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Skimming over the first few verses doesn’t help your cause.3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
3:9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
3:11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
3:12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
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.
3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John
Notice ...
"as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness"
Do you see the word "as" ... it means, in like manner.
What happened in the wilderness?
21:8 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.21:9 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. Numbers
God used the brazen serpent as a type of Christ. The serpent was lifted up with the promise from God as provision for "whosoever"; but only those who believed looked, and therefore believed. There is absolutely nothing in the narrative of Numbers 21 that indicates that the serpent only gave provision for select people.
"even so must the Son of man be lifted up"
Jesus was lifted up in the same manner, that "whosoever" could "look and live"!
"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life".
Jesus directly tied the serpent being lifted up so that "whosoever" may live, to Himself being lifted up so that "whosoever" may have eternal life. Then, in John 12:32 ...
12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. John
Jesus (being fully aware of what He said to Nicodemus) then tied His being lifted up, to drawing all men for the provision of salvation.
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