The Serpent on the Pole Analogy

John 3. 14  "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  15  "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus, speaking to the religious leader Nicodemus about the need for the new birth to enter the kingdom of God, makes a correlation between an OT event involving Israel in the wilderness and His future crucifixion. 

In the wilderness, after leaving Egypt by the mighty deliverance of God, the people complained about their situation.  God, as a consequence for complaining, sent fiery serpents among them, and if bitten, they would die. 

But then God made provision.  An image of a fiery serpent was made and put on a pole.  Then, if bitten, one just need to look at the serpent on the pole, and he would live.

This was God’s provision for them.  To look at the serpent was to take God at His word of this provision and promise. 

The correlation is at least an analogy, if not a foreshadowing of Christ.   The serpent was a result of Israel’s sin, while Jesus on the cross was a result of man’s sin.   The serpent on the pole would become the provision for salvation from impending physical death while Jesus on the cross is the provision for salvation from spiritual death.  If like the Jew in the wilderness, who was saved temporally by looking at the serpent on the pole, we look in faith to Christ for salvation, we will be saved eternally:  "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:15