UNBLOCKING THE WELL OF THE LIVING WORD

John 3:1-21

Focus verse: ‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up’ (John 3:14) 

Old Testament lens: ‘My servant … shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.’ (Isaiah 53:12) 

Jesus speaks with Nicodemus, a Pharisee, about the need to be ‘born again’. Nicodemus is confused, so Jesus helps him understand by referring to an Old Testament story in Numbers 21, about a snake lifted up. In that story, the Israelites were being punished by God with poisonous snakes because of their rebellion. But God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and lift it up on a pole. Anyone who looked at it in faith would be healed and live. 

Jesus says that, just like the bronze serpent was lifted up, ‘the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.’ Jesus is referring to His coming crucifixion, where He too will be lifted up on a cross. The ‘lifting up’ of the Son of Man is not only about heavenly exaltation but also refers directly to His crucifixion. 

John fuses several powerful Old Testament images — the bronze serpent from Numbers, the exalted Son of Man from Daniel, and the suffering servant from Isaiah — to reveal that Jesus’ death on the cross is not merely a moment of shame or defeat. Rather, it is the very moment of His glorification. Isaiah 53:12 says, ‘My servant … shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.’ Jesus’ crucifixion would be the moment where God’s glory is fully revealed. 

The Early Church Fathers who inspired the Celtic Church 

St Augustine of Hippo (354–430), he was a major theological influence in the West 

‘You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.’(1)

One key story from the life of St Augustine of Hippo that likely inspired the Celtic Church is his dramatic conversion story, as told in his autobiographical work Confessions. This story highlights themes of inner struggle, divine grace, and the pursuit of holiness. 

One day, overwhelmed by inner turmoil in a garden in Milan, Augustine heard a child’s voice saying, ‘Tolle, lege’– Latin for ‘take and read’. Taking this as a divine sign, he picked up a Bible and randomly opened to Romans 13:13–14, which exhorts believers to live honourably and ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ.’ ‘… Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ …’ (Romans 13:13–14) Reading that passage, Augustine felt a sudden, deep conviction and sense of peace. He turned away from his former life and committed himself to Christ. He was baptised by Ambrose of Milan and later became a bishop and one of the greatest theologians in Christian history. His journey from a worldly life to deep faith mirrored the kind of inner transformation the Celtic Christians emphasised in their own spiritual journey 

St Patrick’s Confessio(2) covers Augustinian themes (eg humility, sin, divine grace). Augustine would have been a major influence on St Patrick. While not directly quoting John 3, St Patrick’s Confessio speaks of personal spiritual rebirth. He refers to how God turned his captivity (as a slave) into a spiritual awakening, a kind of ‘new birth’. 

St Patrick was born into a Romanised Christian family in Britain around the late 4th century. His father was a deacon, and his grandfather a priest, but by Patrick’s own admission: ‘I did not know the true God.’ Despite his Christian upbringing, Patrick had not yet undergone a personal transformation. This aligns with the condition Jesus describes to Nicodemus: that religious status alone isn’t enough — a person must be born from above, by the Spirit (John 3:3–5). At age 16, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved for six years in Ireland. This period became the crucible of his spiritual rebirth. During his captivity he began to pray intensely, up to a hundred times a day, and again at night. He developed a deep sense of God’s presence, especially in creation, consistent with Celtic spirituality, which sees nature as a reflection of the divine. He writes: ‘The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart, so that I should recall my sins and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God.’ This moment mirrors the regeneration described in John 3: a heart opened by God, moved by the Spirit, resulting in repentance and new life. Patrick eventually escaped, returned to Britain, and was reunited with his family, but he was no longer the same person. He had been reborn in the Spirit. 

He later had a vision calling him back to Ireland — the land of his former captivity — this time not as a slave, but as a missionary. His return to Ireland was an act of forgiveness, courage, and divine calling — signs of deep transformation. He wrote: ‘I am a sinner, a simple country person … yet I am greatly indebted to God who gave me so much grace.’ His humility, sense of calling, and dependence on grace all point to someone who had been inwardly changed. Jesus says in John 3:8: ‘The wind blows where it wishes … so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.’ 

Patrick’s life reflects this Spirit-led movement. He went against cultural expectations, choosing to serve the Irish people rather than remain safely in Britain. His mission was to convert, and to form a new kind of Christian community, rooted in love, prayer, and simplicity. 

REVIVAL

As we raise the banner of the cross of Jesus over the British Isles, looking at John 3:14 as the Son of Man lifted up, our eyes will be opened up to the victory of Jesus on the cross over the strategy of the enemy to deceive. Roy Hession says, ‘There is a proud stiff-necked “I” in each one of us. If we are to come into right relationship with him the first thing we must learn is that our wills must be broken to his will. To be broken is the beginning of revival. It’s painful, it’s humiliating but it’s the only way. It’s being “not I, but Christ,” and a C is a bent I. Lord, cleanse me from all inward toleration of proud Jezebel. Cleanse me. Every day help me take a stand, and declare the victory of the cross.’ (3) He says. ‘There is a difference between the snake and the worm. When you attempt to strike at them, the snake rears itself up, hisses and tries to strike back — a true picture of self. But a worm offers no resistance, it allows you to do what you like with it, kick it or squash it under your heel — a picture of true brokenness. Jesus was willing to become just that for us — a worm, and no man.’ 

PRAYER

Spirit of the Living God, breathe on me, let Your mercy wash and set me free, break the I that will not bend … I bow, I yield, I cannot hide. Shine, oh Lord, Your light on my pride. Let the cross be all I see, no more striving, no more fight, I die to self, be glorified … and Lord, we pray for the whole British Isles, that many eyes would be opened up to the victory of Christ on the cross. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. 

Spirit of the Living God breathe on me (CLICK ON ON PICTURE BELOW TO LISTEN TO SONG)

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(1) Augustine of Hippo’s Confessions, Book 1, chapter1, section 1 Penguin Classics (2002)

(2) St Patrick’s Confessio, in My name is Patrick, Royal Irish Academy (2014)

(3) Hession, R, The Calvary Road, Rickford Hill Classics, (2003)