John 3:7b-15
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so also must the Son of man be lifted up,so that whoever believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.
Jesus said to Nicodemus ,”You must be born anew. The Spirit inspires where he wills. And you hear his voice, but you do not know where he comes from, or where he is going. So it is with all who are born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus responded and said to him, “How are these things able to be accomplished?”
Jesus responded and said to him: “You are a teacher in Israel, and you are ignorant of these things? Amen, amen, I say to you, that we speak about what we know, and we testify about what we have seen. But you do not accept our testimony.
If I have spoken to you about earthly things, and you have not believed, then how will you believe, if I will speak to you about heavenly things?
And no one has ascended to heaven, except the one who descended from heaven: the Son of man who is in heaven.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so also must the Son of man be lifted up, so that whoever believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.
What do the Fathers say?
(Follow The links to learn more about the Fathers)
The Venerable BEDE. He introduces the teacher of the Mosaic law, to the spiritual sense of that law; by a passage from the Old Testament history, which was intended to be a figure of His Passion, and of man’s salvation.
St AUGUSTINE. Many were dying in the wilderness from the attack of the serpents; Moses, by commandment of the Lord, lifted up a brazen serpent: and those who looked upon it were immediately healed.
The serpent was the cause of death, inasmuch as he persuaded man into that sin, by which he merited death. Our Lord, however, did not transfer sin, i. e. the poison of the serpent, to his flesh, but death; in order that in the likeness of sinful flesh, there might be punishment without sin, by virtue of which sinful flesh might be delivered both from punishment and from sin.
As then formerly he who looked to the serpent that was lifted up, was healed of its poison, and saved from death; so now he who is conformed to the likeness of Christ’s death by faith and the grace of baptism, is delivered both from sin by justification, and from death by the resurrection: as He Himself says; That whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
St THEOPHYLACT. See then the aptness of the figure. The figure of the serpent has the appearance of the beast, but not its poison: in the same way Christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh, being free from sin. By Christ’s being lifted up, understand His being suspended on high, by which suspension He sanctified the air, even as He had sanctified the earth by walking upon it. He judged the prince of this world; for Adam died justly, because he sinned; our Lord unjustly, because He did not sin.
So He overcame him, who delivered Him over to death, and thus delivered Adam from death. And in this the devil found himself vanquished, that he could not upon the cross torment our Lord into hating His murderers: but only made Him love and pray for them the more.
St John CHRYSOSTOM. He does not say, ‘The Son of man must be suspended, but lifted up, a more honourable term, but coming near the figure. He uses the figure to show that the old dispensation is akin to the new, and to show on His hearers’ account that He suffered voluntarily; and that His death resulted in life.