And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God. - John 3:14-21 (RSVCE)
Jesus further explains to Nicodemus how the Son of Man must be lifted up upon the Cross, so that all who gaze on Him with faith and love may be saved through Him. He tells how His Mission was to save, not to judge the world. None are condemned, save those who reject and refuse the light, because their deeds are evil.
As the brazen serpent was raised up in the desert, and all who gazed with faith upon it were healed of the bite of the poisonous serpents that had attacked them, so the Son of Man was to be exalted on the Cross, that all who believe in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. O merciful Jesus, what a remedy Thou hast provided for the deadly effects of sin! One look of faith and love on Thee, one cry of mercy from the heart, and all is forgiven!
We sometimes are inclined to think of God the Father as our mighty King and stern Master, and of Jesus as praying for us with a gentleness which is in a sort of contrast to the severity of His Father. Not so. God the Father loves the world with the same love as God the Son. He yearns over fallen man with the same Divine yearning. He has the same tender affection for each one of us, the same desire to make us happy to all eternity.
Why is it that the Eternal Father does not have this desire fulfilled? Why did the Son shed for so many His Precious Blood in vain? It is because men refuse to listen, hate the light, cling to their own perverse ways. Alas! have not I often thus feared the light, lest I should be condemned by it?
- taken from The Ministry of Jesus Christ: Short Meditations on the Public Life of Our Lord, by Father Richard Frederick Clarke, SJ