ISB ~ John 3 v14

the serpent:A reference to the episode in Num 21:4-9.

• Moses hoisted a bronze serpent upon a pole as a remedy for faithless Israel. Although God punished them with poisonous serpents, he promised to save everyone who looked to the bronze serpent in search of his mercy. Jesus sees this relic as an image of his own Crucifixion and the healing it will bring to a rebellious world (CCC 2130).

be lifted up:A shorthand reference to the Paschal Mystery, when Jesus is lifted up on the Cross, from the grave, and into heaven (8:28; 12:32).