The Minor Festival for Holy Cross Day – Pr. Anderson sermon
Numbers 21:4-9 “Look to the Cross and Live”
September 14, 2025 | Christ Lutheran Church
In Nomine Iesu
+ + +
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your great mercy, you sent your One and Only Son to be our protecter and Redeemer. As you have every right to condemn us in your righteous anger, you always keep your promises. Keep us ever mindful of your promises and if our lives would come to an end, bring us safely to your side, where you live and reign, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One true God, now and forever. Amen.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Rom. 1:7, etc.)
The sermon text for today is taken from the 21st chapter of the book of Numbers. We read selected verses in Jesus’ name:
And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people.
And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
These are Your words, heavenly Father. Sanctify us by Your truth, Your Word is truth. Amen. (Joh. 17:17)
In Christ Jesus, is your help in time of need, and even if it seems that evil will win, He overcomes them and takes the victory, dear fellow redeemed:
“Where do we go from here?” This question is being asked by many in this country. Emotions are at an all-time high. There has been mourning and there has been anger. How do we go about living in this world when it looks like our enemies are winning? It is hard to escape these negative thoughts that we have. If it isn’t about this week’s events, we all know the problems that are just persisting in our lives, and they won’t go away. To escape these thoughts of hopelessness, today we have come together for this minor festival. Its legend may be that, a legend, but we know the event for this legend did happen. We know the only way we can survive in this life is not by despairing about what the future will bring. We persevere not because we have the strength to survive these vicious attacks for what we stand for openly and preach and teach. Our only hope, comfort, strength, and the answer to the question, “where do we go from here,” is to look to the cross and live.
As we look to the cross, there was a time in history where there was a reprieve of persecution when the emperor of the entire Roman world converted to Christianity. Emperor Constantine was baptized and played a role in the proclamation of the Edict of Milan in 313, which declared tolerance for Christianity. He then called the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and this produced the statement of our holy Christian faith with the words of the Nicene Creed, and this confessions birthday was 1700 years ago this past June. As He was instrumental in these big events that provided Christians around the world with safety and guidance, it is His mother Helena who we attribute to this day. His mother who also was a Christian went to the Holy Land to find the true cross of Christ. The emphasis of today is not in the history of how or if the cross was found, but in history, we are not alone as we look to the only place we can truly find comfort, strength, and hope.
For there are moments in history where the world is not kind and attacks this symbol of our faith. And while it is attacked by our enemies, it is very easily attacked by our own sinful deeds and desires. Why would we want to attack our very hope of salvation? It’s not that we want to, but we inherently will. And even as we do that, this is still the only Hope we have and to see it, we look at more history of our faith. From Mount Hor they [being the Israelites] set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Witnessing miracles done in front of them to be freed from their oppressors and picking up food to eat that rains down from heaven was not enough for the people God even says He did not have to choose. Chosen, not because they were great and mighty, but chosen because of God’s promises. After their misdeeds of not believing He could give them the Promise Land, now they are mad at Him for their mistakes.
In this sinful and broken world, it is easy to grumble and complain about our situation. As we get angry at those around us, our anger will cloud how we make God so angry when we fail Him. When God is angry at man, His righteous anger is final. Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. They had a lack of faith that God could provide for them even as He was saving them from the situation they were in. So, He sent these serpents and what was around two million people shrank. There has been a trend in these last couple of decades of seeing our churches declining. The decline hasn’t been from poisonous serpents coming up and biting the populace. There has been one serpent causing a great deal of trouble, and he has been doing it since he caused the first two humans to fall from the image of God. Now it looks as though we are in a time where our enemies’ numbers grow and ours is dwindling. We prayed earlier, O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God” (Psalm 3:1-2).
The world wants to continue to tell us we are losing, we are going to lose, and it will be better when we die. Maybe there is a little bit of fear for what is to come. We know we must take a stand for our faith, but what if we have a wife and children, or what will our family think? Why can’t God just make it easier as we follow Him, only making a few mistakes, or maybe He should be more tolerant? It is hard. We want to question our situation so badly because of our struggles. Like our enemies, in our failures we have also provoked God’s wrath and displeasure. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. As the world tells us that our prayers are meaningless, that is all we can do. And as the world tells us because of our faith they will rejoice in our death, we know, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
And the free gift of eternal life was there for God’s people in the wilderness even though all looked hopelessly lost because of the serpents. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” In mercy and granting forgiveness, God tells Moses to put a serpent that had no life in it, defeated, up on a pole for the people to see. God with this physical thing gives His people something to look at so they can see with their own eyes that He has heard their prayers. He has heard their pleas for mercy, and this is how they know it will be okay. They look at the serpent raised on the pole and put their faith back in God to physically and spiritually forgive and save them. What mercy God shows when He has the right to destroy. The people once again see as they witnessed leaving Egypt that God is their salvation.
The salvation of God they witnessed would be a precursor to the promise of God kept. Knowing that His people would soon look up to His cross and live, their promised Savior would say, “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” (John 3:14-15). The serpent on the pole wouldn’t last forever and would later have to be destroyed. The real deal would have to be flesh and blood and it couldn’t be just anyone. God has to bring His people salvation. The impossible happens as the Son of God comes down and doesn’t complain about it. He doesn’t sin and yet, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
As St. Paul writes how we are declared not guilty, a people from long ago witnessed this as well. So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. They would physically live, but more importantly, they were spiritually going to live as they put their faith and trust back into the God who forgives sins and keeps His promises. As they turned back to God, it is easy to wonder, “I have turned to God today and tomorrow I will fail Him, now what? Is it that easy to look to the cross and live forever? I want to, yet I struggle all the same.” We struggle because we inherited struggle. The only reason we turn is because in God’s mercy His Spirit reveals to us our transgressions and causes us to cry out for forgiveness. His Spirit changes our hearts to see that cross lifted high and know we are forgiven. This symbol of two pieces of wood for execution was meant to be our execution, and we are here because of the sacrifice of Christ.
And your heart will ache because you know He didn’t deserve to die. He has perfect love and wasn’t angry with His enemies. With perfect faith, no fear of judgment for not being tolerant of any sin, knowing His own people would forsake Him and your sin would kill Him, He said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:31-32). You have heard it said this week that the serpent won. Jesus tells you the exact opposite. The serpent has indeed lost the war. When you look to the cross and live, you see the serpent’s head crushed. He hunts and strikes, but as Martin Luther wrote, “One little Word will fell him.” Even in the hardest of struggles you can rejoice and pray, Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! (Psalm 3:8) The blessing of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation in Jesus’ name.
And these blessings will get you through all of this hate and derision. Even if the world hates you for taking this much needed stand, it is because of the cross of Christ you know you are clothed with your eternal reward. They hated Him, and even as they hate you, they can’t take away your eternal reward. For our new members, if you have hung in there yet and haven’t been scared away, like Israel you get to see a wondrous thing. While you don’t see a serpent lifted high, in seeing the cross as the focal point every service, you then see the gracious blessings from it in the Word you hear and the sacraments you will receive. As you leave fed and nourished, He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32). He wouldn’t if it was based on your works and your inherited evil. He does because of His Son given up on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. And if your enemies rise and search for your death, you confess, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) What joy that in your worst hour, you can look to the cross and live. Amen.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore. Amen.
+ + +