(Exodus 4:1-9)

The staff that becomes a serpent and then a staff again is an image that evil can only go as far as God allows. Jesus will defeat the serpent, the devil, through love for God. Genesis 3:15 says, “He (Jesus) shall bruise your head, and you (serpent) shall bruise his heel.” When Jesus healed the mute demoniac possessed man, it became clear that he had power over the devil and his demons.

The healing of leprosy is another sign of the Messiah. When Jesus healed the leper, the question of whether he was the Messiah was raised publicly for the first time. From that point on, the scribes came to Jesus and watched him.

The transformation of water into blood is also the sequence of symbolism found by Jesus. At his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, he turned water into wine. At Passover he pointed the cup of redemption to his vicarious death on the cross, where his blood was shed for the forgiveness of all human transgressions. This sacrificial death becomes effective for everyone who gratefully accepts Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and no longer builds on their own righteousness. Life (water) is obtained by protecting the blood of God’s vicarious Lamb, is the message of Passover. Jesus says it this way in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”