Section 11
(16:11) in this way, the world which was hang ing on Satan was also judged. When the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man was lifted up in the form of a serpent, He not only removed our sins and dealt with our serpentine nature, but also de stroyed Satan and the satanic world system that hung upon him. Now, by His death, we are re deemed, delivered, have the divine life, and are overcoming the world.
The Gospel of John is a book of pictures or signs, showing many things related to the Lord as life. If we do not know this Gospel, we may know the Lord as life, but we simply will not know the Lord as life in all its detailed aspects. For ex ample, even the palm branches in this chapter symbolize life overcoming death, portraying a life that is victorious over death (12:13). Most palm trees grow in the desert, which signifies death. So life (palm trees) grows out of death (desert). This pictures the victory of life over death, which is the spiritual significance of the palm tree.
In his Gospel, John uses different figures to portray various aspects of the Lord's death. Verse 1:29 says, "Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!" In 3:14 the Lord Jesus said that He had to be lifted up on the cross as the brass serpent was lifted up on a