(no subject)
today was pretty chill. at some point today i busted out my Old School dvd and after watching it i remember just what a cinematic masterpiece it is, i seriously laughed so hard. i must have hit the table i was sitting in front of at least a hundred times while watching it, the characters are just so great. so josh and i were supposed to hang...what happened dude? i feel like a girl who's been stood up, sniff sniff. hahaha, oh well. so its getting into the wee hours of the night and i'm just kinda roaming the streets and trying to occupy my mind since i can't really sleep. nobody else is online either, everyone is either sleeping or just away i guess. thats cool, i'll nerd it up solo.
so back to what i was talking about yesterday about how the old testament alludes to Christ time and time again. i know of a very good example and did a little research to be able to reference it. whats funny though is that i thought i kinda saw the metaphor on my own, however Jesus himself refers to the old testament reference i was going to use. let me show you.
Numbers 21:6-9
"6Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by the snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."
this is the old testament reference. here Christ is alluded to by the metaphorical portrayal of the snake on the pole. a snake is commonly referenced in the bible as satan time and time again (adam and eve with the apple and the snake for instance, duh) however a snake is also used to depict sin. so in Romans 6:23 is the famous verse that reads "23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." but Christ was sinless. however, Christ bore our sins, and in a way became sin on the cross even to the point where God turned away from Him as He cannot stand sin...which prompted Christ in Matthew 27:46 which says "46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (as a side note, even this line is in the old testament as david says this exact phrase in Psalm 22:1) so the snake represents Christ on the cross...you can even picture the snake pierced through with the pole in such a manner that it probably even made a "t" or cross-like shape if the snake were horizontal and pierced with the vertical pole through its middle. the hebrews were to look to the snake after being bitten in order to be saved from death...much like in order for us to be born again (or saved), we must look to Christ on the cross who died for us. however, Christ finalizes the allusion (note: not illusion) in John 3:14-15 when He says:
"14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
so the cross-referencing is as clear as ever, its not just my putting pieces together afterall. notice that this comes right before the famous John 3:16 verse. John 3:16 is of great doctrinal importance, however its deepened even further when reading it in context of the verses surrounding it. hermeneutics play a key role here as contextual interpretation is so important. these are just some topics to think about. i can't even imagine how hard it must have been for Christ to live while knowing full well that He was going to die while he was still young and even knowing how He was going to die. sure makes my problems seem less and less like problems. again let me remember Hebrews 12:2-3 which says:
"2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
i will not give up, i will rise above.
--drew
so back to what i was talking about yesterday about how the old testament alludes to Christ time and time again. i know of a very good example and did a little research to be able to reference it. whats funny though is that i thought i kinda saw the metaphor on my own, however Jesus himself refers to the old testament reference i was going to use. let me show you.
Numbers 21:6-9
"6Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by the snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived."
this is the old testament reference. here Christ is alluded to by the metaphorical portrayal of the snake on the pole. a snake is commonly referenced in the bible as satan time and time again (adam and eve with the apple and the snake for instance, duh) however a snake is also used to depict sin. so in Romans 6:23 is the famous verse that reads "23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." but Christ was sinless. however, Christ bore our sins, and in a way became sin on the cross even to the point where God turned away from Him as He cannot stand sin...which prompted Christ in Matthew 27:46 which says "46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (as a side note, even this line is in the old testament as david says this exact phrase in Psalm 22:1) so the snake represents Christ on the cross...you can even picture the snake pierced through with the pole in such a manner that it probably even made a "t" or cross-like shape if the snake were horizontal and pierced with the vertical pole through its middle. the hebrews were to look to the snake after being bitten in order to be saved from death...much like in order for us to be born again (or saved), we must look to Christ on the cross who died for us. however, Christ finalizes the allusion (note: not illusion) in John 3:14-15 when He says:
"14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
so the cross-referencing is as clear as ever, its not just my putting pieces together afterall. notice that this comes right before the famous John 3:16 verse. John 3:16 is of great doctrinal importance, however its deepened even further when reading it in context of the verses surrounding it. hermeneutics play a key role here as contextual interpretation is so important. these are just some topics to think about. i can't even imagine how hard it must have been for Christ to live while knowing full well that He was going to die while he was still young and even knowing how He was going to die. sure makes my problems seem less and less like problems. again let me remember Hebrews 12:2-3 which says:
"2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
i will not give up, i will rise above.
--drew