Numbers 21:8-9 (Bronze Serpent)
In the wilderness, the Israelites were plagued by "fiery serpents" as judgment for their complaining. God provided a remedy through a bronze serpent:
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. — Numbers 21:8-9 (ESV)
Fulfillment
Christian Interpretation
Jesus explicitly identified this event as a type (foreshadowing) of his own crucifixion:
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 (ESV)
The symbolism is striking:
- The Curse: The serpent represented the curse/sin (snakes were biting them).
- The Remedy: The image of the curse (bronze serpent) was lifted up.
- The Act of Faith: Looking at the lifted object brought life.
In Christian theology, Christ became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13) and was "lifted up" on the cross. Just as the Israelites looked to the bronze serpent to be physically healed, believers look to the crucified Christ for spiritual healing and eternal life.
This may also connect the "serpent" imagery in Genesis 3:15, where the seed of the woman crushes the serpent's head. Here, the serpent is defeated by being "lifted up" (exposed/judged) in the person of Christ.
Jewish Interpretation
Jewish tradition does not interpret this event as a messianic prophecy. Instead, it is understood as a lesson in faith and a warning against idolatry.
Focus on God, Not the Snake: The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 3:8) explicitly rejects the idea that the snake itself had power:
"Does the serpent kill, or does the serpent keep alive? Rather, when Israel would look upward and subject their hearts to their Father in heaven, they were healed; but if not, they would pine away."
For Jewish commentators, the physical act of looking up was merely a mechanism to direct the people's hearts toward God in repentance.
Idolatry Warning (Nehushtan): The potential for misinterpreting this object as having inherent divine power is highlighted in 2 Kings 18:4, where King Hezekiah destroys the bronze serpent because the Israelites had begun worshiping it as an idol named "Nehushtan." This reinforces the Jewish view that the object itself was not holy or messianic, but a temporary tool that later became a stumbling block.
Conclusion
The bronze serpent serves as a vivid typological prophecy. While originally a means of physical preservation for Israel, Jesus interprets it as a divine pattern pointing to the manner and purpose of his death.