St. John Lutheran Church

Lent 4, 2018

Numbers 21:4-9

John 3:14-21

“Look to the Cross”

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase “history tends to repeat itself.” And so it does. God’s beloved children…don’t always act the way they should. We sin. We whine. We complain. We grumble. We are often unthankful. I hate to admit to doing these things as well. I hate to admit that we Christians of today often act like the Israelites of the Old Testament. So much for learning from other’s mistakes.

Our Old Testament reading reminds us not only of our own sinful nature…but the repetitious sinful nature of God’s people. Over and over again we see in the Old Testament the same theme: God’s children get impatient. God’s people rebel. God’s people are punished. God’s people repent. God forgives. God blesses. This theme would happen over and over again for generations.

The Old Testament lesson might remind you of your children. Your teenager comes home from school and is hungry. They grumble about how hungry they are. So eat something!. Look in the fridge! Then it happens. Your child stands in front of the open fridge and whines and complains there is nothing to eat! They do this even though the fridge is packed with all kinds of things to eat. It just doesn’t have what they want. Has that ever happened to you? I hate to say that I’ve done that.

“From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” (Numbers 21:4-5)

Sounds eerily similar. The people of God start whining and complaining. Hey God… why are you trying to kill us. We’re hungry and there is nothing to eat or drink. Oh, by the way…the food that is here…right in front of us (so much for nothing to eat) that food is worthless! We’re tired of this quail and manna. This wasn’t the first time they complained. “And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:2-3) “Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” (Numbers 11:4-6)

How quickly they forgot what life was really like in Egypt. They were slaves. They were overworked, beaten, mocked, abused, and often left for dead. They had nothing! They truly were hungry in Egypt. “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.” (Exodus 1:12-14) “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” (Exodus 2:23-25)

Be careful what you ask for. The Israelites complained. They recalled their life in Egypt and told Moses and God that things were better as slaves to Egypt than they were following God. So what does God do. He hears their prayers and gives them what they wanted. God punished His people. You think the suffering you endured as slaves is better? Fine! Here is a reminder of your suffering. “Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21:6)

Now before you start thinking that God was being mean…He wasn’t! God was being just. The people were rejecting the gifts God gave…the miracle God gave…the freedom and life God gave. Even as the people complained…they were leading…guiding…and shepherding livestock they took with them from Egypt. It was smart to take them. It was smart not to slaughter them all. They would need the livestock once they settled in Canaan. Yet it shows their lack of trust that God would provide. Indeed God did provide them with food and drink. But they rejected the gifts of God. So God reminded them of the blessings He truly gave them by giving them what they asked for and deserved. Many Israelites died.

Even though our Heavenly Father punishes…He is quick to forgive and He constantly loves His people. “And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” (Numbers 21:7-9)

That symbol is still used. That symbol is still a symbol of healing and life. They symbol of a snake on a pole is used by many Medical Corps, paramedics, physicians, and nurses. What a beautiful symbol of God’s love…of His forgiveness and life. The Israelites were healed and saved as long as they looked to the snake on a pole. The Israelites looked by faith and were healed by God’s grace. Yet that symbol, still used, pointed to an event that would bring greater healing and eternal life.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15) My brothers and sisters in Christ. We are impatient and rebellious just like our forefathers…just like God’s people of every generation. We too have been snake bitten…we have been bitten by that serpent Satan and we are dying from the venom of sin.

God doesn’t leave us to die. God gives us life. God gives us a Savior who was lifted on a pole; on a cross. By faith look to the cross. Look to Christ Jesus who died for you. By God’s grace you are saved. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)

Through Christ we are forgiven and saved. In Christ we have life. We have been given life through the waters of Holy Baptism along with faith and we have been given strength and forgiveness through Jesus’ body and blood. That is the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is your Father’s love for you. It does not fail. It is eternal. And it is yours now and forevermore. Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Amen.