Christ Lifted Up So That We Might Live

Numbers 21.4-9

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Merciful God, we humbly implore you to cast the bright beams of your light upon your Church that we, being instructed by the doctrine of the blessed Apostles, may walk in the light of your truth and finally attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Lord in your mercy... Hear our prayer.

The Word of God which the Holy Spirit has caused to be written by inspiration for you is recorded in the 21 chapter of Numbers. Of particular importance are the words, “And the people came to Moses and said, “’We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.’” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten when he sees it , shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. 9 This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Beloved Saints is Christ,

Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!

In the appointed Old Testament Reading for this morning, the discouragement, impatience, the inner agitation and so grumbling of his people is the deadly sin with which the LORD must deal. 

The original Hebrew word that is often translated into the English word “discouraged” (qatsar) means to come up short. It is a word that is particularly directed to those difficult matters about which a person can do little to nothing.

   

These days we would say something like “I feel so helpless”. In ancient times people would speak or think in terms of their arm or hand being too short to do anything about a difficult situation.

For this reason the term long arm often meant power or the ability, the strength to do something about an otherwise hopeless situation.

We have heard of the "long arm" of the law which usually means that the authorities, especially the law enforcement authorities and by extension the courts, have the power and resources to do something about those who have committed crimes. Even in this sense the "long arm" brought comfort to those who were fearful about their situations and the ability of criminals to escape punishment for their crimes. 

 

But this is also why there are verses of Holy Scripture which speak about the LORD’s arm or hand being long enough to deliver to rescue to save his people. This is why we sometimes sing, “His arm now baring, his strength declaring, sing the greatness of the LORD.” (933)

This is why the Word of the LORD in Isaiah 59.1 says, “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is his ear so dull, that it cannot hear. This is a magnificent passage which is well suited for Rogate Sunday since Rogate reminds and encourages us to ask God for what we need in at all times and especially in difficult circumstances. This morning we are again taught to ask of the LORD especially in those times when our arms come up short because his arms are long enough to reach out and rescue us by doing something about our overwhelming situation.

The Old Testament Reading reveals that the ancient congregation of the LORD did speak against the LORD and against the LORD’s servant Moses. Now whether this was merely in their hearts or with their lips or both it does not matter at all. Those who think against the LORD are just as guilty of violating the First Commandment as those who complain out loud to others.

And we who have all been bitten by the serpent have become so skilled at grumbling and complaining about our lives, our situations, our crosses and the suffering that God our Father sends or allows to fall upon us that sometimes it might almost appear as though grumbling and complaining were part our righteousness; as though it were something God teaches us to do and upon which he smiles.

We all know it is wrong to grumble and speak against the Lord and none of us really wants to do it, so we deny it and hide it and treat it as though it is somehow God pleasing to broadcast how bad we have it, as though we are left completely alone to deal with our circumstances; left completely alone to do something about what our arms are far too short to do anything. 

We are not talking about sharing our burdens with one another here, which Scripture certainly tells us to do and which is one of the greatest gifts God has given us (certainly part of the mutual conversation and consolation of our fellow believers) which the Small Catechism places with the Means of Grace, the Gospel and Sacraments.       

What we are talking about here is that speaking about our situation in life as though it is entirely hopeless, that speaking which seems to expect nothing good from the LORD and so does not ask of the LORD; which refuses to listen to the Good News through which the LORD’s long arm brings his mighty all sufficient power of forgiveness and salvation to all those who call out to him with repentant hearts expecting and knowing that their prayers will be answered in God’s time and according to God’s will which is always best. How can we or why would we, the blessing redeemed of the LORD make it appear as though we have no God or Lord, that we have no Savior or deliverer or that there is no God or LORD in heaven who hears and answers our every cry for help in time of need. Is God our ever present help in every  time of need or not. Psalm 46:1) the Psalm from which we have our Mighty Fortress hymn says that he is! 

How can anyone who prays to the Triune God speak as though they are in a hopeless situation? To do this is nothing less than speaking against the LORD.

And when the LORD let the long arm of his law lose on the people in the form of poisonous, venomous snakes , it brought the people to the point of recognizing that they had sinned against the LORD and Moses and so they repented and confessed their sin to God’s servant Moses. When they confessed what they had done and what they had left undone and then asked for Moses to pray and ask God to take away the poisonous serpents from among them, Moses did so and God gave them a means of grace to save them from his wrath and so bring them from death to life.   

And yes the LORD's arm, as always, was long enough and powerful enough to reach out and deliver those people from their sin and death.

We all know it is wrong to grumble and speak against the Lord and none of us really wants to do it, so we deny it and hide it and treat it as though it is somehow God pleasing to broadcast how bad we have it, as though we are left completely alone to deal with our circumstances; left completely alone to do something about what our arms are far too short to do anything about. 

We are not talking about sharing our burdens with one another here, which Scripture certainly tells us to do and which is one of the greatest gifts God has given us (certainly part of the mutual conversation and consolation of our fellow believers which the Small Catechism places with the Means of Grace, the Gospel and Sacraments.       

What we are talking about here is that speaking about our situation in life as though it is entirely hopeless, that speaking which seems to expect nothing good from the LORD and so does not ask of the LORD; which refuses to listen to the Good News through which the LORD’s long arm brings his mighty all sufficient power of salvation and deliverance to those who call out to him with repentant hearts expecting and knowing that their prayers will be answered in God’s time and according to God’s will which is always best. How can we or why would we, the blessing redeemed of the LORD make it appear as though we have no God or Lord, that we have no Savior or deliverer or that there is no God or LORD in heaven who hears and answers our every cry for help in time of need. Is God our ever present help in every  time of need or not. Psalm 46:1) the Psalm from which we have our Mighty Fortress hymn says that he is! 

How can anyone who prays to the Triune God speak as though they are in a hopeless situation? To do this is nothing less than speaking against the LORD.

And when the LORD let the long arm of his law lose on the people in the form of poisonous, venomous snakes , it brought the people to the point of recognizing that they had sinned against the LORD and Moses and so they repented and confessed their sin to God’s servant Moses. They confessed what "they had done and what they had left undone" and they asked Moses to pray and ask God to take away the poisonous serpents from among them and to save them.

     

And yes the Lord arm, as always, was certainly long enough and powerful enough to reach out and deliver those people from death.

You would think that another serpent would be the very last thing those people would ever want to look at but the LORD works in very mysterious ways and so the LORD told them that anyone who was bit by a deadly poisonous serpent should look at the bronze serpent that was lifted up on the pole and then the LORD attached a promise to it - that whoever was dying would live.

So it is that God the Father in time extended his long arm further than he had ever extended it before. He sent his only begotten Son into our midst and says whoever looks at him will live. And God's Son was lifted up on the tree of the cross like that old bronze serpent. 

Even now it is sometimes difficult to look at the Son of God "lifted up" for us on the tree of the cross.  Sometimes we would just about rather look anywhere else than at the lifted up Son because we behold that the remedy is of the same flesh as the curse it reminds us that we have not only brought death upon ourselves but death to God's Son. The Son of God lifted up reminds us of the terrible depths of our sin and the punishment it deserved and  what we must suffer because of sin and death.

But here is the thing, the Son of God became our curse, our sin, to deliver us from the curse from our sin, to free us, and completely heal us from the curse of sin and death. And all who will repent and look to this Christ, this crucified and resurrected Savior who is our true Lord and God will live by His forgiveness, his righteousness and life.

Seeing the Son of God sacrificed "for us" on the pole of the cross, we have every reason to be bold to pray. to ask for anything else we need from this God the Father who loves us so much that he would give his Son to die for us.

We therefore look to Christ alone, to his wounds and to his resurrection. We look in faith to the Gospel and sacraments where we know that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit reach out with long arms and deliver Christ and his salvation to us, in the very midst of our difficult situations, our overwhelming situations. 

Beloved in Christ, we do have every reason to be bold as we pray to this God from "whom all good things do come, who does not turn away from our prayers or hold back his mercy." We have every reason to proclaim him to the nations. “With a voice of singing, declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth. Alle- | luia.* The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob! Alle- | luia. (Isaiah 40:20) Amen 

Peace be with you.