Serpents in the Bible / Curse, Healing, and Christ Lifted Up

Snakes make many of us uncomfortable—and the Bible understands why. Serpents appear rarely in Scripture, but when they do, they carry enormous symbolic weight. They represent deception in Eden, judgment in the wilderness, wisdom in Jesus’ teaching, and even redemption through the mysterious bronze serpent lifted up by Moses.In this episode of The Gospel Gumbo Podcast, Will Sofield explores how serpents function as one of Scripture’s most dramatic and paradoxical symbols. Drawing from Genesis, Numbers, the Gospels, and Revelation, Will traces the serpent’s journey from tempter to curse to unexpected instrument of healing—a journey Jesus Himself completes when He says, “As Moses lifted up the serpent… so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”Along the way, Will shares a personal story about the zoos he and his wife love to visit—and the snake exhibits they always skip. Through humor, honesty, and deep biblical insight, this episode reveals how even the symbols of fear and judgment become, in God’s hands, signs of hope and salvation. Key ThemesWhy serpents were powerful symbols in the ancient Near EastThe serpent in Eden as the voice of cunning temptationThe “fiery serpents” in Numbers and the shocking bronze serpent of healingJesus’ identification with the bronze serpent in John 3“Wise as serpents, innocent as doves” — strategic holiness in discipleshipThe serpent as Satan, the dragon defeated in RevelationThe paradox: the source of the problem becomes the source of the healingScriptures MentionedGenesis 3 · Numbers 21:4–9 · Matthew 10:16 · John 3:14–15 · Revelation 12 · Revelation 20Thanks for listening.Contact me here: [email protected] for corrections, suggestions, encouragements, questions.