Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor,
taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long
journey, and they began to speak against
God and Moses. “Why have you brought us
out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to
drink. And we hate this horrible manna!” So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were
bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have
sinned by speaking against the
Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and
attach it to a pole. All who are bitten
will live if they simply look at it!” So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to
a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a
snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed! Numbers
21:4-9 (NLT)
And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a
pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that
everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. John 3:14-15 (NLT)
The history of the people of God (both Old and New
Testament) is heavily-marked by a cyclical wandering away from their God,
followed by catastrophe, and then turning back to the faith of their
fathers.
We are a forgetful bunch!
Jesus used the Old Testament wanderings as a
foreshadowing of what the cross would mean to those who are Christ’s
disciples. It is clear that Jesus was
predicting his death by crucifixion, and the reason for his death is so we
might “look [to the cross] and live”.
In the desert, disobedient grumblers had to exercise
faith by looking to the serpent on a pole.
We have a modern day reminder of that in the symbol of the medical profession,
representing the healing professions.
In the case of modern medicine there is a great cost
when you come to the healer (don’t we all know that!). The cross of Calvary had a much higher cost.
Since the days of the first century, disciples of
Jesus have used the sign of the cross to identify themselves with their
Master. We wear crosses, put cross
stickers on the back windows of minivans, and baptize making the sign of the
cross. Millennial Christians even get
cross tattoos (not for me; I hate needles).
The cross is an appropriate identification for those
who turn in faith to God for mercy and forgiveness. Here’s how one writer thinks about making the
sign of the cross:
"Draw an I and then cross it
out." As we make the sign, we first draw a vertical stroke, as if to say
to God, "Lord, here am I." Then we cancel it with a horizontal
stroke, as if to say, "Help me, Lord, to abandon my self-centeredness and
self-will, and to make you the center of my life instead. Fix all my attention and
all my desire on you, Lord, that I may forget my self, cancel my self, abandon
myself completely to your love and service."[1]
That’s not a bad way to start a day!
For You, Today…
Whether you are into
using this early Christian practice of “making the sign of the cross” or any
like symbolism, remember today that the Word of the cross is best stamped on
the soul.
As you walk through
this day, pick up your cross as you follow Jesus; be his witness and show
someone else how to look and live!
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