Numbers chapter 21, if you would turn to that passage with me. Numbers chapter 21, we'll read a section from here. We'll also read a portion from John's gospel, chapter three. If you would care to turn that up and mark it. But we begin in Numbers 21. We'll read a portion beginning in verse four. And with God's word open before us, let's seek the Lord in prayer and let's all pray. Oh Lord, as we bow in thy presence now with thy word open before us, we do pray that the Holy Spirit would bear witness to its truth and drive that truth home to our hearts so that truth becomes more than academic to our minds, may it become reality to our souls, and may we live in the light of what we hear from thy word, and may our hearts be prepared for the remembrance of Christ. I pray, Lord, that thou will take me up and use me, and to that end, I plead the blood of Christ over my heart and life. And ask, Lord, that thou wilt grant me cleansing in that fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And then be pleased to grant to me strength of heart and mind, clarity of thought and speech, especially unction from on high, that the message will be perceived not merely as a sermon crafted by a man, but as a message from God for this people on this occasion, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Numbers chapter 21, we begin in verse four. I should just let you know that this is in the setting of the children of Israel in the wilderness. 40 years they've been sentenced to wander in the wilderness. And in that connection, we read beginning in verse four, and this is the word of God, let us hear it. And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea to compass the land of Edom. And the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. And the people spake against God and against Moses. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people. and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole. And it shall come to pass that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass and put it upon a pole. And it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. And now if you would turn to John's Gospel, chapter three. John chapter three. Just one verse here. Verse 14, Christ is speaking. He says, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. One more passage, okay, in John's Gospel, chapter 12. Forgot to announce that, but John 12. And verse 31, and again, this is Christ speaking. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This, he said, signifying what death he should die. Amen, we'll end our reading with that verse in John 12, and we know the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of his word for his name's sake. The narrative in Numbers chapter 21 certainly conveys to us a very vivid and clear message of salvation. Christ himself makes use of this story repeatedly in John's gospel, as we just saw. in order to teach his followers by what means he would die. So we read in John 12, verses 32 and 33, and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. There's the reference to the narrative in Numbers 21, Christ being lifted up. Now listen to the explanation that John gives for Christ's statement. This, he said, signifying what death he should die. So the grounds for our salvation is illustrated in this passage in Numbers 21. And of course, the means to salvation is illustrated here as well. Those who had been bitten by serpents had but to look. They had to look to the brass serpent in order to live. And this is all that's necessary for a sinner to be saved. He must look. He must look with the eye of faith to Christ. In Isaiah chapter 45 verse 22, we read these words coming from the Lord himself, look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else. This is the Lord's command and it is universal in its scope and it's very simple in its requirement. You're called upon simply to look. It was through that simple call, you know, that the great Baptist minister, C.H. Spurgeon, was saved when he heard an old Methodist deacon emphasize the simplicity of looking to Christ. As the story goes, it was a snowy day in the winter. So much so that the preacher of that Methodist church was not able to make it to the service, nor was the young Spurgeon able to make it to his own church, but he was able to make it to that nearby Methodist church. An elderly deacon was given the task of delivering the message that Sunday, and he did little more than recite the text of Isaiah 45 and verse 22, and then exhort the people to look, look, look, look unto me and be ye saved. Little did that deacon know that the conversion of one of the greatest Baptist preachers of all time would take place that day. through the simple repetition of that exhortation to look. Now, in our day, we're not called upon to look to a brass serpent mounted to a pole and lifted up so it might be visible to all, but we are nevertheless called upon to look. The elements of the Lord's Supper call upon us to look. We look at these elements, but we see beyond them with the eye of faith. So the passage is a good one for our consideration today in preparation for our time around the Lord's table, because we too are to look, we're to look to Christ. It's a fitting passage not only for evangelism, but for Christians as well. It was, after all, the people of God that were journeying in the wilderness. It was the complaining people of God that were bitten by the serpents. And it was the people of God that were commanded to look to the brass serpent. It was the people of God whose lives were saved when they beheld that brass serpent. Beholding the brass serpent then is my theme this morning. We must behold the one that that brass serpent pointed to. Beholding the brass serpent. And in analyzing this theme, I'd like for you to consider with me first the circumstances leading to the brass serpent. The circumstances leading to the creation and the making visible, the lifting up of this brass serpent. This answers the question as to why we're to look to Christ. You will find much under this heading to describe what is often our own spiritual condition. Notice the statement at the end of verse four, chapter 21, and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Rather ironic, isn't it? The people of God are discouraged. Christians are discouraged. It certainly was the case here. It specifically says that. In the previous chapter, you have the account of the Israelites seeking permission to journey through the land of Edom. Moses made it a point of emphasis to the Edomites that the Israelites would be very conscientious if they journeyed through Edom. They pledged not to pass through the fields or the vineyards, nor to drink any of the waters from the wells, but they would carefully stick to the king's highway without turning to the right or to the left until they had cleared the borders of Edom. But in spite of those assurances, the request of the Israelites was denied, and the Edomites came out against Israel with much people and a strong hand. We read in chapter 20 and verse 20, to make sure that the Israelites did not enter their land. And as a result of this denial, the Israelites were forced to take a long and perilous detour in order to go around the land of Edom. One commentator describes their route as going through a horrible desert. The difficulty of their journey, therefore, became a contributing factor toward their discouragement. Their discouragement was undoubtedly all the more magnified by their knowledge that the journey could have been much easier had the Edomites given them permission to go through their land. That always adds to the discouragement of any situation, doesn't it? When you know it could have been so much easier if only this or if only that, and yet because this or that is denied, the path becomes all the more difficult. These circumstances, of course, readily bring a couple of lessons to us, the first lesson being that the way of the Lord is not always—indeed, I think it could be said that it is rarely—the path of ease. Can you think of a single character in all the Bible whose life could be described as easy? Could the life of Moses be described as easy? when he had to constantly deal with the anger and rebellion of those he was called on to lead out of Egypt? Could the life of David be considered easy when he had to flee from Saul, or when he had to deal with an uprising against his kingdom originating in his own home, or when he had to deal with his own sins? His life wasn't easy. Arguably, you could say that his troubles began the moment Samuel anointed him to be the next king in Israel. Only in America, it would seem, does the notion gain acceptance that the Christian life can and should be a life of ease. I think one of the attractive features to the doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture is that it carries to our culture of affluence the notion that the Christian life is easy. Things get too difficult, such as the way they became for the children of Israel in the wilderness, then we expect to be simply lifted out of the situation rather than being called on to prove the Lord through our challenges and our trials. The teaching of Christ, nevertheless, is clear in this matter. In the world you shall have tribulation, John 16, 33. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it, said Christ in Matthew 10, verses 38 and 39. These verses indicate anything but going to heaven on flowery beds of ease. And through the elements of this table that we'll partake of here in a couple of moments, we are reminded that Christ's path was certainly not an easy one. He most certainly took up his cross, and he saw the issue of the cross through to the end. Another lesson that can be drawn out of these circumstances for Israel is the lesson that the Lord's people should not expect the world to make their way any easier. This world is hostile to Christ and hostile to grace. John 15 and verse 20. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And so we find in the bread and in the cup a reminder not only of what Christ endured for us, but a reminder also of what we should expect our portion to be as we follow him. Christ never gained the world's acceptance. He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. He came unto his own and his own received him not. And then a statement that shows the conformity of Christ's followers to their Savior. Paul tells us in Hebrews 11 and verse 13, this follows the list of those who walked by faith. This is in that chapter that gives us the catalog of the faithful. We read a statement that pertains to them all in verse 13. when it says, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. So the way of the Lord is not the way of ease, and we should not expect the help of the world to make our way easier. In our narrative, it is unfortunate that we discover the children of Israel complaining yet again because of their circumstances. Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, they grumble in verse 5. I know I've made this statement in the past, but I can't help but reflect on it. Anytime I read of the children of Israel in the wilderness, the thought just drifts me how short their memories were of what life was like in Egypt. They were slaves. They were in heavy servitude. They were afflicted. Life was tough. And yet when life in the wilderness became tough, all of a sudden life in Egypt seemed to have seemed easier. I wonder how many times Moses heard that complaint. The Lord had borne long with such complaints, but at this stage of their journey, the Israelites had pushed the Lord's long suffering over the edge, as it were, And this is what led to their being confined to the wilderness for 40 years in the first place. And now we read how the Lord sent fiery serpents among them, which bit the people and caused many of them to die. Now there's a couple of views as to what these fiery serpents were. It may be that the term fiery describes the fiery red spots that may have speckled these serpents. But in all likelihood, it describes the fiery effect of the poison upon the victim. In the case of the Israelites, these serpents were sent by the Lord as an act of chastisement for their grumbling and lack of faith, not to mention the way they had become dissatisfied with the Lord's provision. Our soul loatheth this light bread, they say in verse five, regarding the Lord's provision of manna. that he gave to them every day. I think it could be said of the Israelites spiritually that before they had been bitten by fiery serpents literally, they had first been bitten spiritually with the devil's bite of discontentment and bitterness. Such an application is not unwarranted by scripture. We find, for example, in Proverbs chapter 23, with regard to the use of wine when it's undiluted and read in the cup, that at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. And so can it be said of any sinful vice, or indeed of sin itself, in the end it bites like a serpent. The Israelite spiritual condition would indicate then that they had been bitten with serpents, they had been bitten with spiritual serpents, you could say, bitten with discouragement and discontentment, which led to complaining, and which leads the child of God today to be so ineffective and unattractive for Christ that it's as if he's lost his spiritual life by the serpent's bite of sin. and by unbelief. These are some of the circumstances then that led to the brass serpent being created. I wonder this morning how closely I've described your spiritual condition. Could it be that there are those here this morning that know the serpent's bite, the way it takes place spiritually? Could it be that in varying degrees we all find ourselves in need of the divine antidote to the bite of discouragement and dissatisfaction and bitterness and despair and unbelief? The things that kill us spiritually? Well, let's think upon that antidote then as we consider next the significance of the brass serpent. the significance of the brass serpent. Moses, as verse eight indicates to us, was instructed to make a fiery serpent and to set it on a pole. The spiritual significance of the brass serpent, I believe, is more far-reaching than its resemblance to the serpents that were literally biting the Israelites in the wilderness. We know from other passages that a serpent is emblematic of the devil. Indeed, we are first introduced to the devil in Genesis 3, when the devil possesses a serpent. There can be no doubt that the serpent in Genesis 3 had been possessed by the devil, for Christ himself refers to Satan as being a murderer from the beginning, and certainly this is what the serpent accomplished in Genesis 3. We also have a number of verses in Revelation that read like Revelation 12 and verse 9, for example. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceived the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Interesting to note the fact that this brass serpent was mounted to a pole. We understand from Christ's use of this passage that that pole would be emblematic of the cross. Now, in Protestant and Reformed circles, crosses have never been well received as ornaments or decorations. Especially repugnant are crosses with figures of Christ being nailed to them. There is, at the very least, a subtle suggestion that Christ never got beyond the cross by such an ornament, that Christ was defeated by the cross, and that he was never buried, or that he never rose from the dead. We see him fixed to a cross. And while it doesn't make for a fitting emblem of Christ, I would suggest it does make for a fitting emblem to see the serpent or the devil permanently attached to a pole, for the devil was indeed defeated by the cross. So John writes in his first epistle, for this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil. And in John 12 and verse 31, Christ announces, now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And in Hebrews 12 and verse 14, a verse that is very appropriate for our time of communion, we read, for as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil. That's in Hebrews 2, I think I said Hebrews 12, that's a typo in my notes, Hebrews 2. Christ, you see, has taken away the devil's leverage over the people of God. In Revelation 12 and verse 10, the verse makes reference to the devil being the accuser of the brethren. But on account of our union to Christ, the devil's accusations carry no weight. The problem is not that the devil is sorely lacking for things to accuse us of. Oh, we know too well that he could accuse us of many things. His problem is that the Lord's people are joined to Christ, and God sees them in Christ, and the devil has no leverage with which he can accuse Christ. So we are safe in Christ from the devil's accusations. He may still be described as a roaring lion, but so long as we take refuge in Christ, he's a toothless lion, so far as his roaring accusations go. What a blessing, then, to reflect on Christ's accomplishment from Calvary's cross. He bruised the serpent's head. He spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it, Colossians 2.15. And as a result, he set free those who all their lives were in bondage to the fear of death, Hebrews 2.15. But not only can the brass serpent picture the devil and remind us of the devil's defeat, but it can also picture sin itself and remind us that sin's dominion or sin's reign has been broken. I referred a moment ago to Proverbs 23, verse 32, which speaks with reference to wine when it's read in the cup, at the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. In Psalm 58, a connection is made between the wicked and the poison of the serpent. So we read in verses 3 and 4, Psalm 58, The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent. And in Psalm 140, the psalmist prays to be delivered from the evil man, which imagined mischiefs in their heart. Continually are they gathered together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Adder's poison is under their lips. The apostle Paul, you know, draws from these passages in Romans chapter three when he describes the awful extent of man's sinful depravity. So we find in this brass serpent a fitting emblem for sin itself. And the same thing that I said about the devil can be said about sin itself. It was defeated by Christ through his atoning death. It seems rather amazing that in our day this accomplishment by Christ is questioned. I received an email, this is quite some time ago, in which someone referred to a Bible study in which it was taught that Christ did not save us from sin, but he saved us from death, which is the result of sin. I have to admit I was puzzled by that notion for a while, wondering how in the world a Bible teacher could miss something so obvious. The force of Paul's argument in Romans 6 is found in the gospel truth that the believer has died to sin. How are we that are dead to sin? How are we to live any longer therein, Paul asks in Romans 6 in verse 2. Knowing this, he writes in verse six, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. He says in Romans six, verse 14, Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. Chapter six, verse 18. Being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life. Romans six and verse 22. I sure hope the man's Bible study referred to in that email wasn't over Romans chapter six. You would have to tear that chapter out of the New Testament in order to teach that Christ's intention was not to set us free from sin's guilt and sin's dominion. But then it dawned on me why this Bible teacher would hazard the notion that Christ never intended to save us from sin. Could it be that he's basing his teaching on his own experience? and on what he sees rather than on what God's Word teaches? We all know, don't we, if we're honest, that we still struggle against sin. We all know in our experience what Paul writes to the Galatians, Galatians 5, verse 17, that the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary, the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Indeed, in the chapter following Romans 6, where Paul makes all those statements about being dead to sin, he admits in chapter 7 of Romans that he is carnal, sold under sin, and that the things he would not do, he finds himself doing, and the things that he would do, he finds himself not doing. How, then, can it be said that we are dead to sin? The answer is, of course, it can be said by virtue of Christ's atoning death. It cannot be said to be true based on our success in overcoming it, but it can be said to be true based on what Christ has accomplished for us. Chapter 6, verse 10 in Romans, for in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. This is what we're here to remember this morning, that Christ died for our sins, and that in so doing, he broke sin's dominion. I love the way Wesley expresses this in one of his hymns, where he writes of Christ, he breaks the power of canceled sin. I love that statement, canceled sin, It is canceled, it is blotted out by Christ's atoning death, and its power is broken. He breaks the power of canceled sin. He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean. His blood availed for me. So we must be able to distinguish in the study of the New Testament the statements that speak to us of positional truth. It's an important concept to grasp, positional truth. Our position is in Christ. So when he died unto sin once, we died with him, and God views us in him as having then died to sin, because he died to it, and we're joined to him. The question that naturally arises then is how can I know in greater measure in the realm of my experience the blessing of my position in Christ, the blessing of being set free from sin's dominion? And this leads to our next and final consideration today. We've seen the circumstances leading to the Brass Serpent. We've seen the significance of the Brass Serpent. Think with me, finally, on our action required toward the Brass Serpent. The action required toward the Brass Serpent. What did the Israelites have to do? We'll listen again to verses eight and nine in Numbers 21. And the Lord said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. What did the Israelites have to do? They had to look. They had to behold the brass serpent, and upon their sight of the brass serpent, the effect of the fiery serpent's poison was nullified, and they lived. What do we have to do in order to recover from the serpent's bite of doubts and fears and bitterness and anguish and defeats on account of our sins and our shortcomings? We too have to look. We're not looking to a brass serpent, but we're looking instead to that which the elements of the Lord's Supper directs us. We're looking to the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. We're looking with the eye of faith not only toward what these elements point us to, but we're also sensitive to the message of the broken body and shed blood of Christ. It's the broken body and shed blood of Christ, you see, that tells us that the work of the devil has been destroyed. He has no leverage with which to accuse you. He had the leverage of guilt at one time, but guilt is no more an issue because Christ has paid the debt of your guilt. It's by looking to Christ that we can say with assurance, I am dead to sin. Not because I feel dead to it. Oh, heaven knows I feel very much alive to it too often. Positional truth, positional truth. I am dead to sin positionally because Christ died to it. I'm alive to God. And here again, heaven knows there are times when I feel anything but alive to God. I feel dead to God. I feel at times as if He doesn't exist. That's why I don't walk by faith, or by sight, we walk by faith. And again, positional truth enters the picture. I am alive to God positionally because my Savior is alive to God. And I'm joined to Him. You know, there is a wonderful simplicity about the gospel. All we have to do is look, and by looking, we're believing, okay? It's a believing look. I believe in Christ. It's when we stray from that simplicity that we become or remain downcast and defeated. How would it have been for the Israelites had they been told to look to the brass serpent and they responded by saying, nah, that won't do me any good. My problem is too serious for such a simple solution. I need the counsel of experts. I need some complex prescribed formula that will help me over time. Oh, we would count them to be fools who would reject God's simple formula for a complex and ineffective formula that left them victims of the serpent's poison. And so it has happened throughout the history of the church that the followers of Christ are tempted to look for anything but the simple formula prescribed by God himself. Paul, you know, had such a fear for the saints at Corinth. So he writes to them in 2 Corinthians 11 in verse 3, but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Oh, may God save us from the corruption that leads us away from the simplicity of Christ. It is in the elements of this supper that we can know that simplicity. It is through the reminder of Christ's love and Christ's provision that we'll overcome the poisonous effects of sin, that we'll gain assurance of the steadfastness of Christ's love. May we be drawn then this day to look to Christ and to hear the message of his atoning blood, that the devil and sin are defeated foes, and we have the glorious liberty of counting ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, may we with childlike simplicity of faith this morning look to Christ as we partake of these elements. Let's close then in prayer before we distribute the elements. O Lord, as we bow in thy presence now and bring the study to a close, we thank thee for our Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank you that Christ himself said, this is the work of God, that ye believe in him whom God has sent. O Lord, we do believe in thy Son. We believe that he is all that he's revealed to be in thy word. We believe in all that he is said to have done in thy word, which was to make atonement for our sins. May we look to him today, see him with the eye of faith, see beyond the physical elements to what they're designed to point us to, And may we, with grateful hearts, profess our faith in Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners. And as a result, may our hearts be stirred to greater love and obedience to him. For we pray now in Jesus' name, amen.