Today's Gospel in Art - The Son of Man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert

Moses & The Brazen Serpent by Rubens 1609 © The Courtauld Institute, London

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 14th March 2021 - John 3:14-21

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

'The Son of Man must be lifted up

as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.

Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost

but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world

not to condemn the world,

but so that through him the world might be saved.

No one who believes in him will be condemned;

but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already,

because he has refused to believe in the name of God's only Son.

On these grounds is sentence pronounced:

that though the light has come into the world

men have shown they prefer darkness to the light

because their deeds were evil.

And indeed, everybody who does wrong

hates the light and avoids it,

for fear his actions should be exposed;

but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light,

so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.'

Reflection on the Painting

Today's Gospel passage makes little sense without knowing the background story from Numbers 21:4-9. The book of Numbers describes how the people of Israel became impatient and frustrated with God. They were still in the wilderness after having fled Egypt. Food and water were scarce and so they complained against Moses and against God. Some viciously poisonous serpents appeared and killed many of the people. When they repented, God instructed Moses to 'make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live'. The serpent became a mark of God's mercy. In the book of Numbers, God saved people by calling upon them to gaze on the serpent. Now, at the end of Lent, God will save us, His people, by having us gaze in belief upon His Son, lifted up and crucified.

Because of the connection between the snake on the pole and the crucified Christ, many artists depict the pole of the Old Testament as already having a cross form. Rubens painted our canvas in 1609, and the top of the pole is a cross. We see Moses pointing to the serpent, whilst the onlookers are gazing at it and being miraculously healed. Rubens painted this work shortly after he came back from having seen the work of Michelangelo, which we can see clearly influencing our painting.

Whoever looked in faith at the snake, lived. Whoever believes in Jesus and looks in faith at Him, will have eternal life.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/744
Christian Art - www.christian.art/index.php