When he says it is finished, he puts an end to sin and iniquity and lawlessness, not practically, but in terms of saving his people from their sins. And then we've got the bronze serpent. Remember Jesus likens his mission to that bronze serpent in John's gospel, John chapter 3. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must also the Son of Man be lifted up. And remember that bronze serpent in Numbers chapter 21. What was going on? Oh, the people are worshiping and they're praising and they're thanking and they're glorifying God. No, that's not what happened. The people were grumbling. The people were whining. The people were longing to go back to Egypt because they wanted better fair. So, what does God do? He sends serpents, fiery serpents. Probably not actual flames of fire on the snakes, but when they bit you, the inflammation and the pain would certainly result, but it would be deadly as well. So God sends these fiery serpents to bite these Israelites. And then the people cry out to Moses. We don't want to be bitten by fiery serpents and we don't want to die. Notice how God doesn't say, "Well, you miserable, lawless wretches, you started this chapter off by whining and complaining just off the heels of a victory, by the way, against certain Canaanites. I'm I'm just going to let you throb in pain, be inflamed to the point of death, and and be done with you." That's not what happens at all. God says to Moses, "Build this bronze serpent. Lift it up in the wilderness, and everyone who looks to that serpent will live." It's that simple. It's that easy. It's that wonderful. It's that glorious. You look and you live. You don't pull yourself over and kiss the foot of it. You don't suck the venom out first and then go over to it, but rather you look and live. Isn't that intriguing that Jesus uses that by way of an analogy to his own mission?
