The Lord said to Moses: Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live. I find the image haunting and beautiful. The instrument of death becomes the instrument of healing. You're dying from snake venom, and the remedy is to look at a snake made of bronze. It doesn't make logical sense. But it works. Jesus later uses this image about himself: As Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up. He's saying that what appears to be an instrument of death and shame becomes the path to healing. The cross looks like defeat, like death, like the ultimate failure. But it's actually the remedy. Looking at it doesn't instantly make you feel better. It doesn't numb the pain of the venom. But it centers your attention on the healing. It reminds you that salvation is available. There's something about looking at what heals us. Not looking away, not trying to forget the bite happened, but looking directly at the remedy and trusting that it works.
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