LutheranLectionary.org

Reflections on Scripture with Dr. Leins

Time Stamp	Transcript
0:00	[Music]
0:12	hello today let’s talk about our hidden
0:19	God we learned from The Mountaintop
0:22	encounter between God and Moses that our
0:25	God is fundamentally mysterious and
0:29	purposefully
0:31	hidden Moses is not permitted to see
0:34	God’s full Glory Exodus 33 the almighty
0:38	one explains that you cannot see my face
0:42	for no man can see me and
0:45	live but God chooses to allow Moses to
0:49	see his back God hides Moses in the
0:53	Clift of The Rock and after God passes
0:55	by God removes his hand enough so that
0:58	Moses can behold a portion of God’s
1:02	glory it appears that God is hiding
1:05	Moses but perhaps more correctly it is
1:08	God who actually is hiding himself do
1:12	you see God kept himself
1:16	hidden if we’re to understand the nature
1:19	of God it will not be through seeing the
1:21	divine power or glory of God fully
1:24	exposed no instead God has determined
1:29	that he will show us his
1:33	back as we learn from the life of Jesus
1:36	God will reveal
1:38	himself by hiding himself in the Divine
1:42	Paradox God hides himself in the
1:46	Opposites for example the almighty God
1:50	will reveal himself as a fragile infant
1:53	and the holy judge of both the living
1:55	and the dead will present himself as a
1:58	sinner of a blasphemer a heretic
2:01	condemned by the religious leaders of
2:04	his faith and the Glorious creator of
2:08	all life will display himself as a
2:12	pierced bloody and dead corpse hanging
2:16	on a Roman cross wow that is the god who
2:20	hides himself in the mystery of the
2:22	Paradox he shows himself in the
2:26	Opposites point one God used uses the
2:30	desert to teach
2:33	Faith the text before us today is from
2:36	the Old Testament book of numbers the
2:38	21st chapter this passage is a wonderful
2:42	example of the hiddenness of God and the
2:45	way that he discloses himself in the
2:48	Paradox as you may know the Book of
2:51	Numbers tells the story of God’s people
2:54	in the wilderness after their Exodus
2:56	from
2:57	Egypt over and over again God proves
3:02	himself to be kind and faithful and over
3:07	and over again the people show
3:09	themselves to be complaining and
3:13	faithless God fought battles for his
3:16	children in the wilderness God provided
3:20	food for his children when there was no
3:22	food God provided water for his children
3:25	when there was no water God gave them
3:28	Miracle after
3:30	Miracle still the people complained they
3:34	not only complained about Moses and
3:36	tried to usurp his leadership they even
3:38	complained against
3:40	God and suggested that they would be
3:43	better off back in
3:45	Egypt they did not fear love and trust
3:51	God no on the contrary they were
3:55	ungrateful impatient and
3:58	idolatrous even after Israel had
4:01	multiple glimpses of the glory of God
4:03	and after God’s Deliverance of Israel
4:05	from slavery in Egypt and from the
4:07	Canaanite king of Arad still God’s
4:10	people were not only ungrateful they
4:13	were unfaithful to
4:16	God God had sent them into the desert so
4:19	that they would need his protection and
4:21	his provision surely they would learn to
4:24	count upon God’s presence and learn to
4:28	trust in God’s faithful
4:30	blessings there was nothing else that
4:32	they could rely upon and how God
4:34	Delights in the trust and faith of his
4:38	people
4:39	but did Israel give God their trust and
4:44	faithfulness no they did not instead
4:47	they continued in their sinful rejection
4:50	of God finally after 20 chapters of this
4:53	pattern God sent a judgment upon Israel
4:56	God sent fiery snakes to bite them them
5:00	many became sick some
5:03	died the serpents were a parable of the
5:07	people’s sin the snakes were a
5:09	demonstration in the Physical Realm of
5:12	what was already happening to them in
5:15	the spiritual realm they were bitten
5:19	spiritually they were spiritually sick
5:22	with ungratefulness and impatience and
5:27	unfaithfulness some of them were even
5:28	spiritually
5:30	dead this was God’s message hidden in
5:33	the
5:34	snakes do you see that the time in the
5:37	desert was designed to be a blessing
5:40	from God there God showed Israel their
5:44	sin there God showed Israel his
5:48	love do you also see that even the fiery
5:51	serpents were a blessing from God they
5:54	were a call for his children to
5:57	repent the snakes were an outward
6:01	manifestation of the inner and spiritual
6:04	sin and fear and death that the people
6:07	were suffering because of their lack of
6:09	faith in God all of that was hidden in
6:13	the teaching of God given in the
6:17	desert point two God uses their sin to
6:22	teach them his
6:24	grace even in the midst of the people’s
6:26	sin and the lack of faith God Made A Way
6:30	for their deliverance and their healing
6:32	God made a remedy for their
6:35	sin by now you may have begun to
6:37	anticipate how that remedy might look
6:40	remember the hidden God he hides himself
6:43	in the mystery of the Paradox he shows
6:46	himself in the
6:49	Opposites God took the very thing that
6:53	was the sign of their sin and sickness
6:55	and death and God used that sign of
6:58	death
6:59	to become a source of life God told
7:04	Moses to make a fiery serpent out of
7:07	bronze and put it up on a
7:09	standard do you know what a standard is
7:12	it’s a pole with a cross piece at the
7:14	top it was used to carry a banner or a
7:17	symbol it looked like a
7:19	cross God told Moses to Fashion a bronze
7:23	snake and put it on a standard the body
7:27	of the snake wrapped around the top of
7:29	the cross and hung down the pole God
7:32	gave this direction make a fiery Serpent
7:36	and set it on a standard and it shall
7:38	come about that everyone who is bitten
7:41	when he looks at it he shall
7:45	live this was so
7:49	counterintuitive it was such a paradox
7:51	such an opposite the very thing that had
7:55	been a statement of their sin and
7:56	judgment and death was used by God to
8:00	become their forgiveness and healing and
8:06	life do you see this is the god who
8:11	hides himself in the mystery of the
8:14	Paradox the snake on the pole looked
8:17	like the very opposite of what it was it
8:20	looked like death but hidden within it
8:23	was God’s Divine Healing and
8:28	life
8:29	strange
8:31	antidote miraculous mysterious
8:35	medicine from this hidden God the sign
8:38	of death became the source of
8:42	Life Point three God uses the opposite
8:46	to give
8:47	salvation you see where we’re going with
8:49	this don’t you God has given us an Old
8:52	Testament example that will be filled
8:54	full completed in the New Testament 1300
8:59	50 years before the birth of Jesus God
9:02	foreshadowed how Jesus would be lifted
9:05	up on a standard in order to give
9:07	forgiveness and healing and life the
9:11	hidden God would use a paradox he would
9:13	hide himself in the opposite so is it
9:17	really any surprise that God would bring
9:21	this teaching to its completion and the
9:23	New Testament when Christ was lifted up
9:26	on the cross the cross
9:29	the sign of death that became the source
9:33	of eternal life for all who looked and
9:38	believed Jesus is like a new testament
9:41	fiery serpent Jesus is a demonstration
9:45	of our sin and our judgment and our
9:48	death when we look at him in faith we
9:51	are healed and saved
9:54	forever Jesus Is God hidden in a paradox
9:59	showing himself in the Opposites Jesus
10:02	who had no sin became the sin of the
10:06	world on the cross Jesus was the most
10:09	sinful man who ever lived because he
10:11	carried the sin of all of us and God’s
10:14	judgment for all of our sin was laid
10:17	Upon Jesus so he was punished for all of
10:21	us Jesus was punished for you the wages
10:25	of sin is death Jesus took your sin
10:29	received your judgment and died in your
10:33	place God put Jesus up on a standard
10:37	upon a cross that cross is much more
10:40	frightening than a snake the crucifixion
10:44	of Christ is a much greater spectacle of
10:47	judgment and
10:49	death Jesus the hidden God looks like
10:53	the very opposite of what he truly is he
10:57	looks shameful the just punishment for
11:00	what you have done he looks terrifying a
11:03	gruesome death that you deserve for your
11:05	sins and Jesus Is Dead the sentence that
11:10	you do not want to hear for yourself but
11:13	that you one day must face all of this
11:16	the hidden God has now become for you
11:20	suffering in your place dying in your
11:24	place Behold the Lamb of God behold the
11:27	love of God hidden on a cross for
11:32	you conclusion the love of
11:36	God that has been God’s message all
11:38	along the strange mysterious hidden
11:42	message that God is desperate to get
11:45	through to
11:47	you God loves you he always
11:52	has in spite of your secret shames and
11:55	guilty sins God still
11:59	desperately loves
12:03	you if he only had shown you his power
12:06	and Glory you would never have
12:08	understood the depth of his forgiveness
12:12	and love so God has demonstrated his
12:16	love for you in his humiliation and his
12:20	suffering and his death on the cross God
12:24	has hidden himself in the Paradox he has
12:28	shown himself self in these
12:31	opposites is this God is this what God
12:35	really looks
12:37	like dead on a
12:39	cross yes the answer is staring you in
12:43	the face this is God a crucified corpse
12:47	on a cross the hidden God revealed
12:52	himself for
12:55	you today beloved you cannot not
12:59	withstand seeing all of the glory of God
13:03	but today on the cross God has given you
13:07	all of his
13:10	love
13:19	[Music]
13:27	amen