What is the meaning of John 3:14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up
The snake in the wilderness refers to the story from Numbers 21:8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
picrel from 1544 by Agnolo Bronzino
The serpent on the pole is an image that calls to mind Lucifer in the tree of knowledge. In the Bronzino painting the pole is a cross, prefiguring Christ on the Cross. There is a relationship between Christ and Lucifer that must be understood in order to penetrate the Christian Mystery.