en_tn_condensed/jhn/03/14.md

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up

This figure of speech is called a simile. Some people will "lift up" Jesus just as Moses "lifted up" the bronze serpent in the wilderness. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-simile)

in the wilderness

The wilderness is a dry, desert place, but here it refers specifically to the place where Moses and the Israelites walked around for forty years.