We blame
everything and everybody for our wrong, stupid, and evil choices. People tell me that their divorces are not
their fault because their parents never really taught them how to have a
loving, stable relationship. Abusers
have told me they beat their wives or children because that’s how their dad
raised them. A convicted child rapist
once defended his actions to me by saying “Father, she acted and dressed like she
wanted it.” How many psychotic killers
or other criminals play the “I was abused” defense card? How many of us in relationships here blame
the other for pushing our buttons for our actions?
The book of
Numbers speaks against that very defense.
Most commentators agree that the book is roughly divided between the two
censuses. There is a counting of the
first generation and a counting of the second generation. In between the two censuses is where a lot of
action occurs, including our story for today.
One of the main themes of the book is that we are influenced and shaped
by our surroundings, our environment, and our family systems; each person,
however, is finally required to make a decision on how to act in the
today. Will we follow God? The first generation chickened out. Although the second generation was born in
and forced to wander in the desert because of the first generation’s distrust
of God, they were eventually forced to choose whom they would follow. Luckily for them and for us, they chose
wisely.
Our story today, though, is challenging to
modern Christians and especially modern pastors. The people complain and God sends snakes to
bite them and kill them as punishment.
We claim we have a loving Father, yet this story seems to speak against
that. Doesn’t this sound more like an
abusive father or a vengeful father? Who
sends snakes to bite His people? I had
to laugh at one of my colleagues this week who claimed it was a good thing we
don’t have to preach on the Old Testament because their god does not act like
that God. It is sad, is it not? What’s worse, their path to their god
supposedly goes through this guy Jesus, and he says right before our famous
passage that He must be lifted up as was the serpent in the wilderness by
Moses. Jesus could have avoided that
imagery. There are tons of pages in the
Old Testament. Why choose one that supposedly
besmirches the character of His Father?
The simple
answer, of course, is that the narrative in Numbers does not besmirch God’s
character. Quite the contrary, it
reveals His character to His people.
What has happened to lead us to this point in the narrative? God has decided to free His people in
Israel. He proved His power over ten of
Egypt’s gods with various plagues and signs.
He has so upset the Egyptian cosmology that the people throw Israel out
and give them treasures to leave. When
trapped by the Egyptian chariots against the sea, God has parted the waters and
led Israel to safety. God has muddied
the wheels of the chariots to slow them and then closed the passage to kill
them, thereby ensuring that Egypt will no longer be a threat against Israel for
many years. God has shaded them in the
wilderness by day and lighted the way with a fiery cloud by night. God has fed Israel manna, the bread of
angels. God has fed them quail until it
came out of their nostrils. God has
watered Israel when necessary. Their
sandals or feet have withstood the long journey. They have witnessed the cloud descending into
the Tabernacle to speak with Moses. They
have heard the theophany of Sinai with their own ears. They have seen God’s jealousy at work with
the molten calf and revelry. And how do
they respond? They rail against God and
complain about this miserable food.
More often than
not, the people grumble and complain against Moses. But here, they complain specifically against
God and, by extension, Moses. They even
call the food of angels detestable.
Parents probably can relate to this story. Ever make a big sacrifice for your kids and
have them cast it back in your teeth? How
did it make you feel? Maybe now you
understand the snakes. Those of us who
were once or are currently kids, ever complain about something only to have
your parents explode? Maybe we did not
understand the cost, maybe we did not understand the benefit. But when we complained about whatever it was,
whoa!
Now, place
yourself in God’s shoes. You have cared
for them like a loving Father. You have
fed them, watered them, protected them, guided them. You have given supernatural proof of your
power to provide for them, and how do they respond? I can only speak for me, but I sort of think
the snakes are a sign of grace. I’m
thinking I would tend toward the lightning strike and instant vaporization,
though I can respect a painful poison.
Given the chuckles, I’m guessing some of you are like me. Here is God doing this great thing, actually
series of great things for Israel, and they cast it back in His teeth. No wonder he punishes them! We often forget that God takes sin
seriously. God takes sin so seriously
that it will take His Son to redeem us from it.
One of those sins we commit is rebellion. In this story, God’s people are rebelling not
just against God, but His care and concern and provision for them. They reject the very life He is offering and,
in a real, tangible way, earn a painful death.
Notice, too,
though, the rest of the story. When
Israel realizes their sin, what do they do?
They go to Moses and beg Him to intercede on their behalf. A few lines earlier, they were grumbling
against Him; now they want Moses to save them.
Now, this is where you and I should really begin to be humbled and really
should begin to understand the true depth of Jesus’ claim in John 3:16. How does God respond? Those of us a minute ago who were laughing
knowingly how we would respond know this is far beyond us. Those of us who would have vaporized Israel
would have no opportunity to show mercy.
Those of us who killed everyone instantly would be unable to see them
learn the necessary lesson in this story.
God tells Moses
to make a bronze stake and place it on a snake in the middle of the camp. Then He tells Moses that, when they are
bitten, Israel needs to look at the snake to live. How would you have responded to Israel’s
repentance? Those of us who nuked Israel
would not have had to worry about it.
Would you be able to show grace?
When you parented, did you? When
you were parented, did your parents? Most
of us, particularly if we are of the “nuking” mentality, would probably find
ourselves pulling back from the punishment entirely. I suspect, unless we are abusers, we would
simply cause the snakes we caused to come to leave. That seems fair, right? They sinned.
We punished. They repented. We accepted and fixed. It's like reducing a grounding of weeks to a day or paying the allowance withheld.
Jesus claims our
Father in heaven is the perfect Father.
He loves us, wants nothing for the best for us, but He also realizes
that we are separated from Him by our sin.
There is a cost, a terrible cost that Jesus knows all too well, for sin. When we repent, we usually want God to take
away the consequences, don’t we? But
when that happens, over and over again, do we really learn the cost of
sin? Put differently, if, every time you
sinned and repented and God forgave and wiped away the consequences, would you
really understand the cost of your sins?
We know our jobs as parents is to raise our children to love God, to
love other people as themselves, to participate in society as productive
members, to find a spouse that shares their values and will raise their
children, our grandchildren, in light of these obligations. How do we teach our children those important
life lessons? Is the best way to teach
them always to take away consequences?
Or do we recognize that some of the best lessons are learned through
experience? Can a child truly understand
the value of something as simple as a phone if we give it to them and replace
it every time they break it? Or do they
better learn these lessons as they save their money to buy those things they
value and lose that value when the items in question are not cared for
appropriately? And what of bigger items
like cars? Houses? Education? And if we who are sinners recognize that
wisdom, what do we think God is really teaching the people here? Might not some learn the lesson the hard way
not to think that God wishes them ill?
Maybe the next time they think to curse God for that detestable manna
their ankle will say “hey, uh, don’t forget these fang marks here” and cause
them to withhold that sentiment?
Notice, too,
even though God allows the people to continue to be punished by the snakes,
still He places among them the means for their healing. God is effectively saying to them, “yes, you
will be bit, but if you want to live, look to the snake on a post.” Can you not see how the image relates to our
sins? “Yes, you will sin, but look to
the Cross for healing.” We might think
it stupid to look at a bronze snake on a post for healing, but is it really
that different from looking at the Cross on Calvary for our healing? Every time we sin, we are reminded of the cost of forgiveness, the cost of our Lord's life!
Better still, our
loving Father wants us to choose obedience.
Does He make the people look at the snake? No.
Numbers does not record it, but I wonder how many people were too
stubborn to be healed. I think I might
have numbered among that group. Really, Moses, that’s supposed to be my
cure? Why don’t you shut up and grab me
a knife and a belt so I can cut an ‘X’ over this and suck out the poison. Don’t laugh.
You have seen those cowboy movies, too.
We have seen the real life rejection of Jesus for just that reason,
though, as well. You want me to believe I can be forgiven for all that I have done
because of some guy’s death on the Cross?
It seems just as implausible to many as the snake in today’s story, yet the
healing is undeniable to those who cling to it.
It sounds stupid. It is far too
simple. Most of all, we don’t bear any
of the cost. How is that fair? How is that just? How does that save?
You have probably
thought more about this passage today than you ever have in your life, and believe
it or not we have not fully mined the depth of this passage. My hope is, my prayer is that you will never
again see that John 3:16 sign on television or hear it on the radio without
remembering this story. Jesus pointed to
this story as the foundation of that favorite passage. Is there a cost to sin and disobedience? We better believe it! Are there consequences to our sins and evil
actions? Absolutely. Are we ever without the means of healing and
eternal life? No. Never.
Who provides the healing for us?
Our Father in heaven. Who makes
the healing possible? His Son our Lord
who came not to condemn us, but to save us.
There is one
other significance to this story we need to consider. You and I live in a world beset by sin. Paul tells us that Creation groans under the
weight of our sins. Some of those
consequences are our own making. A
number of you have shared already how your choices have negatively impacted
your present life. But some of us have
experienced consequences not of our own making or choosing. Those of you abused by parents or spouses did
not choose nor deserve to be abused.
Those of you stabbed in the back by friends or co-workers did nothing to
deserve such actions. Some of you have
suffered environmental illnesses that do not tie directly to you behavior. Using a metaphor based on today’s story in
Numbers, you and I live in a world beset by snakes. Some of the bites are nuisances, some are
rather painful, and some, I am sorry to say, are even deadly.
You and I,
though, know that our Lord has been nailed to that Cross two thousand years ago
and lifted up. We have been given a sign
not that different from Israel. We have
looked upon our Lord dead, buried, Resurrected, and Ascended, and we know that
we shall have eternal life. That same
Father who promised Abraham that He would die if Abraham’s descendants could
not keep the faith, that same Father who promised Israel He would deliver them,
that same Father who promised He would cause the Land to disgorge them if they failed to keep His covenant, that same Father who sent His Son,
not to condemn us, but to save us, has promised. And you and I, by virtue of that promise, by
virtue of our belief in Him and His Son, have become like snakes on poles in
the camps where we live and work. You
and I have been charged with dying to self that we might arise in Him and
begin, through His empowering Spirit, to draw the world into His saving
embrace. In a way, we are the bronzed
snakes who point the way to the One lifted up that the world might be saved. We are the ones who testify to the dark world
that the Light has come into the world.
We are the ones who proclaim that there truly is healing for our evil
deeds. We are the signposts who point
the others in our lives to the Christ, the Son of God, that they, like us,
might not be condemned, but rather might turn to Him and live eternally!
Peace,
Brian†
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