The riddle of the serpent is one that has flummoxed many people throughout the centuries. Why do so many cultures have a hostile view of serpents? Why do cultures that have never intersected share a revulsion of serpents? Why do their religions view them as signs of condemnation? Well, as much as scientists and anthropologists like to claim it’s some sort of evolutionary or caveman memory from prehistory, the answer is much simpler:
Every culture on earth is descended from one (or more) of Noah’s three sons. And everybody on that ark would have known the story of Adam and Eve, of the garden and the serpent. Everybody would have known that the serpent brought condemnation into the world now being destroyed with a flood, just as everybody would have known that God has promised a savior who would conquer and crush the serpent. The stories weren’t preserved perfectly in every nation to arise since, obviously, but the shadows and hints of that story have been preserved in countless cultures throughout the world.
This is something we see in our reading from Acts today when the people of Malta, who don’t know the Scriptures or the promises of God, still know that being bit by a serpent is a sign of condemnation. They go too far, of course, by concluding that Paul must be a murderer because this happened. And they go far too far when they conclude that Paul must be a god because he destroys the viper and isn’t killed by its venom. But, as you can see, the faded memory of the promise is there. The one who is under the power of the serpent is condemned. The one who has power over the serpent is divine.
But the work and ministry of Paul will certainly set all things clear for the Maltese in the days to come. No, Paul is not divine. But he was able to overcome the serpent because of the divine Son of God who overcame the great serpent. Jesus Christ was pierced by the fangs of Satan, but the venom of Satan could not corrupt the incorruptible, sinless Son of God. At Calvary, Jesus crushed the head of the serpent. He rose again on the third day, and promised to give His victory over Satan to all who believe. Christ’s victory is Paul’s victory. Christ’s victory is your victory. That’s the answer to the riddle of the serpent. May we teach it to our children for a thousand generations.
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