"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:14-15 KJV)
"And this is the record, that God hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (1 John 5:11-12 KJV)
Just about now, I am wondering what was going on in Nicodemus' mind. Was he considering the value of that serpent's meaning, and how it was conditional upon life to those that had been bitten? Did it dawn on him that he was in need of eternal life, or did he claim to already have it? Or, did he finally see the truth, and realize that he was set to perish? These are not unusual questions, as they have a very familiar tone to anyone that might be pondering where they stand in the path to eternity.
That is, of course, you might even believe that there is an eternity. Yes or no? If you believe that it is so, then these are very important questions to ponder; if you do not, then you might feel more at liberty to live life as if there is no tomorrow. Ask me how I know that, and I will tell you it is not that hard to do! There was a short period of my life, about six years, when I pretended God did not exist, and I lived life as if it just didn't matter.
Not that I am proud of that, because I am not; but I do know that it is easy to loose sight of what really should matter. I say that with a very serious heart; we all can fall into a place where we forget what really matters, giving ourselves the chance to do things we usually would never do. Just be careful, that is about the best advice I can give! Peter makes this very clear, saying, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8 KJV)
Don't think for a minute Peter is only saying sober means not to drink alcohol; because it basically means to be discreet, which means to be careful not to cause offense; something, it just so happens, we usually will loose sight of when we are a little bit drunk. I'm just saying! Why am I talking about this, and how is it even part of the story?
Believe it or not, but there is nothing more important than what you believe! So, when you look, it really matters what you are looking for! Nicodemus knew the story; he knew that the people weren't looking to see a bronze serpent on a pole: they were looking to be healed, to stay alive! It meant that much to them, if it matters that they might live, to do all that they could do, to look...
"A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, "Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you." But Jesus said, "Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me." When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. "Daughter," he said to her, "your faith has made you well. Go in peace."" (Luke 8:43-48 NLT)
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