From Serpent to Salvation: A Foreshadowing of the Cross

Have you ever read something in the Old Testament and felt a holy echo in your spirit—a whisper of Jesus written between the lines?

That happened to me recently as I was reading Numbers 21. The Israelites were in the wilderness (again), complaining (again), and God responded in a way that feels harsh at first glance: He sent fiery serpents among them. But tucked into this moment of judgment is one of the most powerful foreshadows of Jesus in all of Scripture.

Let’s break it down.

Loathing the Bread of Heaven

In Numbers 21:5, the Israelites say something chilling:

“Our souls loathe this worthless bread.”

They weren’t just talking about any meal—they were talking about manna. Bread from Heaven. A miracle they woke up to every morning. But now, their appetite had shifted. What once sustained them had become “worthless” in their eyes.

Fast-forward to the New Testament, and we see the same attitude in the religious elite. The Pharisees were given a greater bread—the Bread of Life, Jesus Himself—and they rejected Him, too. They didn’t just misunderstand Him. They despised Him. Loathed Him. Called Him a glutton, a drunk, even demon-possessed.

The rejection of the bread in the wilderness pointed forward to the rejection of the true Bread on Earth.

Serpents in the Camp—and in the Synagogue

As a result of their rebellion, God sent fiery serpents. The bites were deadly, and the people quickly realized their sin. But why serpents?

Serpents represent more than punishment. They symbolize deception. It was a serpent in Eden who deceived humanity into rebellion. And it was serpents in the wilderness who exposed the consequences of rejecting God’s provision.

Now look at Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23:33:

“You serpents, you brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”

The same spiritual poison that filled the desert was flowing through the religious system. The Pharisees appeared holy, but Jesus exposed their hypocrisy and judgment as deadly. They were leading people not to life—but to spiritual death.

A Serpent Lifted Up… and a Savior Lifted Higher

Here’s where it gets beautiful.

God tells Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole. Anyone bitten who looked at it would live. Strange, right? A serpent as a symbol of healing?

Isn’t it just like God to flip the script?

The serpent, from the beginning, has been a symbol of deception, sin, and shame. In Eden, it whispered lies. In the wilderness, it brought death. Yet in Numbers 21, God used that same image—a serpent—to bring healing. Not because the serpent had power, but because obedience and faith did.

And then… the cross.

It was a Roman execution device. A symbol of torture, humiliation, and curse. The kind of death reserved for criminals and rebels. But when Jesus was nailed to it, the meaning shifted. Just like the serpent, the cross—once a symbol of suffering—became a symbol of salvation.

That’s the redemptive nature of our God.

He doesn’t just remove shame.

He transforms it.

He doesn’t just silence the enemy.

He uses what the enemy meant for evil… and makes it good.

So when we look at the bronze serpent, we see the foreshadowing.

And when we look at the cross, we see the fulfillment.

In both cases, the path to healing required one thing:

Look up.

Jesus refers to this moment in John 3:14–15:

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The bronze serpent was temporary, just for that moment. But it set the stage. Because one day, Jesus—who knew no sin—would become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He would be lifted up, not in judgment, but in love. And this time, the healing wouldn’t just be physical—it would be eternal.

Look and Live

The wilderness and the cross tell the same story: Sin poisons. But faith heals.

The Israelites had to look up at what symbolized their sin to be healed. We look up to Jesus, who bore our sin, and we’re saved.

That bronze serpent healed bodies. The cross heals souls.

That serpent was lifted for a moment. Jesus was lifted for all time.

That moment in the wilderness was temporary. But the salvation Jesus offers is forever.

So if you feel the sting of sin in your life—if you’ve rejected the Bread of Life or felt the bite of deception—hear this: You don’t have to stay poisoned.

Just look up.

Jesus has already been lifted.

And all who set their eyes on Him will live.