Jesus Unmasked: The Truth Will Shock You (8 page)

Chapter 10 — Jesus Is the Bronze Serpent

You guessed it. The Jews are still wandering around the wilderness waiting for God to give them the green light to go into the Promised Land.

You guessed it again. They are complaining about food. Again.

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became
impatient
because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, “
Why
have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we
loathe
this
miserable
food” (Num. 21:4–5).

You are probably thinking, “God’s going to be nice to them again.” You are now three for three!

The
Lord
sent
fiery serpents
among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died
(Num. 21:6).

How Is That Being Nice?

How is sending fiery serpents kind? Well, humans can have thick skulls sometimes. We can be slow learners. Because of our slowness to learn, God, in His kindness, will do whatever is necessary for us to learn important things (Heb. 12:6; Prov. 3:12; Rev. 3:19).

God permits or plans pain to move us toward perfection. Sometimes God sends or allows hardship to lead us to repentance. That is precisely what God did for the Jews by sending a bunch of poisonous snakes.

So the people came to Moses and said, “
We have sinned
, because we have spoken against the
Lord
and you; intercede with the
Lord
, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people (Num. 21:7).

The Jews sinned, God sent a calamity, the Jews repented. They learned their lesson fast, but they still needed an antidote for the poisonous sting of the cursed serpents.

God’s Remedy for the Sting of Death

Then the
Lord
said to Moses, “Make a
fiery serpent
, and set it on a standard [pole]; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will
live
.”

And Moses made a
bronze serpent
and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he
looked
to the bronze serpent, he
lived
(Num. 21:8–9).

Once again, God provided forgiveness and provision for sinners. God made a way for sinful man to live. To avoid death by snakebite, the bitten Jews were to look toward a bronze serpent.

>
The bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole.

>
The bronze serpent represented the curse.

>
The bronze serpent provided life to those who looked toward it.

There He Is Again

Jesus said, “
As Moses
lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up
;
so that
whoever believes
will in Him have
eternal life
.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life
(John 3:14–15).

Jesus Christ, God’s perfect sacrifice for sin, is the bronze serpent in the wilderness.

>
Just as the bronze serpent was lifted on a pole, Jesus was lifted up on a Cross.

>
Just as the bronze serpent represented the Curse, Jesus became a curse for us.

>
Just as those who would look to the bronze serpent and live, if we will look to Jesus, we too will live.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “
Cursed
is everyone who
hangs on
a
tree
” —
in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:13–14).

Did God really send snakes to the grumbling Jews in the wilderness? Yes. Did some of them really get bitten? Yes. Did Moses really lift a bronze serpent on a pole? Yes. Did the bitten Jews who looked to the serpent live? Yes.

Those events actually happened, but those events were a merely a fuzzy shadow of a greater fulfillment. The bronze serpent was a type of Jesus.

Once again, we see a vivid picture of the crucifixion of Jesus in an Old Testament type that actually occurred almost fifteen hundred years before He was crucified for sinners. That is not luck. That is another demonstration of God’s providential power on display.

Does God Still Send Serpents?

Despite the fact that God has given us a manual for living, we can be just like the Jews in the wilderness: obstinate (Isa. 65:2). And just like the Jews in the wilderness, God still sends fiery serpents to lead us to repentance.

Never forget, God is more interested in our holiness than He is in our happiness.
The next time you feel the sting of God’s correction, ask yourself the question, “Of what do I need to repent?” When you do, God will forgive. That is the way He is.

You Have Looked at Jesus on the Cross

If you have seen and responded to what Jesus has done for you on the Cross, then you have been made the “righteousness of God.”

He made Him who
knew no sin
to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the
righteousness of God
in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).

You have recognized that the sting of death is the consequence of your sin (Ezra 18:4). You have seen that Jesus acted as your sin bearer and was lifted onto a pole as your representative. You have received His great love for you.

If you have repented and trusted in Jesus, then you are the beneficiary of a theology called “double imputation.”

>
Your sins have been credited (imputed) to Jesus.

>
Jesus’ righteousness has been credited (imputed) to you.

Because of the doctrine of double imputation, not only are you seen as forgiven, but you are actually righteous.

Passive and Active Obedience

Jesus passive obedience was seen when He volunteered to be beaten and crucified at the hands of men as the payment for our sins. Because of Jesus’ passive obedience, your sin debt has been brought to zero. Your debt with God has been paid.

Jesus’ active obedience was seen when He kept each and every law, thus fulfilling all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). He never did anything wrong.

>
Jesus never shaded the truth.

>
Jesus never used God’s name as a curse word.

>
Jesus never had fantasies about women.

>
Jesus was never coarse or profane.

>
Jesus never said, “I wish I had one of those.”

>
Jesus never yelled at anyone in anger.

Not only did Jesus never do anything wrong (sins of commission), He never failed to do what was right (sins of omission).

> Jesus always volunteered to help.

> Jesus always encouraged.

> Jesus always went the extra mile.

> Jesus always loved people.

> Jesus always spoke the truth.

> Jesus always gave sacrificially.

All of Jesus’ good deeds and righteous behavior have been credited to your account. Jesus’ passive obedience brought your account to zero, but Jesus also deposits His righteousness into your account so that you can be seen not just “not guilty,” but as righteous.

An Analogy

Think of it this way, if you stood before a judge with a long rap sheet and someone you don’t even know stepped into the courtroom and paid your fine, you would be found not guilty. That would be good news indeed.

Now, imagine that stranger never broke a law and had a long résumé of good civic deeds to his credit. What if that stranger asked the judge to have all of his good deeds credited to your account. Not only would you be seen as not guilty, your file would be labeled, “Perfect Citizen.”

That is what Jesus does for those who repent and trust in Him.

Another Analogy

You are in debt to the tune of $300,000. The creditors are at your door.

Out of the blue, a stranger appears with a suitcase full of cash and offers the luggage to the creditors on your behalf. You are off the hook.

How much was in the suitcase?

A gazillion dollars.

Your fine is paid, your bank account is filled and your FICO credit score goes from minus five hundred to eight hundred and fifty.

That is what Jesus does for believers. His passive obedience pays the fine while His active obedience puts money into our account. Christians are not simply seen as forgiven, but righteous. When God pulls up your account, He forever sees Jesus’ balance.

On the Cross, God looked at Jesus as if He were you, and now He looks at you as if you are Jesus. Because you have looked to Jesus, the curse on a pole, you are His and He is yours.

You Have Not Looked at Jesus on the Cross

Can’t you see how consistent and supernatural the Bible is? Can’t you see that it is impossible for men to fabricate a story like this? Can’t you see that you have been bitten by sin and you are going to die? Can’t you see God’s provision hanging on a tree? Can’t you see God’s great love for you?

See how
great a love
the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God (1 John 3:1).

We know love by this, that He
laid down His life
for us (1 John 3:16).

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might
live through Him
.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that
He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:9–10).

Look at the Cross. See the mangled Son of God hanging there. For you.

Look. And live.

Chapter 11 — Jesus Is the Tabernacle

Imagine a pastor who zip-lined onto the platform of his church to begin his sermon.

Picture a pastor who placed his bed on the top of his church and laid in it with his wife for 72 hours to encourage married couples in his congregation to be intimate every day for a month.

Envision a youth pastor who put peanut butter under his armpits and had his students lick it off.

Unfortunately, you don’t have to imagine any of those ridiculous scenarios as each of them is, tragically, a reality. Visit YouTube and you can verify this for yourself.

As disgusting, lame, sad, juvenile, pathetic, ridiculous and sordid as those scenarios are, the true tragedy is that most people in today’s evangelical churches are being fed pabulum and shenanigans when they could be feasting on what you are about to consume.

Prepare for a banquet. Prepare to see the brilliance, coherence, and supernatural nature of the Bible displayed in HD.

The Bible

The Bible is one book divided into two major sections, the Old and New Testaments. A testament is the writing down of a contract, or covenant, between two parties. The Old Testament records the old covenant and the New Testament records the new covenant. Each Testament focuses on a different covenant, but that does not mean they have nothing in common.

The Old Testament details a number of covenants: Noahic, Abrahamic, Davidic and mostly, the Mosaic covenant. This is the covenant we typically call the old covenant or the Law. The Mosaic covenant was given by God to Moses while he and the Jews were forced to wander around the wilderness.

The old covenant was given to Moses as a “quid-pro-quo contract” between God and His people. If the Jews were obedient, God would bless them; if the Jews were naughty, God would curse them (Deut. 28). Unfortunately, the Jews were persistently unfaithful and disobedient.

When you read about the Jews being taken into captivity by another nation, it is because God promised that would happen if the Jews broke the Mosaic covenant. Every time God returned them back to the land of Israel, it was because God was being faithful to the Abrahamic covenant promise of a land, nation, and seed.

Most of the Old Testament is a two-thousand-year history of Jewish rebellion and God’s faithfulness in punishing and restoring them. All of this was done to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant of a land, nation, and seed.

What Is a Covenant?

When you think covenant, think contract. Think of a mutual agreement between two parties who mutually agree to the terms of the covenant. Today’s contracts set forth the terms and the penalties for violating the agreement; Old Testament covenants were similar but they were far more profound than a modern contract.

> Covenants were more personal and less legal.

> Covenants would bind two parties together in an intimate way.

> Frequently, the consequence for violating a covenant was death.

In the Old Testament we see several covenants between men, and four covenants between God and man. When God enters a covenant, it is He who initiates the agreement.

Purpose of the Old Covenant

There were many purposes for the Mosaic covenant.

1. If the nation of Israel would obey, God would bless them so much that other nations would want to know who their God was. If the Jews would be obedient, God would bless their land and Israel would be a light to the Gentile nations. This was God’s evangelism program for the nations to find Him. Other nations would look at the prosperity of the blessed Jews and want to know, “Who is your God?”

Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and
keep My covenant
, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a
kingdom of priests
and a
holy nation
. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel (Exod. 19:5–6).

2. That the nation of Israel would be a holy, set apart nation out of which the seed, the Messiah, would be born to save the world.

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his
seed
. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your
seed
,” that is,
Christ
(Gal. 3:16; cf. Gen. 17:7).

3. That the Jews would feel the weight of the law and call out to God for forgiveness and delivery from the curse of the law. The Laws were intended to be a schoolmaster to lead the Jews to the Messiah who would rescue them from the burden and guilt of the Law.

Therefore the Law has become our
tutor to lead us to Christ
, so that we may be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24).

4. The old covenant provided a sacrificial system for the atonement of sins. Remember, this system did not provide actual forgiveness. The blood of lambs cannot forgive sins. The Jews were never forgiven by sacrificing animals, they were forgiven “on credit” until the Lamb of God came to shed His blood for the forgiveness of their sins.

For the Law, since it has
only a shadow
of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year,
make perfect
those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?
But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.
For it is
impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats to
take away
sins.
Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,

“
Sacrifice and offering You have
not desired
,
But
a
body
You have prepared for Me
;
In whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices
for sin You have taken
no pleasure
.
 
“
Then I said, ‘Behold
, I
have come
(
In
the scroll of the book it is written of Me
)
To do Your will
, O
God
.’ â€ť

After saying above, “
Sacrifices and offerings and
whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices
for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure
in them” (which are offered according to the Law),
then He said, “
Behold
, I
have come to do Your will
.” He
takes away
the first in order to
establish the second
.
By this will we have been
sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all
(Heb. 10:1–10).

The Centerpiece

The centerpiece of the Mosaic covenant was the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a traveling tent the Jews would schlep around the wilderness and set up every time God commanded them to camp.

Once the Jews entered the Promised Land, the tabernacle would be replaced by a permanent temple, which was very similar in design. The tabernacle and temple were integral to the Old Mosaic covenant because two major things happened there:

1. The priests would perform their daily duties, especially the blood sacrifices.

2. One day a year, on the Day of Atonement, God’s special presence, His “Shekinah glory” would fall on the Holy of Holies.

A Hebrew Lesson

According to
Strong’s Concordance
, the Old Testament Hebrew word for tabernacle/tent is
Mishkan
. It comes from two words:

> The prefix
mish
: the place where something happens.

> The root
shkan
: to dwell.

When you put the two words together, you have
Mishkan
: a place where God dwells. God’s tabernacle was the place where God would dwell with His people when His special presence, His “shekinah glory,” would descend on the tent one day a year on the Day of Atonement.

The word
Shekinah
has the letters
shkn
, just like the word
Mishkan
. God’s Shekinah glory was His “special presence” glory. Note, both words have the root letters
shkn
.

Greek Lesson

As the New Testament is written in Greek,
Strong’s Concordance
tells us the Greek word for tabernacle/tent is:
skaynay
. Note the similarity: the consonants in the Hebrew word for tabernacle and shekinah are
s-k-n
and the consonants in Greek for tabernacle are
s-k-n
.

Jesus Is Our Tabernacle

And the Word became flesh, and
dwelt
among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

The Greek word for “dwelt” is our Greek word
skaynay
. In other words, Jesus came and “tabernacled,” or “pitched His tent” among us. This is a clear reference to the Old Testament tabernacle.

Just as God’s shekinah glory tabernacled with His people, Jesus Christ, the second person in the trinitarian Godhead, tabernacled with us when He came to earth. The tabernacle is an Old Testament picture of Jesus. What was once a shadowy picture of God dwelling with His people became a Technicolor reality when Jesus came and tabernacled among His people.

Hebrews Makes This Clear

The theme of the New Testament Book of Hebrews is, “Jesus is better.” Hebrews tells us that Jesus is better than angels. Jesus is a better covenant. Jesus is a better tabernacle. Jesus is the better everything.

God Himself was the architect for the tabernacle and it is reasonable to conclude that not only is the tent itself a type/shadow of Jesus, but so is each and every piece of furniture in the tabernacle.

Some theologians believe we should not assign a type to each object in the tabernacle, but because Hebrews 9 lists every piece of furniture in the tabernacle, it is reasonable to conclude that every item in the tabernacle is a picture of Jesus.

Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary.
For there was a
tabernacle
prepared, the outer one, in which were the
lampstand
and the
table
and the
sacred bread
; this is called the holy place.
Behind the second
veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,
having a
golden altar of incense
and the
ark of the covenant
covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant;
and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the
mercy seat
(Heb. 9:1–5).

Let’s see how the tabernacle
furniture was a shadowy Old Testament picture of Jesus in the New Testament.

Holy of Holies

Ark of the Covenant

Veil

Altar of Incense

Holy Place