And 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?
Jesus compares himself to the serpent Moses lifted up in the wilderness. People looked there and lived.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside John 3:14-15 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Context in John 3
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John 3 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as prologue and book of signs. John presents Jesus in contemplative, symbolic, and theological richness as the Word, Lamb, Light, Bread, Shepherd, Resurrection, Way, Vine, and Son. Read this chapter with the wider themes of incarnation, life, and light in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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