And
the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole:
and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon
it, shall live.
And
Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass,
that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he
lived.
Num 21:8-9 KJV
The figurative interpretation of this Scripture is
that “the fiery serpent” [bronze serpent] on the pole represents Christ on the
cross.
Without exception, the serpent in the Bible is a
figure representing evil. From its role in the Garden of Eden to the dragon’s
defeat in Revelation, the serpent is the embodiment of evil. How, then, can
“the bronze serpent” on the pole represent Christ?
God
made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the
righteousness of God.
2 Cor 5:21 NIV
For our sake God made Christ virtually to be sin
Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become the righteousness
of God. Through Him we are approved and
accepted, and in right relationship with God.
The suffering of the sinful nature came upon
mankind as a result of the ministry of the serpent, the penalty and immediate
sentence was death!
But, the sinless One became sin for us, and nailed
our sins to the cross. Therefore, all who look to the cross will find their
sinful nature nailed to it—and they are resurrected with Christ to New Life
free from the corruption and curse of sin.