The Cross, Our New Bronze Serpent

Have you ever been surprised by the illustrations Messiah, Jesus, used to explain things? He seems, at times, to use references from the Scriptures that I never would have chosen. In John 3 our Lord decides to use this reference to help Nicodemus understand who He, Messiah, is and why He has come. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14). The reference comes from the events recorded in Numbers 21. The children of God had rebelled and poisonous serpents were biting and killing the Israelites. God instructed Moses to fashion a serpent out of bronze and attach it to a pole. All who looked upon it and believed God would be delivered from death. In the same way all who will look upon Messiah, the One lifted up, and believe God will likewise be delivered from death. The down side to the Numbers story is revealed to us years later in 2 Kings 18. It is recorded that Judah's King, Hezekiah, destroys all of the idols, high places and the bronze serpent for people had come to bow before it and offer incense before it. The symbol had become an idol.

Have you noticed that the truth of some Scriptures become more apparent over time? I have quoted Ecclesiastes 1:9 more often than I can remember, at least the last part of the verse, "And there is nothing new under the sun." We seem to make the same mistakes, follow the same bad directions, accept the same wrong conclusions and do the same stupid things that have been done or said in previous generations. This is true in much of life and it can be true for those who are followers of Yahweh and Yeshua, His Son, our Messiah. We tend to allow church traditions and manufactured theologies to become "truth" to the point that, should someone question their validity, they are branded a heretic. If the judgement is not that severe they are dismissed as those who have invalid thoughts and ideas. We just carry on with the same traditions and make them holy and sacred while we dismiss the dangers. This post has been sitting on the back shelf of my mind for some time. I have hesitated to write and post this for the topic has become one of Christianity's most sacred idols. The danger is placed in God's Word beginning in Numbers 21 and not coming to a conclusion until 2 Kings 18.The sacred bronze serpent.

We no longer enshrine the bronze serpent. Some of us would be hard pressed to find the story to begin with. However, we have a new bronze serpent, a new sacred shrine to bow before. That figure, symbol, shrine, and icon is the cross and it has held its grip on Christianity from the fourth century. Tradition holds that Constantine the Great had a vision in October 312 AD. The vision of a cross and the words, "In this sign conquer". So inspired by the vision Constantine did just that. His following military campaigns were a series of decisive victories while the cross was adopted on his banners and his armies' shields. As Constantine's influence spread so did the symbol of the cross. It was Constantine who called for the meeting of the  Nicene Council who gave us the Nicene Creed, a statement of the basic fundamentals of Christian faith. Constantine had no small impact on what was to become the church. Now the cross has been embedded into all who would refer to themselves as Christians. The word is often the subject of our hymns and praise songs. The message is clear. Our faith is based on and tied to the cross in no uncertain terms. Yet, this emphasis is simply lacking in our Biblical texts. We sing the songs and recite the words with little thought as to their accuracy in comparison with the Scriptures.

All of the occurrences of the "cross" in the Gospel accounts are references to the idea of death. We are told to take up our cross and follow Him, meaning to die to ourselves and to live for Messiah. Paul makes reference to the cross only ten times in all of his writings, and only in five of his thirteen letters. Nine of the ten are clear references to the Lord's crucifixion, His death on the cross. The only other occurrence comes from the writer to the Hebrews and this too is a reference to the Lord's crucifixion and death. The message is that of Christ's death, not of Christ's cross. No offense intended, but our hope is in the resurrection, not in the cross. The early followers of Messiah understood the horror of the cross, the crucifixion. No one left Golgotha with the idea of turning this hideous instrument of death into a religious icon. No one thought of making little bronze and silver replicas to be sold as necklaces and earrings. No, those ideas came many years later. Once again, no offense intended to David Crowder, but his song, "My Victory", seems to miss the point. The lyrics proclaim, "The cross meant to kill is my victory". I understand the thought, and our victory certainly rests in Messiah Jesus. However,  the cross meant to kill did just that. It killed Messiah. Brutally, horribly, in agonizing and unfathomable pain the cross did its work. And Jesus died. just like thousands before Him and thousands that would follow. The Romans had an insatiable thirst for this torturous means of execution. We tend to polish the symbol and ignore the agony. My victory and yours, came three days later when the tomb burst open and the angels proclaimed, "He is not here, He is risen, just as He said". The horror of the cross was a means to an end. He is risen, the grave no longer holds its victory.

We decorate our meeting places and ornament our lives with crosses of bronze and silver. Yet, we seldom reflect on the true picture of the cross and the events that surround it. Mel Gibson's, "Passion of the Christ" gives us a taste. but even that falls short. I have heard evangelicals criticize the Catholics and Orthodox believers for their crucifixes. Stating that our Savior is no longer on the cross. True, but His cross was not polished gold or ornately encrusted with precious stones. At least our Catholic friends have not lost sight of His agonizing death.

The cross as a symbol has its place. However, when it becomes a sacred shrine I fear we are moving toward worshiping a bronze serpent. The symbol is not at fault, our enamored attachment to it may well be an issue. Some time ago I attended a evangelistic meeting. At the front of the stage was a large cross made of polished hard wood. The message was spoken and the invitation was given to come and kneel at the cross. Ask Jesus to be your savior and you could know you had eternal life. I was honestly a bit surprised that the neither the message nor the invitation said much about the resurrection. All those who went forward got a New Testament and a bookmark with a little bronze cross to tack on their shirt. A polished icon, a symbol, a religious shrine to look upon and be reminded that Jesus died for their sins. The proclamation has no emphasis relating to the resurrection. As long as we can look to the bronze cross we can know we are okay. We can be assured of life eternal. The actual events of the crucifixion have been sanitized and the resurrection marginalized.   Perhaps we need to remember Paul's words to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 15:14 & 19, "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

Our hope, our victory, is in the reality of a risen savior. He is alive and sits on the right hand of the Father, interceding for us day by day. May we take care that we do not find ourselves bowed down and worshiping the bronze cross instead of the risen Savior.