What does Superman have to do with Christmas?

One favorite TV show for all TV-watching Americans was Superman. Each episode began this way:

• Announcer: Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!
• Voices: Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!
• Announcer: Yes, it’s Superman, a strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Superman, who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.

Circa 1407 BC, the Hebrew people, formerly enslaved by the Egyptians, were going through the wilderness toward ‘the promised land.’ Hundreds of years of enslavement by the idolatrous Egyptians imparted an unhealthy affinity for idols.

The Hebrew refugees became impatient with Moses and God. Consequently, God sent poisonous serpents into their camp. Read the full story from the Bible, Numbers 21:4-9

Let’s focus on Numbers 21:8. The Modern English Version says: The Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and put it on a pole, and it will be, that everyone who is bitten when he looks at it, will live.” The Spanish version, Reina-Valera 1960, describes the ‘poisonous serpent’ “una serpiente ardiente,” as “a burning serpent.” My Spanish Bible often provides a deeper meaning than the English text.

A direct translation from any language to English, preserving the original intent is challenging. A direct, word-for-word translation from Spanish is a ‘burning snake.’ The poisonous serpent on a pole, translated as a burning serpent in Spanish, was neither afire nor poisonous.

You are probably familiar with the common terms blockbuster, the 900-pound gorilla, and the elephant in the room. Blockbuster means something or someone that is forcefully or overwhelmingly impressive, effective, or influential. These hackneyed phrases define nothing but point to something of substance.

To what do the words in Numbers 21:8 redirect our attention? Yes, something very big and very important, something that can overcome an unpleasant experience.

To be sure, looking at a brass object will not heal disease.

Over time, the Hebrew people forgot the purpose of the bronze serpent on the pole. For hundreds of years, they worshiped the creation, the serpent, instead of God. Circa 715 BC, righteous King Hezekiah destroyed the snake idol, dismissing it as a worthless piece of brass. King Hezekiah turned the attention of his people back to God for their salvation, deliverance, and provision.

The ‘elephant in the room’ is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord Who Heals (Exodus 15:26), the one who was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the one upon whom is the chastisement of our peace, and by whose stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

What does Superman have to do with Christmas? Nothing whatsoever because Superman is a fictional character. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the Creator of the universe.

When confronted with an insurmountable problem, human nature motivates us to seek help. Signs and wonders redirect your attention from your problems to the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ.

God’s signs point to himself.

Superman cannot help you.

John White
Rockwall, Texas