John 3 · Verse 14

John 3:14

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
John 3:14, King James Version

John 3:14 in other translations

BSBJust as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
WEBAs Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
ASVAnd as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;
YLT‘And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up,
DARBYAnd as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, thus must the Son of man be lifted up,
BBEAs the snake was lifted up by Moses in the waste land, even so it is necessary for the Son of man to be lifted up:
WebsterAnd as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

What does John 3:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 3:14-16
14-16. And as Moses, &c.--Here now we have the "heavenly things," as before the "earthly," but under a veil, for the reason mentioned in Joh 3:12. The crucifixion of Messiah is twice after this veiled under the same lively term--"uplifting," Joh 8:28; 12:32, 33. Here it is still further veiled--though to us who know what it means, rendered vastly more instructive--by reference to the brazen serpent. The venom of the fiery serpents, shooting through the veins of the rebellious Israelites, was spreading death through the camp--lively emblem of the perishing condition of men by reason of sin. In both cases the remedy was divinely provided. In both the way of cure strikingly resembled that of the disease. Stung by serpents, by a serpent they are healed. By "fiery serpents" bitten--serpents, probably, with skin spotted fiery red [Kurtz]--the instrument of cure is a serpent of brass or copper, having at a distance the same appearance. So in redemption, as by man came death, by Man also comes life--Man, too, "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Ro 8:3), differing in nothing outward and apparent from those who, pervaded by the poison of the serpent, were ready to perish. But as the uplifted serpent had none of the venom of which the serpent-bitten people were dying, so while the whole human family were perishing of the deadly wound inflicted on it by the old serpent, "the Second Man," who arose over humanity with healing in His wings, was without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. In both cases the remedy is conspicuously displayed; in the one case on a pole, in the other on the cross, to "draw all men unto Him" (Joh 12:32). In both cases it is by directing the eye to the uplifted Remedy that the cure is effected; in the one case the bodily eye, in the other the gaze of the soul by "believing in Him," as in that glorious ancient proclamation--"Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth," &c. (Is 45:22). Both methods are stumbling to human reason. What, to any thinking Israelite, could seem more unlikely than that a deadly poison should be dried up in his body by simply looking on a reptile of brass? Such a stumbling-block to the Jews and to the Greeks foolishness was faith in the crucified Nazarene as a way of deliverance from eternal perdition. Yet was the warrant in both cases to expect a cure equally rational and well grounded. As the serpent was God's ordinance for the cure of every bitten Israelite, so is Christ for the salvation of every perishing sinner--the one however a purely arbitrary ordinance, the other divinely adapted to man's complicated maladies. In both cases the efficacy is the same. As one simple look at the serpent, however distant and however weak, brought an instantaneous cure, even so, real faith in the Lord Jesus, however tremulous, however distant--be it but real faith--brings certain and instant healing to the perishing soul. In a word, the consequences of disobedience are the same in both. Doubtless many bitten Israelites, galling as their case was, would reason rather than obey, would speculate on the absurdity of expecting the bite of a living serpent to be cured by looking at a piece of dead metal in the shape of one--speculate thus till they died. Alas! is not salvation by a crucified Redeemer subjected to like treatment? Has the offense of the cross" yet ceased? (Compare 2Ki 5:12).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 14. And as Moses. Jesus proceeds in this and the following verses to state the reason why he came into the world; and, in order to this, he illustrates his design, and the efficacy of his coming, by a reference to the case of the brazen serpent, recorded in Nu 21:8,9. The people were bitten by flying fiery serpents. There was no cure for the bite. Moses was directed to make an image of the serpent, and place it in sight of the people, that they might look on it and be healed. There is no evidence that this was intended to be a type of the Messiah, but it is used by Jesus as strikingly illustrating his work. Men are sinners. There is no cure by human means for the maladies of the soul; and as the people who were bitten might look on the image of the serpent and be healed, so may sinners look to the Saviour and be cured of the moral maladies of our nature.

Lifted up. Erected on a pole. Placed on high, so that it might be seen by the people.

The serpent. The image of a serpent made of brass.

In the wilderness. Near the land of Edom. In the desert and desolate country to the south of Mount Hor, Nu 21:4.

Even so. In a similar manner and with a similar design. He here refers, doubtless, to his own death. Comp. Jn 12:32, 8:28. The points of resemblance between his being lifted up and that of the brazen serpent seem to be these:

1st. In each case those who are to/be benefited can be aided in no other way. The bite of the serpent was deadly, and could be healed only by looking on the brazen serpent; and sin is deadly in its nature, and can be removed only by looking on the cross.

2nd. The mode of their being lifted up. The brazen serpent was in the sight of the people, So Jesus was exalted from the earth--raised on a tree or cross.

3rd. The design was similar. The one was to save the life, the other the soul; the one to save from temporal, the other from eternal death.

4th. The manner of the cure was similar. The people of Israel were to look on the serpent and be healed, and so sinners are to look on the Lord Jesus that they may be saved.

Must. It is proper; necessary; indispensable, if men are saved. Comp. Lk 24:26, 22:42.

The Son of man. The Messiah.

(l) "as Moses" Nu 21:9

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 As Moses lifted up - He shows the reason why he descended from heaven, that he might be lifted up, i.e. crucified, for the salvation of man. kind, and be, by the appointment of God, as certain a remedy for sinful souls as the brazen serpent elevated on a pole, Num 21:9, was for the bodies of the Israelites, which had been bitten by the fiery serpents in the wilderness. It does not appear to me that the brazen serpent was ever intended to be considered as a type of Christ. It is possible to draw likenesses and resemblances out of any thing; but, in such matters as these, we should take heed that we go no farther than we can say, Thus it is written. Among the Jews, the brazen serpent was considered a type of the resurrection - through it the dying lived; and so, by the voice of God, they that were dead shall be raised to life. As the serpent was raised up, so shall Christ be lifted up: as they who were stung by the fiery serpents were restored by looking up to the brazen serpent, so those who are infected with and dying through sin are healed and saved, by looking up to and believing in Christ crucified. These are all the analogies which we can legitimately trace between the lifting up of the brazen serpent, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The lifting up of the Son of man may refer to his mediatorial office at the right hand of God. See the note on Num 21:9.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

John 3:14 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
καθὼςkathōseven asG2531
ΜωϋσῆςMōusēsMosesG3475
ὕψωσενhupsōsenlifted upG5312
τὸνtontheG3588
ὄφινophinserpentG3789
ἐνeninG1722
τῇtēatheG3588
ἐρήμῳ,erēmōwilderness,G2048
οὕτωςhoutōsthusG3779
ὑψωθῆναιhupsōthēnaito be lifted upG5312
δεῖdeiit behoovesG1163
τὸνtontheG3588
υἱὸνhuionSonG5207
τοῦtou<the>G3588
ἀνθρώπου,anthrōpouof Man,G444

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for John 3:14

  • Numbers 21:7-9

    Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

  • John 8:28

    Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

  • John 12:32-34

    And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

  • Luke 24:26-27

    Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

  • Luke 24:44-46

    And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

  • Psalms 22:16

    For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

  • 2 Kings 18:4

    He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

  • Matthew 26:54

    But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?

  • Acts 2:23

    Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

  • Acts 4:27-28

    For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

  • Luke 18:31-33

    Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.

  • Luke 24:20

    And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
as.
Nu 21:7-9; 2Ki 18:4
even.
8:28; 12:32-34; Ps 22:16; Mt 26:54; Lu 18:31-33; 24:20,26,27,44-46
Ac 2:23; 4:27,28

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • John 3:13

    And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

  • John 3:14

    And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

  • John 3:15

    That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Read all of John 3

John 3:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y como Moisés levantó la serpiente en el desierto, así es necesario que el Hijo del hombre sea levantado;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et comme Moïse éleva le serpent dans le désert, ainsi il faut que le fils de l’homme soit élevé,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und gleichwie Moses in der Wüste die Schlange erhöhte, also muß der Sohn des Menschen erhöht werden,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis: