Fifth Sunday of Easter: The Gospel According to Moses

Unedited Transcript:

The name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy.

Amen. Daddy. Look at the picture. I drew, that's a statement I hear from time to time. Um, particularly from my Zoe. She loves to draw. And it's a neat thing to, when she comes to me and says, look at the picture. I drew, um, sometimes the tone of her voice is different.

Sometimes, it's Daddy. Look at the big Shredder and sometimes it's sad. Daddy. Look at the picture. I drew And what I've learned when I get that particularly from her, but from all my kids is that I'm getting more than a picture at that moment. Um, they're I mean, my kid, I mean I think they're the best artist ever, you know.

So uh, yeah. I mean their their pictures are amazing and no one has pictures like them, but You might not agree with that assessment. If you saw their pictures right you might say they look kind of like normal pictures that an 8-year-old Drew or whatever. Um and so but what I'm getting when I look at the pictures is not this beautiful piece of art as much as a window into what's going on in their soul and in their heart and the feelings that they're having and um experiences they may have had that they'll they'll share those with me sometimes in these pictures.

So I have an opportunity to look into them and see. Hey what's going on? To me, they're revealing themselves to me? Um, and I'll tell you if in that moment I decided to go. Hey, cool. Which I would never do. But, uh, But if I did, Um, it wouldn't cut it right, it would it wouldn't cut it that.

That's, that's not what they're looking for. At that moment. They're not looking for a distracted moment where I'm not engaged in saying, okay, I'm ready to see what you're what you're showing to me. And in the Deuteronomy passage today, I think we have God revealing himself to us. God showing himself to us.

Um in fact, in the Deuteronomy passage I I kind of titled this message the gospel according to Moses. The gospel. According to Moses, it's the good news. Of the Gospel. Um, and particularly appropriate, the reading we had for Easter tide according to Moses. And when we combine that with our, what we read in the, um, in the gospel reading today, Um, when we combine the the gospel according to Moses with the gospel according to John, We we we see a picture of a really beautiful story of good news and God's plan to extend this good news of Redemption and rescue to the whole world.

So today we're going to take a look at the gospel according to Moses, we're going to take a look at how he described how he announces, what have you ever seen a god like this who has done what our God has done and how that connects to the gospel after the resurrection of Jesus?

That we celebrate in Easter tide. So first we can just look at the fact of God's rescue. God rescued rescues and will rescue his people. This is this is the story. God, God rescued his people. He continues to rescue his people and he will ultimately rescue his people. He's a God who acts to rescue.

So in in verse 33, We're getting a story about God's revelation, him showing himself. Anyone else had a God speaking to you out of a burning bush? Has there ever been another God speaking to his people out of a burning bush, right? And the answer is no, uh, well, I mean, I don't know, maybe, maybe there's a story somewhere.

I like that but the, the answer that they're supposed to go with is no, no, God like that, right? Uh, no. No God like that. Um, One. We've never seen a God speaking to his people out of a bush. Verse 34 talks about this rescue, Has any God ever attempted to go into a nation?

And pull a bunch of slaves out. Really. I I mean think about that. Does any other God have the audacity to try something like that? An Empire. And the yank their slaves out. Right? Uh do other gods do that? Do other gods give that a shot but no no other God does that he's saying like no other God comes in and rescues his people and Yanks them away from a nation stronger and mightier than them in other places in Deuteronomy Deuteronomy, it might be my favorite book.

In the Old Testament. Because it's the law of God is like a sermon. It's it's the law God again you get that in Exodus but in Deuteronomy you get the law of God like preached. You get it proclaimed. So telling the same stories but saying, Like this is there another God who does stuff like this?

You know, there's no other God like this God, right?

And then verse 35 talks more about like resettlement.

And and and coming into the, to the reality that you were settled into a land. Settled into a land.

It's kind of amazing when you think of like, The move of God. Can you get people out from an Empire and to settle them in the land? That wasn't there yet? This is this is this and what Moses is doing, the reason this is the gospel. According to Moses, he's saying guys, Tap the brakes for a second.

Look what God has done. Look what God has done. To yank a nation. That is small and weak and unable powerless to save themselves and to pull them out of slavery and bring them into a land. That wasn't theirs. That was inhabited by Giants that they were afraid to go into, right.

And he says, Look at what God has done. Look at what God has done. Has any God done this before? Has any God made a nation for himself, out of the out of out of all the nations of the world? Have we ever seen anything like this?

And in the New Covenant people of God, we can we can ask the same question. Have we seen anything like this? Have we ever seen a God, like this? Has there ever been another God? Who refused to be estranged from the people he made, while they rebelled against him?

Can you see, can you conceive of another God who was willing to lay down his life for his creation? Could you conceive of a god like that? Do you imagine a deity? Who goes to death first and then Rises from the dead. Is there another God like that? Hey, have you have you seen another God conquer death by going there?

First and beating down the devil. Has there ever been a god? Like this, there's never been a God. Like this. There's never been a God to rescue his people with such dramatic acts of rescue.

The reason I call this the gospel according to Moses is he's saying, guys, look at the mighty acts God has done and look how he's not like any other God. And the people of God have to live in a habit. Of saying. Well, there's not a God like this, there's never been a God like this.

And then God he he actually steps things up a notch, right? And in our in our John reading today. We have. Giving the Holy Spirit to his people, right? We have him giving his holy spirit, ask the Lord, and he will give you a comforter. And what's interesting about what Jesus does there in John 14 is he says I will be with you.

I will not leave you as orphans using fatherhood language for himself, right? Uh, Like so he's not, he's not saying I am the father but he's using language of fatherhood. I will not leave you as orphans. And I will send another helper to you the Holy Spirit. And he says, when he says, I'll send you the Holy Spirit.

He says I will be with you. What you start to see? I mean, in other verses in John 14, As we when, when we read the gospel together, what we're seeing is Jesus, says things like Don't, you know, if you see me, you've seen the father? If you look at me, you've seen the father.

The, the Christians I said, if you want to use nerdy theological language, this is the Inseparable operations of the Holy Trinity, right? It's a what we're saying is, what the holy spirit's doing Jesus is doing. So yes, we distinguish the Son and the spirit, but where, where the holy spirit is Jesus is and, and where the father is Jesus is because their their operations are inseparable from one another truly one, truly three.

If With someone yesterday about this, the starting place for the Christian doctrine of God. Incomprehensibility. God blows our mind. Is there a God, like this, right? That that's this should always be our starting place but Jesus is saying I will be with you and he gives the Holy Spirit and in so doing he says I will Be in you.

I will be United with you.

See, things begin with rescue and resettlement pulling out pulling a group of slaves, out of a nation and resettling them in a land. But they go further and we are invited into participation into the life of the Triune God. Were invited to participate in the life of God. And have God himself dwelling in.

And the whole world becoming the land. The whole world becoming the land that we're resettled in.

And because he lives because he rose from the dead we live. Our life is derived from our Union with God, from the fact that he's given us the Holy Spirit as a comforter. So again, has there ever been a God, like this, has there ever been a God who lays down his life for his creation, who who wins the victory over death and sin and evil in all our greatest enemies that we were enslaved to just like they were enslaved to Egypt, we were enslaved to sin, death and evil.

Has there ever been a God who conquers? All the enemies? Pulls them out and then goes further and says, I will be one with you. I will unite with you, you will be, we will be together. Been a God, like this. A God. Who rescued And I got it United with us.

And there's a reason he's done this. There's a reason God has done this work. And the purpose for God's rescue is that he's creating a unique. An emotional people. God's making this point that no other Nation. No. Other people has been through this kind of Deliverance. In Psalm 147.

29 to 30. It says he declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He is not dealt with us with any other Nation. They do not know his rules, praise the Lord.

Verse 36 of our reading today tells us God reveals himself so that he might Discipline them. And the purpose of this discipline is that they would be different. Than the other nations. They'd be weird. May be set apart, they'd be unique. They wouldn't be like the other nations, right?

This is why they're disciplined. But this isn't simply so that they can be different. Earlier in the chapter. In verses 6 through 8 of Deuteronomy 4, you have Keep these laws and do them for that. Will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples. Who when they hear all these statutes will say, surely, this great nation is a wise and understanding people for what great nation is there that has a God, so near to it.

As the Lord, God is to us whenever we call upon him. And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules. So, righteous is all this law that I set before you today. So what he's saying is the whole reason that God Rescues of people resettles, the people in the land and disciplines them and makes them weird and sets them apart is so that they can be a light to the peoples.

He says, in Deuteronomy 4 right here. So hey Remember, so it we didn't have to wait to get to the end of the book before God cared about all the people in the world. Like he didn't only care about Israel for most of History. Okay. And so he doesn't wear in the front of all the people, so that they might say, is there another Nation like this?

That is laws like this. Gospel According to Moses. A set aside people that's been rescued and resettled so that they might be a light to the Nations. Who will then say, wow, is there a people? So wise in understanding is this one? Is there a people with law like this?

So the people are set up hard for a unique relationship with God. And the purpose has always been And always will be about the people who are not yet part of the Covenant Community. It's about God. Setting aside a people to be a light for them. And this is a restoration of what people were made to do, right?

Genesis 1. Is another story, right? God makes the man and the woman be fruitful, multiply fill the Earth and subdue it. Image bearers of God extending God's righteous rule over the Earth. This was what we were made to do. And when we rebelled that became impossible. So God, rescues us, kicks out Satan kills all the enemies destroys death and says now be the light to the Nations.

In the church like Israel is to be a unique missional people.

Throughout these verses Jesus is making a point that the type of communion that he has with his disciples is unique. Verses 17 and 19. You're seeing that this is a unique type of connection.

The spirit of Truth comes to us the one that the world cannot receive because it neither sees him or knows him. See, it's Unique, these are unique people. They're going to be the ones to have the spirit of Truth, right? They're going to be the ones that are set aside a unique missional people.

There are a lot of places that talk about how we're called to be like on Mission that when we're empowered by the spirit, that the reason God gives us the spirit is that we're Beyond Mission. To be. Sent out to the world. I mean, maybe the clearest link between Jesus abiding, president and Mission is found in the Great Commission.

Matthew, 28 18-20, go make disciples of all the nations. Baptizing them in the father, son, Holy Spirit. What's he say? Surely I'll be with you always. End of the age. This connection between the abiding presence of God, the the uniqueness of having this unique connection with God, for the sake of the world, this is always the story.

Has there ever been a God? Like this, a God who has come to us? Who has United himself with us and made himself one with us. So that We might be a light to those who don't yet know him. And extend a hand to those who are far from him.

Has there ever been a god like this? And how do we respond to the gospel? According to Moses and Jesus. Is the people of God obey him. And reveal him. This is what we do. We obey the Lord and we reveal him to all people. Every passage we read today makes a firm connection between love of God and obedience to his commands.

Those things are connected in all three passages we read today. There's no such thing as a true. Love of God, that doesn't lead us into obedience of God. So, If we love him, we obey him. So, Obedience to God's law is an enduring requirement for God's people. So even New Covenant people of God obey God's law.

Please Jesus said not a jot or Tittle will be taken from the law. It's fulfilled in Jesus. The story isn't, oh my God, I don't have to do all that stuff. I read in the in the Old Testament, that's not the story. The story is about. Jesus fulfilling the law on our behalf and us fulfilling the law in our Union.

With him us living out, Environments of the law. Empowered by the spirit. So the story isn't, hey, those things don't matter. Like we can when we have some longer, teaching time we can talk about how we can parse between like, Codes in the Old Testament law that were particularly about their old, their worship and like and some of the things that we don't do exactly the same way today, but let me tell you.

One thing that we all should agree about is that we obey the law. We obey the law of God. And we do what God has said to do. The difference between the Old and New Covenant isn't. I don't have a lot to obey it's that I have the Holy And he empowers me to obey the law that by Nature.

I couldn't obey. Right. What makes the New Covenant better? It's not that those stipulations were so lame and God was in a bad mood. Then what makes the New Covenant better is that God has given us the Holy spirit so that now we can keep the law. When Ezekiel said, he wrote the law on our hearts So that now we can obey it.

So we respond to God's revelation. By obeying the Lord and he gives us the grace and the empowerment to do that. But we also take that Union with God the Holy Spirit who lives in us and we And carry that Union with God. Into the world, the reveal them to others.

Listen, the Holy Spirit lives in you. Holy Spirit lives in you. Has abided with you and in you. When you extend your hands. Your hands on someone and pray. Holy spirit is aiming. And with you you're extending the blessing of God with and you're taking your Union with God with you as you do that, when you serve the poor and the hungry.

God's doing. God's doing it because he's empowering you as you do that. We walk into the world and we can't like turn off our Union with God. And and now I'm doing my own thing, you know, like we we go with the abiding presence of Jesus and we bring Jesus.

In contact and into contact with people in the world, we're empowered by the body of Christ at the table to then, Be the body of Christ, the church right to bring the body of Christ into the world and extend his presence and bless the world. They just bless the world.

Because there's never been a God like this. Who loves his creation enough to lay down his life. So, today we looked at the gospel. According to Moses, right? We encounter the God who saves He pulls his people out of slavery in Egypt even though they were weak and unable to do it themselves.

He settles them in a land and He blesses them and disciplines them and makes them a unique people. Today, he pulls his church out of slavery to sin death and Satan, He blesses them, forgives them and unites them. On Earth with each other and with him through the Holy Making them brand new.

He does that so that his people might be a unique and mission-minded people who are set apart from the world for the sake of the world. And they're sent any and they're sent out to the world to be revealing. What God can do? Look what God has done. Look what God has done.

Has there ever been a God like this? And we can go and say, look what God has done. And if God was able to save me, he can save anybody. If God was able to save me, he can save you. I promise, you know you you can't be worse off than I would be without him.

So like if he could save me, he could save anybody and we can be a people that reveal God to the world. So let us draw near and fellowship. With God today at the table and then let us bring that Fellowship that Union that communion with God. Into the world and bless the world in his name.

Amen.