The serpent on the pole

Jesus recalls a strange story from Numbers. In the wilderness the people were bitten by poisonous snakes. Moses had to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten and looked up at it lived. Centuries later King Hezekiah had that serpent smashed. People were burning incense to it.

It is a jarring image. A sign of death, of all things, becomes a sign of healing. In the same way the Son of Man has to be lifted up, on a cross. And Hezekiah is a reminder: don't revere the sign, but God.