"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:" (John 3:14) Jesus had a clear objective for coming into this world: to save man from sin (Matt 1:21). The task was obvious, the method was defined and the process was prophesied aforetimes. Succinctly in Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel", Jesus reveals that the catalyst for this great change is that the Holy Spirit will come upon Him. He was going to be empowered from above to accomplish this task. He was going to be lifted up. The lifting of the serpent in the wilderness by Moses was a symbol of a greater lifting that was to take place many years down the future. It served as a marker to exemplify that our salvation was going to come from this great lifting just as their salvation came from the lifted serpent. Not even Jesus while He was on earth could accomplish His earthly purpose without this great lifting. Everybody needs this upliftment. It is a process through which God strengthens us from within. On our own, we are helpless and can do absolutely nothing. But when we receive this lifting power, we will be able to accomplish our purpose on earth just like our great Master, Jesus did. Later we are told that it is the same Spirit that dwells in us today that raised Jesus from the dead. It is the same Holy Spirit that lives in us that broke the shackles or death and lifted Jesus from the grave. That same Spirit, that same uplifting power, that same! God's purpose in this month of upliftment is to prepare us through His word to be submissive to His will and purpose. God wants to empower us to accomplish His will in our lives. We are being endowed with great power and spiritual stamina; God is literally lifting us from the depths of fear, despondency, anxiety, disappointment, etc and empowering us for a life of accomplishment..
This Easter we celebrate the death and, more importantly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This season marks a fulfillment of this great lifting. As Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole, so was our Chrsit lifted up on the cross; and today, every sinner that comes in contact with that cross is saved. Today, sicknesses melt before the cross. The ultimate sacrifice of Jesus brought our redemption. Today, we are free to live as God's children because of this great uplifting. We are equally being lifted by the same Spirit to accomplish God's purpose. That's Easter!
Be lifted!