In the Old Testament lesson for this Sunday we heard how Moses served as a sign to God’s people. He symbolized a greater prophet who would appear some time in the future. For forty years Moses filled the role of God’s voice among the Israelites. Remember they had asked for that arrangement after they heard God himself speak his Commandments from the top of Mt. Sinai. With God’s voice shaking the mountain, which was surrounded in thunder, lighting, and smoke, the people were filled with fear. They said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” (Exodus 20:19) The arrangement of Moses speaking for God worked well for all the years that the Israelites wandered on their way to the Promised Land. But before he died Moses spoke the prophecy we heard in the Old Testament lesson. God had told Moses, “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18)
The promised prophet would be like Moses, and yet he would also be very different from Moses. This great prophet would be a flesh and blood brother to God’s people. He would be born as one of their own, speak their language, and live among them. But from other portions of God’s Word we learn that this prophet would be extraordinary in every sense. He would speak directly for God because he would be God in human flesh. He would speak with the authority and power that belong to God alone because it would belong to him.
Of course the Old Testament lesson for this Sunday was fulfilled by Jesus. He is the ultimate speaker for God because he is God. In the Gospel lesson for this Sunday we heard about him teaching with authority. He also performed a miracle to identify himself as the great prophet sent by God.
In the Word of God that we will consider for our sermon Moses will direct us to another truth about Jesus. As a living prophecy Moses gave God’s Old Testament people small glimpses at the life of Jesus. We direct our attention to Exodus 32:15-35. Those verses are printed on the back of the worship folder if you would like to follow along as I read them. The specific verses that point us to the work of Christ are underlined. (Read text.) In the aftermath of the Golden Calf incident Moses tried to make things right again between God and the Israelites. He offered to take their guilt on himself and even receive their punishment. Through the eyes of faith the Holy Spirit will lead us to see in Moses’ actions a picture of our Savior. May he also lead us to find what Moses could not give his people. May we:
“FIND ATONEMENT IN GOD’S INTERCESSOR”
I. Jesus took the guilt of our sins upon himself
II. Jesus received the punishment we deserved
Moses was understandably angry at his people. The Israelites had experienced God’s love. With mighty miracles God had freed them from slavery in Egypt. They could recall the Ten Plagues, the dry path on the bottom of the Red Sea, the destruction of Pharaoh’s army, the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, and other amazing wonders. And their own ears had heard God say, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” And yet there they were dancing around a golden calf giving it the worship the LORD deserved. In his righteous anger Moses literally broke all the Commandments at once as he smashed the stone tablets God had made. After destroying the golden calf, after hearing his brother Aaron’s lame excuses, and after restoring order in the camp, Moses turned his attention to making things right between God and his people. “30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” We don’t know what Moses had in mind to do but he obviously was counting on God’s mercy.
I.
So what exactly is “atonement”? What did Moses have in mind when he set out to “make atonement” for the sins the Israelites had committed? The Hebrew word that Moses used had the idea of covering sin, pacifying someone who has been offended, or even the paying of a ransom to set someone free. Our English word “atonement” comes from two words “at” and “one.” Two people who have a right relationship with each other have been brought to a state of “at-one-ment.” But Moses couldn’t cause atonement to occur between God and the Israelites. That could only be done by the Messiah. Psalm 49 states the fact clearly, “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him— 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.” A sinner taking the place of a sinner does neither any good. Although Moses had good intentions he couldn’t make atonement for the Israelites. He had nothing to offer God that would make things right again between him and his people.
But like a father facing a judge on behalf of his wayward teenager Moses went before the LORD to beg for forgiveness for the Israelites. Or like a lawyer representing a guilty man Moses entered a guilty plea and appealed to God’s mercy. “So Moses went back to the LORD and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” Now I want you to think about what Moses did. From the day they left Egypt Moses had heard nothing but whining and complaining from the Israelites. They had argued with him and ridiculed his leadership. And yet Moses offers to take their guilt upon himself. Moses wasn’t the one who should have been standing before the LORD. He hadn’t worshipped the Golden Calf! And yet he offers to let God charge him for the sins the Israelites had committed.
That deep love and Moses’ willingness to take the guilt of the Israelites’ idolatry upon himself gives us a great view of our Savior. Isn’t that what Jesus offered to do for us? His deep love for us brought him to earth. He willingly presented himself to his Heavenly Father to take our guilt upon himself.
So now we have been led to see the fundamental difference between Moses and Jesus. Though innocent they both offered to take the guilt of others. But Jesus could do the job that Moses could not do. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says it so well, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Onto his Son God could and did transfer the guilt of all people. As Galatians 3:13 also states, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Once again we see the difference between Moses and Jesus. Because Christ is the sinless Son of God he could take our guilt upon himself.
These verses remind us of another difference between Jesus and Moses. Although Moses has long since ceased his pleading for the Israelites our Savior continues to plead for us. 1 John 2:1 reminds us that, “we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Hebrew 7:25 tells us that Jesus continues to plead for us, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” And 1 Timothy 2:5-6 declares, “5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.” Jesus was our go-between 2000 years ago when he was crucified. And up to this very moment he has shielded us from the wrath of God.As we hear about Moses may the Holy Spirit lead us to see Jesus and put our faith in him. May we see him as the one who intercedes for us. Then may we find atonement in God’s intercessor. He has taken our guilt upon himself.
II.
In Moses’ pleading for the Israelites he mentioned something that is found throughout the Scriptures. Did you catch the meaning of what he asked God to do if God refused to forgive the Israelites? “But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” Moses mentioned a “book” that God had written. What book was he talking about? When we let the Bible interpret itself we learn more about God’s “salvation book.” Psalm 69 talks about the names of the wicked being blotted out of God’s book of life. In his vision of Judgment Day the Prophet Daniel also spoke about God keeping such a salvation book. Jesus told his disciples to rejoice that their names were written in heaven. And in Revelation Jesus spoke a number of times about the names of believers being written in the Book of Life. Here in his intercession for his people Moses was offering to have his name taken off God’s salvation list for their sake. But once again that was a request God could not honor.
God’s answer to Moses’ pleading reminds us that although he offered himself Moses couldn’t make atonement for the sins of the Israelites. God simply set the need for atonement aside for a time. “The LORD replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.” 35 And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.” The LORD would have mercy on his people. But punishment would still have to be given out as well. Since God is just, and holy he couldn’t let the Israelites’ idolatry go unpunished. I can’t help but wonder how Moses reacted to what God said. God’s Words were far from being filled with hope.
If this is all we knew about God’s justice we would leave church today with no hope. Imagine if all we knew about God was that the names of those who sin will be blotted out of his book. And that all who sin will be punished. Perhaps we have not worshipped a Golden Calf but we have set ourselves above God. And although we may not have broken the First Commandment by making an idol we have broken it by not fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things. And what can we say about the rest of the Commandments? Have we kept all of them perfectly? Even if Moses himself were standing here today to plead our case before God he would hear the same answer he heard at Mt. Sinai, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”
Thankfully this picture of Moses unfolds at another time and place. Instead of Moses at Mount Sinai we see Jesus at Mount Calvary. On Good Friday God crossed Jesus’ name off his list and treated him as a guilty sinner. When Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he was suffering hell in our place. He was being treated as if he had done the evil things we have done. His Name was listed among the damned and those destined for hell. 1 John 2:2 reminds us of what Jesus accomplished by taking the punishment that we deserved. It says, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” And Isaiah 53:5 pictures the same thing so clearly, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Since Jesus took our punishment our names are written in the Book of Life. He took the plague of God’s wrath that we deserved. Romans 3:25 declares, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” What Moses had hoped to accomplish for the Israelites Jesus has done for the whole world. May we always find atonement in God’s intercessor—Jesus, Christ.
In a little less than a month from today, on Sunday, February 26 to be exact, the focus of our worship service will be on Jesus’ Transfiguration. In the Gospel Lesson for that Sunday we will hear about how Jesus took Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. There Jesus was transformed so that they could see his divine nature. For a short time the veil of Jesus’ human nature was pulled back. But do you remember who appeared to talk with Jesus? Moses and Elijah were allowed to talk with Jesus about his suffering and death. The prayer that Moses prayed centuries before was about to be answered. God’s intercessor was about to make atonement for the sins of all people. The Prophet that Moses said would come had come. And Moses’ imperfect intercession was going to be replaced by Jesus’ atoning death. Friends may we see what Moses longed to see—the atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world. In Moses we see a picture of Jesus. May we find atonement for our sins in the great Intercessor God has sent. Jesus has taken our guilt upon himself. Jesus has received the punishment we deserved. Amen.
