Look and Live — TDW Kids

Lifted Up

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Jesus once pointed back to a story from Numbers to explain why He came. The bronze serpent on a pole was a picture of Jesus on the cross. Jesus wanted people to understand His death by remembering this old story.

Jesus' own words. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). Jesus said this to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a teacher who came to Jesus at night with questions.

Why He came. “That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:15). The next verse is John 3:16. Whoever means anyone at all, just like everyone in the camp could look.

Lifted from the earth. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). Draw means to pull close. Jesus wants people from every nation to come to Him.

The cross. John explains, “This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (John 12:33). Signifying means showing. Jesus knew how He would die long before it happened.

Then they will know. “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He” (John 8:28). The cross shows who Jesus is. It shows His love and His power to save.

Humble obedience. Jesus “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

He carried our sins. Jesus “Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). The tree means the cross. He carried what we could never carry.

Made sin for us. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

A curse for us. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Redeemed means bought back. Jesus paid the price to bring us back to God.

It is finished. On the cross Jesus said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). His work of saving was complete. Nothing more needs to be added.

Look to Jesus. We keep “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).

What we learn. The bronze serpent was lifted up so people could live. Jesus was lifted up so we can live forever.

What to do. This week, read John 3:14-16 every day and thank Jesus for being lifted up for you.

Jesus Himself explained the story of Numbers 21. He used it to teach Nicodemus why He came. In John's Gospel the words “lifted up” point again and again to the cross, so knowing this story well helps you understand the whole Gospel of John.

John 3:14-15. Jesus tells Nicodemus that the Son of Man “must” be lifted up. Looking at the serpent is like believing in Jesus, and the life the Israelites received is like the eternal life Jesus gives. The Old Testament story helps us understand the New.

Divine necessity. The word “must” shows that the cross was part of God's plan, not an accident of history. Acts 2:23 says the same: Christ was delivered by God's determined purpose.

John 12:32-33. When Jesus is lifted up, He draws “all peoples” to Himself, and John explains that He meant the way He would die. At the cross Jesus draws people from every nation to Himself by His grace.

John 8:28. The lifting up shows who Jesus is: “then you will know that I am He.” At the cross we see more clearly than anywhere else that Jesus is the Son of God who came to save.

Double meaning. In John, being lifted up is both crucifixion and exaltation. The cross is the place of Christ's glory. John 12:23 calls it the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Philippians 2:8-9. Paul traces the same movement: obedience to the point of the cross, then exaltation. Humiliation and glory belong together in the gospel.

1 Peter 2:24. Christ bore our sins “in His own body on the tree.” Peter quotes Isaiah 53: “by whose stripes you were healed.” Healing language fits the bronze serpent story well.

2 Corinthians 5:21. The sinless One was “made… sin for us.” Many Christians see a picture of this in the bronze serpent, an image of the judgment lifted up for healing. The clearest link is the one Jesus made Himself in John 3:14.

Galatians 3:13. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” Christ took the curse. The cursed death of the cross became the means of blessing.

John 19:30. “It is finished” uses a word that could mean paid in full. The work is complete. Nothing remains to be paid by the sinner.

Hebrews 12:2. We are called to keep “looking unto Jesus,” just as the bitten Israelites looked at the serpent. The Greek word (aphorao, say: ah-for-AH-oh) means to look away from everything else and fix your eyes on one thing. Faith keeps its eyes on Christ.

Healing and salvation. In Numbers 21 physical life was restored; in John 3 eternal life is given. The healing of bodies in the wilderness was a picture of the greater healing Jesus brings to the soul.

Application. This week, explain John 3:14-16 in your own words to a friend or someone in your family.

Just Look

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A bitten Israelite did not have to earn healing. He only had to look. The Bible shows that being saved by Jesus is just as simple: we trust Him.

Everyone. God said “everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8). No one was left out. It did not matter how badly someone was bitten.

Look to Me. “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22).

Bright faces. “They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed” (Psalm 34:5). Radiant means shining. Trusting God fills us with joy.

Believe. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Paul and Silas said this to a jailer. That same night the jailer and his family believed.

Call on Him. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Calling on Him is like looking to Him in prayer.

From death to life. “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life… but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

God's will. “Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40). Jesus promises life now and life after death.

Come and rest. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The tired and discouraged are welcome.

A gift. “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). A gift is received, not earned.

Not the object. Later people worshiped the bronze serpent, and King Hezekiah “broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made” (2 Kings 18:4). We trust God, not things. Even good things can become idols.

The first promise. Long ago God promised that a Son of Eve would crush the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15). Many Christians see Jesus' victory there. Jesus defeated the enemy at the cross.

Victory. “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans 16:20).

What to do. This week, when you feel you have messed up, look to Jesus. Tell Him you are sorry and thank Him for His forgiveness.

Numbers 21 is one of the clearest pictures of faith in the Old Testament. The bitten Israelite contributed nothing but a look toward God's provision. That is the heart of what the New Testament calls faith.

Universal offer (Numbers 21:8). “Everyone who is bitten.” The remedy was available to all, regardless of how badly they were bitten. The gospel offer is equally wide.

Isaiah 45:22. The prophet widens the invitation: “All you ends of the earth.” Salvation is offered to every nation. The God of Israel invites the whole world.

Psalm 34:5. Looking to God brings radiance, not shame. Faith transforms the one who looks. Shame gives way to joy.

Acts 16:31. The Philippian jailer asked what he must do; the answer was simply to believe. Belief in Christ was enough for him and his household.

Romans 10:13. Paul quotes Joel 2:32. Calling on the Lord is the voice of faith. Looking and calling are two pictures of the same trust.

John 5:24. Believers already possess everlasting life and “shall not come into judgment.” The change is decisive. Passing from death to life is not a slow climb but a gift received.

John 6:40. Seeing the Son and believing brings life now and resurrection later. The bronze serpent gave life for a time; Christ gives life forever.

Matthew 11:28. The invitation to the weary echoes the discouraged soul of Numbers 21:4. Christ meets the weary with rest, not rebuke.

Ephesians 2:8-9. Faith is the empty hand that receives, not a work that earns. The bitten Israelite did not heal himself by looking; God healed him.

Nehushtan (2 Kings 18:4). The serpent became an idol named Nehushtan. Religious objects, even good ones, become dangerous when people trust them in place of God. A lucky charm, a habit, or even church activities can quietly take the place of trusting Christ.

Genesis 3:15. Many Christians call this the first gospel promise: the woman's Seed would bruise the serpent's head. Romans 16:20 carries the same hope forward: God will crush Satan under our feet.

Revelation 12:9. The story ends with “that serpent of old” cast down. Christ's victory is complete. The serpent's story ends in defeat.

Application. Think about what people today trust instead of Christ. Pray for one person you know, and ask God for a chance to point that person to Jesus.

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