Moses, the relcutant servant - Jesus the Obedient Servant
1st Mid-Week Lent Service Sermon Text: Exodus 4
Moses, the reluctant servant
Let us pray: let the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Imagine standing before God Almighty, and telling him, “No.” We find Moses, God’s chosen messenger, doing just that in the text for this evening. God says “Go and tell the elders of Israel, I Am, the God of your Fathers, has seen your affliction in Egypt and has promised to bring you out of your oppression to the land I promised to your forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. Not only that, but Moses, I want you to go to the king of Egypt and tell him to let My people go.”
No small task is set before Moses. And so, like most people charged with an incredible task, Moses says “Surely not I.” You see, Moses does not want to go. He’s afraid; afraid that the Israelites will not believe him; afraid the Egyptians will still remember his youthful indiscretions; afraid of leaving his relatively quiet life as a shepherd.
Moses, who at first expressed humility when faced with the Lord’s commission of him now tries to complain his way out of his calling. Now that he has been given specific directions as to how is to go about his task, he begins to doubt. He tells the Creator of heaven and earth, “What if they don’t believe me… and say the Lord did not appear to you.”
“What if…?” How often questions such as this plague our hearts and minds when we are confronted with a specific task. We too, like Moses, start out with all humility, yet the closer we come to carrying out our duties, we stumble and doubt that anyone will listen. I certainly know I can think of numerous times, and perhaps you can as well, when you knew it was your duty to bear witness to someone the will of God, yet that blasted “what if…?” got in the way.
To Moses, God gives these miracles; the miracle of the staff turning into a serpent, the miracle of Moses’ hand becoming leprous and then being healed, the miracle of turning the water from the Nile into blood. Perhaps not the mightiest of miracles if you ask me, but they are certainly eye-catching; certainly miracles that would grab someone’s attention. And grab their attention they will. For these miracles testify that God is with His messenger. Who could doubt that God was not with this man, that he was not God’s own representative? How could Moses even continue to doubt? Yet doubt he did.
So again, the reluctant servant tries to wriggle out of his responsibility: “I am not eloquent. I don’t like to speak in public.” Telling one’s Creator that he is slow of speech doesn’t seem to be the greatest of excuses. Yet God reminds him just who made man’s mouth and gave him speech.
At last, we come to the heart of the reluctant servants’ motive in trying to get out of his commission. “Lord, please send someone else.” “You see, the fact of the matter is, I don’t want to go. I’m afraid.”
Now imagine for a moment if Jesus were no better than Moses. If when His Father said, “Go to the cross and die for the very ones who want you dead” and Jesus said, “No. Send someone else.” What a detestable situation we would be in. There would be no salvation, no assurance of a resurrection. Only death and hell would await us.
That is why while Moses was a reluctant servant, Jesus was the obedient servant. Even on the night in which He was betrayed, He remained obedient. Oh He knew what was coming, so much so, that his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. Oh yes, He knew what awaited him. It was not merely a king who held God’s chosen people in bondage; rather He faced the foe which held all of God’s children in bondage – sin. Remember His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane: “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36). “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 20:42). The cup of wrath – God’s wrath against sin: yes, what lay ahead for Jesus was far more dangerous than Moses could ever dream of. Unlike Moses, Jesus wouldn’t carry a staff, but a cross; a cross that didn’t change into a serpent, but rather, crushed the serpents’ head. Not only Jesus hand, but his entire body would carry the leprosy of sin. He would not be wearing a cloak over his naked frame in which to hide his hand and restore His flesh; rather He would wear burial linens to cover his corpse while in the tomb. There would be no turning water into blood, but from His pierced side water and blood would flow simultaneously.
What happens to Moses, the reluctant servant? In the end, he goes. Jesus the obedient servant goes as well. One goes to Pharaoh; one goes before Caesar’s governor. Moses will have help, in the form of Aaron, his brother. Jesus must go it alone, stricken, smitten, and afflicted. One has the promise that God will be with him, the other cries out from upon the cross, ““Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?”… “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34).
He was forsaken by His Father in heaven for Moses, for you, for me. He was stricken, smitten, and afflicted so that Moses the reluctant servant could be found blameless before God, so you too, even when you doubt, even when the “what if” question plagues your heart and mind at times when God would have you do His will; you too would be found blameless before the Lord God Almighty. Christ Jesus the Savior was obedient unto death; yes even death upon a cross so that like Moses, you too might have the hope in everlasting life. Amen.
The Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.