Sermon
for Lent 3, March 23, 2025
Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you in Jesus Christ,
our Lord. Amen.
Exodus
3:1-15 Now
Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, a priest of
Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to
Horeb, the mountain of God. 2The
Angel of the Lord appeared to him in blazing fire from within a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but the
bush was not burning up. 3So
he said, “I will go over and look at this amazing sight―to find out why the bush is not burning
up.” 4When the Lord saw that
Moses had gone over to take a look, God called to him from the middle of the
bush and said, “Moses! Moses!” Moses said, “I am here.” 5The Lord said, “Do not come any
closer. Take your sandals off your feet,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6He then said, “I am the God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to
look at God. 7The Lord said,
“I have certainly seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their
cry for help because of their slave drivers.
Yes, I am aware of their suffering.
8So I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the
Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to
a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the
Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9Now indeed, the Israelites’ cry
for help has come to me. Yes, I have
seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10Come now, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people,
the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11But
Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should
bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12So
God said, “I will certainly be with you.
This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought
the people out of Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain.” 13But Moses said to God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of
your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what
should I say to them?” 14So God
replied to Moses, “I am who I am.” He
also said, “You will say this to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.” 15God also told Moses, “Say this
to the Israelites: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers―the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob―has
sent me to you. This is my name forever,
and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’”
(EHV)
Dear
elect of the Lord,
When Moses met the Lord on the
mountain of God, and the Lord called for Moses to challenge Pharaoh and lead
the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt, you can sense the trepidation
that Moses felt as he listened to the Lord’s instruction. Even though Moses was raised to believe in
the God of his forefathers, he still had much to learn about the God we worship
and follow. It is likely that we too
need a refresher course on all that God promises us in His name, so that we are
ready to respond no matter what the challenge or situation we might face.
For
decades, Moses had lived a quiet, pastoral life shepherding his father-in-law’s
sheep in the wilderness. As much as
anything, Moses had been hiding from the wrath of Egypt’s pharaoh who had
threatened Moses’ life for killing an abusive Egyptian master. Though raised in the palace, Moses was no
longer the brash, impetuous youth. The
country life suited him, and he was comfortable in the anonymity of his
life. Boy, was that about to change!
Moses
had a hard time believing that he was the right man for the job. He as much as argued against the Lord’s
decision. But finally, he said, “If I
go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to
you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I say to them?” So God replied to Moses, “I am who I am.” That certainly clears it up for the skeptic,
doesn’t it? So, Who
is this “I AM” who saves?
Actually,
Moses no longer had to be afraid of the Pharaoh because all who had known about
Moses’ previous run-ins with Egyptian authority were dead. Moses would be a true nobody to the ruler of
Egypt. The same could be said about the
true God, for the pharaohs considered themselves a god. In fact, when Moses met with Pharaoh, that
ruler demanded, “Who is the Lord that I should listen to his voice and let
Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I
certainly will not let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2)
We
shouldn’t feel smug, though, as we hear Pharaoh’s arrogant response. Isn’t this the same boldness we display
whenever we rebel against our Lord and sin against Him? Isn’t this the way we act every time we worry
about things that should be given to the Lord to handle, or whenever we misuse
His name? Don’t we too say, “Who is
the Lord,” whenever we don’t fear His judgment or recognize His grace for
all people?
Because
we have so often also been guilty of, at least, acting like we don’t know the
answer, it is vital that we truly know and remember Who this “I AM” who
saves is!
God replied to Moses, “I am who I am.” … The Lord, the God
of your fathers―the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” From this “I am,” we are reminded that the
Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
In his Psalm, Moses prays to the Lord, “From eternity to eternity you
are God.” (Psalm 90:2) St. John’s
Gospel tells us, “Through him everything was made, and without him not one
thing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3) Indeed, John’s Gospel confirms for us what is
evident in many parts of Scripture, that Jesus is true God along with His
Father in heaven. Therefore, we can have
total confidence that this “I am” is the Almighty God who created the world and
everything in it.
Did
you ever drive somewhere and miss a turn you planned to take? How long did you drive before you realized
that the road you were on would never take you where you wanted to go? I ask, because so many people in our world
search for answers about the past, or the origin of the world, or the future, yet
they deny that God has anything to do with it.
Because they seek answers on a path that denies the truth, they truly can
never understand reality. They are
continually the blind leading the blind.
However, we have the answers in our Scriptures which always line up with
scientific and archeological findings, if only we have eyes that can see. So that we may see, Jesus declared, “I am
the Way and the Truth and the Life. No
one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6)
Moses
was worried about the danger and ridicule he might face if he returned to Egypt
with this bold demand. However, God was
keeping His promise to Abraham.
Centuries earlier, God had promised to give the land of Caanan to
Abraham’s descendants, but in addition, “The Lord said to Abram, ‘Know
this! Your descendants will live as
aliens in a land that is not theirs, and they will serve its people, who will
afflict them for four hundred years. But
I will surely judge the nation that they will serve. Afterward your descendants will come out with
great wealth.’” (Genesis 15:13-14)
Our
God is all-knowing. He knows the
present, the past, and the future. The
Lord spoke to Jeremiah saying, “My eyes are watching everything they
do. It is not hidden from me, nor is
their guilt hidden from my eyes.” (Jeremiah 16:17) The writer to the Hebrews confirms this, “There
is no creature hidden from him, but everything is uncovered and exposed to the
eyes of him to whom we will give an account.” (Hebrews 4:13) Therefore, we should understand that there is
nothing we can hide from the Lord. At the
same time, we can be confident in everything the Lord tells us, for He cannot
and will not deceive, because “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and
merciful toward all that he has made.” (Psalm 145:17)
When
he objected to the Lord’s command to go to Egypt, Moses asked, “Who am I,
that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the Israelites out of
Egypt?” So God said, “I will certainly
be with you.” Whenever we have
fears, worries, or doubts, we should remember Jesus’ promise to us: “Surely
I am with you always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) No matter what trials, sorrows, hardships, or
rejection from defiant unbelievers we might have to face, we have the most
powerful ally in creation. We have with
us always the “I am” who came into the world to save people from sin, death,
and the devil. Our defender is ever at
our side, and He is all-powerful to save.
If
ever in doubt about your Lord’s power to deal with the world, look at the
plagues He put upon the Egyptians so that they would let His people go. He spoke to Moses saying, “I know that the
king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced to do so by a
powerful hand. So I will reach out my
hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in their midst. Afterward he will let you go.” (Exodus
3:19-20)
Who is this “I AM” who saves? This is the Lord who cursed the devil when he
led Adam and Eve into sin, but also promised a Savior who would crush the
demon’s head. This is the Lord who gave
His Son, Jesus, into the world to redeem all God’s people from the curse of sin
which is eternal death. This is the “I
am” who, after taking on human flesh to live holiness among us, laid down His
life for His friends so that we might have forgiveness and life everlasting,
who suffered the pain of death so that our sins are paid for and we are
forgiven, who declared through His apostle, “I will be merciful in regard to
their unrighteousness, and I will not remember their sins any longer.”
(Hebrews 8:12)
Who is this “I AM” who saves? He
is the Lord who promises His people that even in times of hardship and trouble,
“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you
peace, not disaster, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) He is the Lord who asked Job, “Where were
you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4) He is the Lord who led Israel out of slavery
in Egypt and to freedom through the Red Sea in a pillar of cloud by day and
fire by night. Who promises that just as
Israel was saved through water so we are saved from slavery to sin through the
waters of Baptism.
He
is the Lord, who in human flesh suffered the cruel injustice of a perfectly
holy Man dying for the sins of the world, yours and mine included, whose blood
shed on the cross paid for all our guilt and shame, who died and was buried,
but on the third day rose to live and never die again, who reigns over all
things until the end of time, who declares to you that all your sins are
forgiven, and He has opened the gates of heaven for all who will believe in Him,
for He promises, “Whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.”
(John 11:26)
He
is the “I am” who showed St. John a vision of the result of His work “and there was a great multitude that no
one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing in
front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palm
branches in their hands.” (Revelation 7:9) And the elder declared, “These are the
ones who are coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. Because
of this they are in front of the throne of God, and they serve him day and
night in his temple.” (Revelation 7:14-15)
Who is this “I AM” who saves? He is your God, your Savior, Redemer, and
Comforter, who knit you together in your mother’s womb and knows your every
weakness yet has loved you with an everlasting love and intends to welcome you
into heaven on the last day just as the father welcomed his prodigal son,
saying, “‘Let
us eat and celebrate, because this son of mine was dead and is alive
again. He was lost and is found.’ Then
they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:23-24) Just as Jesus has told us, “In the same
way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10) This
is the Three in One, the Triune God, the great “I AM” who saves you. Amen.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our
Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good
hope, encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word. Amen.
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