06/11/2026
One of the most important conversations in Scripture took place at night between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a respected religious leader, a teacher of Israel, and a man who knew the Scriptures. Yet despite all of his knowledge, Jesus told him something startling: “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
This revealed a truth central to Christianity. Entrance into God's kingdom isn't achieved through religious knowledge, moral effort, family heritage, or good works. It requires spiritual rebirth - a transformation that only God can accomplish.
As the conversation continued, Jesus explained how this new life would be made possible. He pointed Nicodemus back to an event from Israel's history. When the Israelites were dying from poisonous serpent bites in the wilderness, God had instructed Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole. Those who looked upon it in faith were healed and lived. Jesus then applied that event to Himself:
“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (John 3:14)
The bronze serpent was never the point. It was a foreshadowing of Christ.
Just as the Israelites couldn't save themselves from the poison that was killing them, humanity can't save itself from sin. The remedy wasn't found within them but outside of them. In the same way, salvation is found not in ourselves but in Jesus Christ, who would be lifted up on the cross for the sins of the world.
While the bronze serpent required people to "look," our New Birth requires a leap of faith. To be born again is to stop looking at our own efforts and to start looking at the One who was lifted up on the cross. Our question now is no longer "What must I do?" but "In whom do I trust?"🌻❤️🙏
