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Psalm 149:1–9 • Exodus 12:1–14 • Romans 13:8–14 • Matthew 18:15–20

Today’s theme is God gave us a way to remember that he saves us. Our call to worship psalm reminds us to praise the Lord who takes pleasure in his people and executes judgement against their enemies. Our Old Testament reading from Exodus contains the instructions from the Lord to Moses on how to prepare and keep the Passover of the LORD, a day set apart as a day of remembrance of God saving Israel while executing judgement on Egypt. The epistolary reading from Romans speaks of the implications of salvation in terms of departing from works of darkness while putting on the armor of light. In the Gospel reading from Matthew Jesus speaks to seeking reconciliation with those who sin against you.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

How to use this sermon resource.

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God Gave Us a Way to Remember That He Saves Us

Exodus 12:1–14 ESV

Over the last two Sundays, we’ve been watching God’s rescue story unfold in Exodus. First, we saw that even when God seemed absent, he was already at work. While Israel suffered under slavery and oppression, God was preserving life and preparing a deliverer through acts of courage and faithfulness. Then last week, we met Moses at the burning bush and discovered that the God who seemed silent had not forgotten his people. God saw their suffering, heard their cries, and came down to rescue them.

Together, these passages remind us that even when we cannot see him, God is at work to rescue us. God comes down. God does not abandon us. God keeps his promises.

Today we come to a turning point in the story of Exodus. So far, we have met Moses, the man God called to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt. We read of Moses’ birth and upbringing and his calling by God at the burning bush. That was chapter 3. Today we pick up the story in chapter 12. This week is a great time to read Exodus 4–11, the chapters in between.

If you do, you will meet Aaron, Moses’ brother. God gave Aaron to help Moses speak to Pharaoh and to the people of Israel. Together they deliver God’s message to Pharaoh again and again: “Let my people go.”

Pharaoh refuses. As a result, Egypt experiences a series of nine devastating plagues. Now the story reaches its most dramatic moment. One final judgment, one final plague is coming: the killing of all the firstborn in the land, humans and animals.

We’re on the edge of our seats; we want to know what will happen next.

Instead, God pauses the action and gives detailed instructions for a meal called Passover. At first, this may seem like an interruption. But we will see just how important this “pause” is.

As we listen to these ancient instructions, we are not simply studying an old religious ceremony. We are being reminded that we all need salvation, and it is God alone who saves. Salvation is God’s rescue from sin and death and their effects. Salvation is deliverance from evil and freedom to new life in him. God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

Let’s read it.

¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, ² “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. ³ Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. ⁴ And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. ⁵ Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, ⁶ and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

⁷ “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. ⁸ They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. ⁹ Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. ¹⁰ And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. ¹¹ In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord‘s Passover. ¹² For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴ “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Exodus 12:1–14 ESV

Here God gives Moses and Aaron detailed instructions for keeping the Passover. It is meant to be a memorial day so the Israelites will remember how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt. In short, Passover is God’s way of reminding his people of his salvation and calling them to pass that memory on to future generations. Future generations will need to know that their freedom came from God. God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

Now here we are, not as Israelites, but as Christians. What do these instructions have to do with us? We may be tempted to pass over (pun intended) this section and resume the narrative to see how the story turns out. However, this section is actually packed with meaning for us today as well.

We are not living under slavery in Egypt, but we know what it is like to be trapped. We know what it’s like to feel enslaved to shame, guilt, selfishness, striving, self-hatred, and isolation.

We need that reminder too: God frees us.

The Passover points forward to Jesus Christ. What God began to reveal in Exodus would find its fulfillment in Jesus. We will see as we go on.

The Living Lord Speaks

God gives such detailed instructions for the Passover — down to the timing, the lamb, and how it is prepared and eaten. God speaks clearly and does not leave us guessing. The Living Lord reveals who he is and what he wants. He let the Israelites know exactly what he expected.

We are given a stark contrast between the Living God and the false gods of Egypt. The Living God speaks. He did not leave it up to Israel to figure out how to keep the Passover. This is a God of grace speaking in a land where people worshiped false, man-made gods. Of course, these unreal idols could not speak.

So, people were left in the dark, trying to please gods they did not understand, often through fear and harmful practices. It also gave an opening for evil rulers to control empires through deception and fear. And worshippers needed to trust false priests or magicians to tell them what the gods demanded.

Ultimately, this usually escalated to child sacrifice. Many believed giving a firstborn child would appease the gods. The firstborn is the first child in a family, often given a special status or importance.

The first nine plagues were a direct judgement on the many gods the Egyptians worshiped. Each plague was God’s announcement that he was the one true God. God is speaking and acting to reveal to Israel who he is and what he expects. He is moving them to trust him so they will be free to worship him. He is moving to save them from the slavery they and Pharaoh are in.

All other gods, one by one, were exposed as empty and powerless idols. There is only one God, and all other gods will be cast down. This gives us a partial picture of what salvation entails. It involves casting out all that is evil and all that enslaves.

We also need to be delivered from the false gods we are enslaved to, and we need to come to know the true God who speaks to us. God has chosen us for himself; God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. If we do not know this, then we will never be able to trust him or free to obey him. We will always be wondering if we have done enough or done it right. We will still be in slavery.

The Lord speaks instructions to Moses and Aaron, who will then go and speak God’s words to the people. This pattern gets repeated throughout the Book of Exodus. It’s a pattern carried out for us today as we go and share the good news of God’s salvation to others. We are merely passing on the message that was shared with us. God is not some detached ideal, value system, or projection of our imagination. God is real, he speaks to us, and he acts first to save us. Furthermore, God invites us to participate in sharing that good news with others.

A Communal Meal

What else do these instructions show us about God? Did you notice how the lamb was to be shared? It was to be consumed by a household. And if the household was too small to consume the whole lamb, then they were to join in with another household. The Passover was to be a communal memorial. Communal means something shared and experienced together as a group.

The God who was revealing himself to Israel is the triune God revealed in Jesus Christ. Triune means consisting of three; Father, Son, Spirit have existed for eternity as a relationship, sharing all things together. It shouldn’t be surprising then that this central ceremony for Israel would be observed as an exercise in sharing. It was to be a reminder that they were saved to be a community. Ultimately, this points to the fact that we are saved to share in the communion, the shared life and union, between the Father and Son in the Spirit. Salvation is to be free to belong to another and not enslaved to ourselves.

Blood of the Lamb

The Israelites are also instructed to put the blood of the lamb on the two doorposts and the beam over the door. Notice Israel is not exempt from the destruction coming, but they are given a way to be spared. The blood-soaked door is the way Israel is saved from the death angel.

Notice God provides a way for his people to be spared from judgment. And God provides the rescue. God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

We see the double reference to Jesus in this picture. Jesus himself tells us he is the Door (John 10:9), and it is by his blood we are saved (Ephesians 1:7). There is no other provision made for salvation and that is true for us as well. However, Jesus is still the blood-soaked door open for all to enter. He is calling us to enter and to dine with him.

Passover Meal

More about this special meal: Israel was instructed to eat the meal of roasted lamb with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. They were told to eat the meal in haste. They didn’t have time to wait for the leavening in bread to rise and bitter herbs did not need preparation. They were told to eat with their belt fastened, shoes on, and staff in hand. They needed to be ready to leave Egypt without delay.

When salvation comes to us, we are not to delay. When the Lord provides a way of deliverance, we do not linger. We get moving in the direction of freedom. If you are only beginning to see who the Lord is, there is no reason to wait. The Lord provides for salvation, a deliverance from evil and a freedom to new life in him. The Lord is calling you to himself and the sooner the better. There are life and communion on the other side of that blood-soaked door.

If you have been walking with the Lord for a long time, you too may need the reminder to be in haste to receive the salvation given to us. Sometimes we may be tempted to loosen our belts and remove our shoes to recline back into slavery. But freedom is found in running to the Lord, day in and day out.

Firstborn

The instructions in our passage for today conclude with the theme of the “firstborn.” First, in ancient Egypt, people believed the firstborn child belonged to the gods, and the gods could take that child whenever they wanted. So, the evil practice of child sacrifice was common.

Second, Israel was chosen by God as his own firstborn (Exodus 4:22). And finally, in the New Testament, it is Jesus who bears the title of “Firstborn.” Under the rule of evil, like Pharaoh, being a firstborn lead to death. However, being claimed by God as his firstborn leads to life.

Jesus is the true Firstborn who belongs to the Father. When Jesus gives his life for the sake of the world, he is fulfilling the role of the firstborn by doing his Father’s will. His sacrifice on the blood-soaked wood of the cross provides salvation for all. He stands in for us all who are destined for death under the rulership of evil. And he shares his firstborn status with us, making us all sons of glory.

Now, as firstborns of our Father in heaven, we too are free to serve him, free to do his will, and free to worship him. Notice Israel was not freed from Pharaoh to roam the desert in an attempt to serve themselves. No, they now had a new ruler, the Lord God Almighty, the one who reached down in grace and saved them. These instructions and all the forward-looking signs pointing to Jesus serve for us the same as they did for Israel — God’s reminder of his salvation.

Passover Lamb

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus shared a Passover meal with his disciples. During that meal, he took bread and wine and gave them new meaning. This was the occasion Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. He showed them that he himself is the Passover Lamb, what we also call the Pascal Lamb.

Jesus is the true Passover Lamb. He lived the faithful human life that we could never live. He entered our broken world. He carried our sin. He faced our death. On the cross he took upon himself everything that enslaves humanity. And through his resurrection he opened the way into new life.

Jesus does not merely show us the way to freedom. He becomes our freedom.

The blood on the doorposts pointed forward to him. The lamb pointed forward to him. The meal pointed forward to him. Everything in this story is directing our attention to Jesus. And the wine, bread, lamb, and blood in the Passover are reflected in the Lord’s Supper.

The Passover was given so that God’s people would never forget what he had done. The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion, serves the same purpose for us today.

God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

The bread reminds us of Jesus’ body, given for us. The wine (or grape juice) reminds us of Jesus’ blood, poured out for us. Communion is a sacrament that reminds us that Jesus is the slain lamb who has delivered us from the slavery and tyranny of sin, evil, and death. He has saved us for new life in him.

On the night before the cross, listen to how Jesus connects it all to himself in Luke 22:

And [Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:19–20 ESV

Again and again, we come to the table in remembrance of Jesus. We remember that God saves. We remember that Jesus is our Passover Lamb. We remember that death does not have the final word.

We remember that we belong to the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we remember that the God who rescued the Israelites from Egypt is still rescuing us now.

Thanks be to God that God gave us a way to remember that he saves us.

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Small Group Discussion Questions

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Psalm 114:1–8 • Exodus 14:19–31 • Romans 14:1–12 • Matthew 18:21–35

Today’s theme is God makes himself known. Our call to worship psalm recalls God’s mighty triumph over Egypt in delivering Israel from its grip. The Old Testament reading from Exodus tells the story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt involving a pillar of fire and cloud, a dividing of the Red Sea, and the destruction of an empire’s army. The epistolary reading from Romans presents Paul’s discussion on how the Christian community, in light of God’s universal reign, should regard relationships between the “weak” and the “strong.” The Gospel text in Matthew presents Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant in response to a question couched with limits on forgiveness.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

How to use this sermon resource.

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God Makes Himself Known

Exodus 14:19–31 ESV

Last Sunday, as we followed the story of Exodus, the tension paused for a moment. Pharaoh, who has enslaved the Israelites, refuses to let them go, But God is already working to set the Israelites free. We read last week how God gave Moses and Aaron instructions about the Passover, a meal meant to remember how he rescued Israel from Egypt. Today’s story is where that rescue reaches its dramatic peak.

Pharaoh keeps opposing God, but it’s a losing battle because no one can stand against God’s power and might. The tension builds to its highest point, and the Israelites — and really the whole world — see an incredible act of rescue.

In fact, the event is so spectacular, the story is intentionally told in a way to reflect the Genesis account of creation. What takes place at the Red Sea is unlike anything that had happened before. So, we can say that it is a pointer or signpost to new creation. It is not just another story to tell. The Israelites passing thru the Red Sea from slavery to freedom points forward to God’s ultimate rescue and the finished work of Christ that brings new creation.

New creation is not God throwing this world away and starting over. The Creator became part of creation in order to rescue us from our own sinfulness, to make his broken creation new. New creation is God renewing, restoring, redeeming his creation from the inside out through his Son.

For Israel, all things are about to become new. However, before we read the account, let’s be clear as to what is becoming new. The story is not about God becoming “new” or changing in some way. God does not change. God has always had the same heart, character, and purpose toward us.

The God we see in this story is the same God we see in Jesus Christ. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. What’s new is that both Israel and Egypt will come to know God. They will come to know who God is through what he does.

God makes himself known. He makes himself known through his mighty acts for the whole world to see. God reveals himself through his words and actions — what’s new is Israel’s and Egypt’s knowledge and understanding of God. With that in mind, let’s brace ourselves for this incredible story about who God is.

⁹ Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. ²² And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. ²³ The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. ²⁴ And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, ²⁵ clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” ²⁷ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. ²⁸ The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. ²⁹ But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

³⁰ Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. ³¹ Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. Exodus 14:19–31 ESV

Like we said, there are similarities in this story to the creation account at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis. For starters, in Genesis (1:2b), God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters. Spirit (ruach) in this place means breath, wind, or spirit. While in Exodus, we have a mighty wind blowing over the waters of the Red Sea. We also see in both accounts light being created in a place of darkness. Both record water being divided from water. In both, God gathers water so dry land might appear. That’s too many connections to be coincidental. Why not read all of Genesis 1 today?

The Exodus author wants us to see that God’s deliverance of Israel is like God making a new creation. God is once again creating out of nothing. He is forming a people. God makes a slave nation into his own people who have been set free to serve him. They’re “nobodies” by anyone’s estimate. They’re oppressed and powerless. And never before on the world scene has a group of slaves been freed from a mighty empire. Great empires had slaves, and that was just how things were done. No one ever questioned it. None of Egypt’s false gods would free slaves. So, this is a massive revelation of who God is. A revelation is God showing us who he is.

God makes himself known.

Let’s look at the four verses that come before our text today:

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” Exodus 14:15–18 ESV

God wasn’t just bringing Israel further into knowing him. He wanted their enemies to know him as well.

We shouldn’t think of God “hardening the hearts” of the Egyptians or Pharaoh as God making hearts hard that would have otherwise been soft. This is just a way of saying that God worked in such a way as to bring out what was already there. Pharoah had already chosen evil and pride; God simply allowed it to become fully visible.

As the story goes on, Pharaoh keeps refusing to listen to God or let the people go. Each time Pharoah does this, his heart becomes harder, showing a stubbornness that was already there.

We can think of Pharaoh as a stand-in for any evil ruler that refuses to acknowledge God and insists on his own rule. Pharaoh represents every power that sets itself against God, every force or pull on us that says, “I don’t need God. I will rule my own life.” Ultimately, we can see Pharaoh as a picture of sin and of Satan himself. The story is bigger than just one man.

The bigger picture is God desires to be known by his children. God makes himself known. And he does this by delivering his people and making judgement on their enemies. That revelation is so all people can see who God is and repent and turn to him. Knowing who God is becomes the first step into our experiencing the freedom he has for us.

Our freedom is secured in Christ. It is secured by what God in Jesus has done on our behalf, without any consent or action on our part. But how can we subjectively — in our real everyday lives — experience, participate in, and live in that freedom unless we know God? Faith is trusting God is who he says he is. How do we trust God if we do not know him?

Jesus is the true and final self-revelation of who God is. Jesus is also seeking to reveal the nature, character, heart, and purpose of the triune God to all. His aim is also to set us free in the knowledge of who he is. Perhaps that is one reason Jesus often pressed people to answer the question “who do you say that I am?”

God is not hiding. God makes himself known.

He is revealing himself. He created human beings for relationship with him, and the deepest purpose of salvation is not simply escaping danger. Salvation is God’s rescue from sin and death and participation in the new life in him.

When we look at Jesus, we see the Father’s heart. We see God’s compassion, holiness, forgiveness, and love. The Father draws us, the Son reveals the Father, and the Spirit opens our hearts to receive that revelation. This is the loving work of the triune God.

Let’s take a look at the story again. How is God making himself known through the parting of the Red Sea?

First, God reveals to us that he is truly God and has no rival. Pharaoh refused to even acknowledge that Yahweh (God’s name in the Old Testament) was a god worth responding to. Pharaoh repeatedly ignored God’s words. However, by the end of the story, after all of Egypt’s false gods are laid waste and Pharaoh’s army is destroyed, even Pharaoh came to know that Israel’s God cannot be overcome by evil.

This revelation gets shown again in the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament. Many of Jesus’ actions revealed that he was God and nothing was able to stop him from delivering his people, not even death. In fact, death was not a mere obstacle to get passed. It was through death that Jesus delivered us.

Second, God shows us that he protects and provides. Imagine what Israel felt that night: children crying, parents afraid, the sound of chariots drawing near, the sea in front of them, and no escape. Yet before God opened a path through the sea, he placed himself between his people and their enemy. The pillar of cloud stood guard. Israel could not save themselves; God protected them. Then he provided a way where there was no way.

Jesus, during his life and ministry, also provided in miraculous ways the needs of many. It was Jesus who stood between an angry mob and a defenseless woman caught in adultery. How often did Jesus act in ways that revealed that God provides and protects?

In Jesus, God has placed himself between us and our enemy. And after his death on the cross, the great enemy was forever defeated, never again to enslave God’s children.

Third, God reveals that he is judge over all that stands against his people. God would not let Pharaoh, his army, or his supposed gods have final say over his people. God acted against all the Egyptians who pursued Israel until “not one of them remained.” This is a God who will not allow even one threat to his people to remain.

We see the same revelation again in the actions of Jesus. All that stands against God’s children — sin, death, and evil — was judged on the cross and will not have the final say.

Fourth, God shows us that he wants to be known. His patient dealings with Israel and his sustained resistance to Pharaoh both show that our God will go to any length to reveal himself to us. He has made us for himself, and he will not let up until we come to know him for who he is.

God does not remain hidden and unknown. He doesn’t want his children to have a false knowledge of who he is. He seeks to be known in order to have the relationship with us that he created us for.

And this was the heartbeat of Jesus throughout his entire life and ministry. He sought to reveal his Father to us, the same Father we see saving Israel at the Red Sea. It is this God who has come down to us in Jesus Christ to reconcile us to his Father who we did not know.

Jesus tells us in John 17:3:

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 NIV

That is why we see in this story and in the life and ministry of Jesus, the triune God’s unyielding heart toward bringing us to know him for who he is.

You could go back through Exodus and find more actions that reveal who God is. For Israel, these revelations led to this response recorded in the last verse of our reading:

Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. Exodus 14:31 ESV

Everything the Lord did for Israel brought them to a place of trusting in the Lord. This trust would be tested in the rest of the book. We will come to see that Israel, and all humanity, will ultimately need a fuller revelation of God for their faith and worship. This fuller revelation comes to us in the Person of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus becomes the perfect self-revelation of God. He knows his Father, and by the Spirit, shares his perfect knowing with us. Jesus tells us that “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27 ESV). Jesus is continuing to reveal himself and his Father through his word by the Spirit. He seeks to make of us all a new creation, a creation that is set on a new basis of being children who know the Father and worship him in faith, hope, and love.

As we come to know who God is as revealed in Jesus Christ, we can respond much like the Israelites did after finding themselves safe on the other side of the Red Sea. Chapter 15 records that their first response is a song of joyful praise and thanksgiving. They celebrated not only the amazing rescue they just experienced but also what this event showed them about who God is.

God makes himself known.

On the other side of the sea, they no longer had to ask who is God?

Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? Exodus 15:11 ESV

Of course, no one is like our God. And because Jesus Christ has revealed to us who the Father is, we are enabled to discern all the competing, false gods made by human hands. That discernment protects us from falling for the deceit and destruction that comes by worshiping gods that are no gods at all. In this way, Jesus’ revelation of the Father is also another way he provides and protects us, just like he did the Israelites at the crossing of the Red Sea.

Even when we cannot see him, God is at work to rescue us. God comes down. God does not abandon us. God keeps his promises.

When God makes himself known, we are called to respond. When we come to know God in all his glory, we share that knowledge with those who do not know him. We remind one another of who God has revealed himself to be.

Father is still drawing people to himself, the Son is still revealing the Father, and the Spirit is still at work in human hearts.

This is the continuing work of Jesus by the Spirit that the Church is privileged to participate in. To share with one another, by way of worship, the reminder of who God is. And by way of witness, to worship our Lord by sharing him with others who have yet come to know him. In so doing, we join all the freed Israelites on the shore of freedom, singing songs of praise and thanksgiving. Amen!

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Small Group Discussion Questions

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Psalm 105:1–6, 37–45 • Exodus 16:2–15 • Philippians 1:21–30 • Matthew 20:1–16

Today’s theme is God’s grace is greater than we can imagine. Our call to worship psalm recalls God’s faithfulness in delivering and providing for his people,  according to his covenant love. The reading from Exodus tells of God’s provision of manna in the wilderness, where God’s grace meets daily needs despite human grumbling. The epistolary reading from Philippians presents Paul’s reflection on life and death, showing in suffering and service the believer can rest in the surpassing grace of Christ even at the expense of personal gain. The Gospel text in Matthew offers Jesus’ parable of the laborers in the vineyard, where God’s generosity overturns human expectations based on comparisons.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

How to use this sermon resource.

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God’s Grace Is Greater Than We Can Imagine

Exodus 16:2–15 ESV

Over the past four Sundays, we’ve been following Israel’s journey from slavery toward freedom. We’ve seen God hear the cries of his people, confront Pharaoh with his power, and protect Israel through the Passover. At every step, God has been revealing who he is — the God who is at work to rescue us even when we cannot see him, the God who comes down, who keeps his promises, and does not abandon his children. God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.

Last Sunday, we saw a spectacular rescue from slavery. God led Israel out of Egypt through the Red Sea. But now the celebration has faded, and the wilderness lies ahead. Today’s passage asks an important question: What happens when God’s rescued people begin to doubt the God who rescued them?

Let’s read Exodus 16:2–15.

² And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³ and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵ On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” ⁸ And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” ¹⁰ And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ And the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴ And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. Exodus 16:2–15 ESV

If Israel’s story ended with crossing the Red Sea, it would read like a fairy tale classic that concludes with “and they lived happily ever after.” However, today we see how it is going for the Israelites beyond the Red Sea.

In the wilderness, it becomes clear why God instructed Moses and the people to observe the Passover before their deliverance from Egypt — not after (as we discussed two Sundays ago). Passover was given as a built-in reminder. It was meant to help Israel remember what God had done for them when their natural tendency would be to forget.

But it was more than a personal reminder. It was also a way of preserving the story for future generations — so that even those who had never experienced the exodus firsthand would know that God is the one who rescues, provides, and keeps his promises.

God knows us well. He knows how quickly celebration fades into forgetfulness. When the music stops, we forget the song; when the dancing ends, we lose the rhythm that once filled us with joy. So, in his mercy, God gives us reminders — practices, stories, and signs — to keep us moving forward when the journey becomes difficult.

Because the journey rarely feels like “milk and honey.”

That phrase, “a land flowing with milk and honey,” was God’s way of describing the Promised Land — the land God promised to their ancestor Abraham. Speaking to Moses at the burning bush, God said:

So I have come down to rescue [the Israelites] from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Exodus 3:8 NIV

After being enslaved, what an abundant blessing to have a land of their own! “Milk” points to ongoing provision, the daily nourishment of flocks and herds. “Honey” points to sweetness, delight, and the richness of life as God intended it. Together, they paint a picture of fullness — of life not just surviving but flourishing in the presence of God.

But Israel was not there yet.

They were living in between — between the Red Sea, where God had already rescued them from slavery, and the Promised Land, where they would one day experience the fullness of God’s promises. God had already determined to make them his own, providing and protecting them and setting them free for relationship with him. But their current circumstance was the wilderness: uncertain, uncomfortable, and often disappointing. And it was precisely in that in-between space that their faith was tested.

And that is where we live, too. We sometimes call this the “already / not yet.”

Through Jesus Christ, we have already been delivered from bondage to sin and death. We are redeemed and reconciled to God. We belong to God, and our future is secure. We have not yet fully arrived at the “Promised Land.” We are still waiting for the fullness of God’s kingdom, when Christ returns and all things are made new.

So, we live in the wilderness of the present age — where we’ve been saved but evil still exists. That is why we need reminders.

Now, with that framework in mind, let’s return to our passage.

As we listen to this story, we need to be careful about where we place our focus. It would be easy to focus only on Israel’s poor response and miss the far more important response — the Lord’s response. It would also be easy to keep Israel’s grumbling at a distance, as if we would never do that. But their grumbling is a mirror held up to us as well.

And with humility, we can admit that we often respond in similar ways when our own wilderness becomes difficult. This story is not given to leave us wallowing in self-condemnation. It is given to show us how the Lord responds to his people in their weakness, and to encourage us to keep moving forward. God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.

The passage begins by telling us that the “whole congregation” grumbled against Moses and Aaron. This will become a repeated pattern throughout Israel’s wilderness journey. And it is a shocking response, especially so soon after their deliverance through the Red Sea. How soon they forget, we may think. And what’s worse, they are not just forgetting what the Lord did for them, but they are remembering wrongly what it was like in Egypt.

They focus their grumbling by fixating on food. They say they sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full. But was slavery really so abundant? Was life under Pharaoh truly better than life with God? Their complaint suggests that Pharaoh treated them better than the Lord. They are looking back to their former life of slavery and thinking it was not so bad after all. They have become so distracted by the hardship of the wilderness that they have lost sight of the promise of God.

Ultimately, they have forgotten that God revealed to them that he can be trusted. Now that the journey has got a little rocky, they start to think that God is not who he says he is.

At the heart of their grumbling is a misjudgment of their circumstances. But worse yet, they have misjudged God’s character. Instead of seeing him as the God who delivered them from slavery into life, they begin to believe that he has brought them into the wilderness to die.

Their circumstances have become louder than God’s promise. And if we are honest, we know this temptation as well. When our own lives become dry and rocky, we can begin to wonder whether God is truly good, whether he is truly for us, whether he really intends to give us life. We hear again the old whisper of doubt: “Can I believe what God says?” We begin to believe the lie that God is withholding life from us, rather than leading us into it.

So, we should ask ourselves: what are we allowing to feed our understanding of life? Are we measuring life by the diet of this present evil age? Are we tempted to prefer what the old tyrants once fed us, forgetting that every morsel came with chains attached? The world offers many things that promise fullness, but they cannot nourish the soul. Only God’s living Word gives life. Israel’s story warns us not to confuse bondage with blessing simply because the wilderness feels hard.

Yet this temptation is real, especially in the wilderness, and we all face it. So, what do God’s people need when fear, hunger, and disappointment begin to distort their vision? The answer is found in the Lord’s response. As surprising as Israel’s grumbling may be, God’s response is even more surprising. He does not abandon them. He does not send them back to Egypt. He does not answer their complaint with rejection.

He plans to feed them. Because God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.

That is not how we usually respond to unjustified grumbling and complaint. But there is hardly a pause in the passage between Israel’s grumbling and the Lord’s provision. There is no word of disdain, disappointment, or dismissal in God’s response. He simply tells Moses what he is about to do.

Once again, God reveals his heart and character through his actions toward his people. God hears the cries of his people. God is rescuing us, even when we cannot see him. God comes down, keeps his promises, and does not abandon his children.

Now notice how he feeds them. The bread from heaven will come one day at a time, with enough for each day and twice as much on the sixth day so they can rest on the Sabbath. In other words, God’s provision will also train their trust. They will have to learn, day after day, that the Lord is faithful to his word. The test in the wilderness is not simply about food; it is about faith. God is feeding their bodies, but he is also feeding their trust in him.

God gives them a daily reminder of his provision in the wilderness. And we can ask: has God provided for us in similar ways? Maybe not in dramatic abundance, like the lottery, but has he not given us daily bread? More importantly, when we see Jesus as the Bread of Life, we can say that every day we wake on this earth, we are met by the One who came down from heaven for us. Even when we grumble and complain, we find that his mercies are new. His grace covers the ground we walk on. He provides not only what we need, but also what strengthens our faith along the journey.

Regardless of our unfaithful responses, this is the grace God gives. God’s grace is greater than we can imagine. And thankfully, Jesus shares his perfect faith in his Father with us!

God’s greatest provision in this story is not the manna or the meat. It is his presence. After Aaron speaks to the people, they look toward the wilderness, and “the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.” That is what they needed most in the wilderness. They needed to know that God was with them, that he had not abandoned them, and that he would see them through to the end. He is the same God in a cloud who stood between them and the Egyptians at the Red Sea.

That is what we need most as well. Living in this present evil age does not always feel like a land flowing with milk and honey. It often leaves us thirsty, hungry, weary, and longing for more. The journey includes disappointment, suffering, and sometimes great loss.

Yet when we recall our Lord Jesus on the cross, we are reminded that he entered our wilderness to restore it and bring us into his new creation. And by the Spirit, he continues to be present with us in the wilderness. So, no matter what wilderness you may be walking through today, look up. The God who brought us out will bring us home. And until the fullness of his kingdom comes, we can keep moving forward in hope.

Finally, at the end of the passage, God is faithful to his word. He gives Israel meat in the evening and bread in the morning. The quail and the manna both come from above. This is a picture of God’s grace that comes down to us. Ultimately, it is Jesus who was sent down to us as God’s grace. It is Jesus who is our Bread of Life who sends his Spirit to descend on us like a bird.

Israel’s story points us to the greater story — the final deliverance from every form of bondage and oppression, secured for us in Jesus Christ our Lord. In him, we see the full and perfect self-revelation of God. Through Jesus’ words and actions, we come to know the God who is holy, righteous, and relational — the God who is more committed to us than we are even to ourselves. Jesus shows us the Father that we are unable to see because sin has blinded us.

When we read Exodus in the light of Jesus, the two testaments stand together as one witness to the Almighty God we know as Father, Son, and Spirit. This is the God of love — the God who will not abandon his creation or surrender it to anything that stands against his children. God heals what is broken, reconciles what is estranged, and makes us into a new creation. God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.

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Small Group Discussion Questions

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Psalm 78:1–4, 12–16 • Exodus 17:1–7 • Philippians 2:1–13 • Matthew 21:23–32

This week’s theme is God is with us. In Exodus 17:1–7 we encounter the Israelites on their journey from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. Along the way, they encounter hardships that cause them to cry out to God and complain against Moses. In God’s response to their cries, they (and we) are invited to encounter the truth that God is with them. In Psalm 78, the psalmist brings praise to God through the remembrance of his faithfulness to his people. In Philippians 2, Paul calls on the church to live their lives in light of their unity with Jesus, reminding them that he is at work in them to fulfill his good purpose. In Matthew 21, Jesus addresses the source of his authority, repentance, and participation in the kingdom of God.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

How to use this sermon resource.

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God is with Us

Exodus 17:1–7 NIV

[Read or ask someone to read the scripture passage.]

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

³ But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Exodus 17:1–7 NIV

Over the past six Sundays, we’ve been watching God reveal more and more of who he is through the Exodus story. What have we learned about God?

God hears our suffering. God comes down. God saves us.

We learned that at the Red Sea, God makes himself known. When Israel was trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the sea, God did what only God could do. He made a way where there was no way. God separated the waters and rescued Israel from enslavement. This mighty act pointed forward to Jesus Christ. He is the Creator who entered his own creation to rescue us from the deeper slavery of sin and death and bring us into God’s new creation.

Last Sunday, the story continued into the wilderness. The people had been rescued from slavery, but now they are wandering in the desert. Hunger quickly replaced celebration, and fear began to drown out their memory of God’s faithfulness. Yet even when they grumbled, God answered with grace. He gave them bread from heaven and reminded them that he had not abandoned them. We discovered that God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.

Today, the wilderness journey continues. This time the problem isn’t hunger. It’s thirst. Once again, Israel finds itself in a place where there is no human solution. Once again, they begin to question whether God can really be trusted.

In our Scripture reading for today, we find the people of Israel in the middle of a very challenging journey.

Let’s imagine we’re novice hikers. Imagine we chose a hiking path because the view at the top is world famous for its beauty. But 3 hours into the rigorous hike we are hot, tired, thirsty, sore, and wondering what kind of view could be worth all this work. We set off on this hike with a promise of a beautiful view. But during the challenging journey, while the end is still far from sight, we begin to question if the view that was promised is worth all this trouble.

We begin wondering if we should just turn back. That is what this journey is like for Israel. They reach a place where there is no water.

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Exodus 17:1–2a NIV

They are thirsty, scared, and frustrated.

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

³ But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” Exodus 17:2b–4 NIV

It is easy to judge the Israelites for complaining. We might think, “They should trust God more.” But they are not just uncomfortable, they are in danger. Thirst in the desert can mean death.

And this is all new to them. They had lived for generations under harsh and abusive leaders. They are still discovering what kind of God was leading them.

They know he is the God of their ancestors. But their ideas about him were influenced by Egyptian culture, customs, and the false gods they worshipped.

So, when they see no water, they assume the worst: maybe God has left them. Maybe this is the kind of God that would deliver them just to leave them for dead. How were they to know differently?

See, God was forming them into his people. But they were at the beginning of the process.

Maybe we can have some patience with their questions and lack of trust. Trust grows out of relationship. They were just beginning to know God, to have a relationship with him.

It’s the same with many of our neighbors. Can we make room for their questions as their trust in God grows gradually? Today, God is still forming a people of his own and inviting new people all the time.

Israel’s wilderness journey is a place where God answers the questions of the people. God hears the cries of the people, tests the people. And in today’s passage, it is the first time that the people test God. God is revealing himself to his people, restoring and building relationship.

The Israelites aren’t just complaining about water. They are struggling to trust a promise they cannot yet see.

The promise begins with Abraham, generations before Moses. God promised that he would give Abraham’s descendants their own land. He would make them into a great nation. He would be their God and bless them.

Over time, this promise came to be centered on the land that was promised, called the Promised Land. It was a place where they would live in freedom with God and receive his blessings. But by the time Exodus begins, that promise looks very far away.

So, the central question of this encounter is whether God is with the people or not. Is God among us? (Exodus 17:7)

This question reveals something about what the Israelites did believe about God. They believed that if God was with them, then there would be water. They were in the process of learning to believe that God is powerful and capable of providing for them. God had already provided everything they needed to get to this point in their journey.

We could even say that they expected that he would provide water. If God was with them, he would give them water. There was no water, so where was God? Was God with them, or had they been abandoned? Did it indicate that instead of seeing the promise fulfilled that they would see death in the desert? As thirst and fear fill the Israelites hearts and minds, they are asked by Moses, “Why do you put the Lord to the test?”

Then in verses 5–6:

⁵ The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. Exodus 17:5–6 NIV

In response to the pleas of the people, God tells Moses, “I will stand before you.” He provides a reminder of his presence with Israel.

God corrects their interpretation that no water might mean God had abandoned them. He reveals his presence. He teaches Israel that he is not a God that abandons his people. The Lord stands before Moses, and water is provided for the people.

In this test, we can wonder if the people of Israel begin to be stretched and learn not just what God can do but learn about who he is — that he is a God who is faithful. That God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That he is trustworthy. In this hardship, they learn that God is with them, despite how bad their situation is.

This will not be the last time that Israel questions God, but they are learning that even in the wilderness God is with them. Even when they feel far from the promised being fulfilled, far from fulfillment, God is with them. In their thirst, God is with them. Even in their questioning and grumbling, God is with them. Even in their testing, God is with them.

In many ways, the journey through the wilderness proves to be a journey of transformation and preparation so that the Israelites can inhabit the fulfillment of the promise. Right now, the reality of the promise and its fulfillment is too grand, too foreign, too incomprehensible to inhabit. They are not ready to enjoy the goodness of the Promised Land after living for generations in slavery. They need to be prepared, to be formed. Their capacity to inhabit God’s promise needs to be expanded.

The Israelites are already free, but they are not yet in the Promised Land. They have been rescued, but they are still in the desert, wandering the wilderness. They are thirsty, scared, and unsure. That gap between what God has promised and what they are experiencing is where the tension comes from. We often refer to this as the “already / not yet.”

Does this “already / not yet” tension feel familiar? Does this experience of journeying through a desert, hungry and thirsty, unsure if God is with you reflect moments of your own experience?

This wilderness tension between promise and fulfillment is like the time in human history we are living in. The Kingdom of God is already here, but not yet in its fullness. Already / not yet. When Jesus has already given us the promise of salvation and yet we still journey towards the fulfillment of redemption in eternity.

In a way, we can think of ourselves as also living the exodus story, with all of humanity as the people of Israel, except Jesus is the perfect Moses. We live on our own sort of wilderness journey. A journey Jesus leads all of humanity from the oppression of sin into the promise of wholeness and redemption. A journey of transformation and preparation for his Kingdom. A journey where he reveals himself to us, teaches us about who he is, restores and builds relationships with us. A journey where he challenges our thinking and invites us into his truths.

In this tension between the promise and the fulfillment, do you find yourself asking “is the Lord among us or not?” We can look around and see matters of life and death. Thirst with no water in sight. We see suffering. We wonder when or if we are going to see the fulfillment of God’s promises. We begin to question the purpose of the journey. We begin to question our fate. We, the people of God, are dying. Is the Lord among us or not?

Just as he did for the Israelites in the desert, the Lord stands before us to declare yes — I am with you. This time, the Lord stands before us and rather than provide physical water to quench our physical thirst, he gives us Jesus Christ, the Son of God, living water, to quench the thirst of the soul. Jesus is the decisive declaration that God is with us.

The life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is the definitive answer to the age-old question: Is the Lord among us or not?

Jesus, the Son of God, became human — became one of us. That’s the Incarnation. He is Immanuel — God with us. In and through the power of the Holy Spirit, he lived a human life, died a human death, was raised to life in a redeemed human body, and ascended in this body to the right hand of God the Father in heaven. And he does not, cannot, abandon us any more than he can abandon himself. In becoming human and rising in a redeemed humanity, he has declared that he is among us as one of us for all eternity. He has joined himself to humanity — Jesus can be nowhere but with us.

Jesus is the promise, the fulfillment, and our guide in the wilderness journey in between. He is the first human to enter the Promised Land, the Kingdom of God, and experience the fullness of a redeemed humanity.

He redeems humanity on our behalf, making the journey that we could not make, and he takes us with him. He brings us into the very relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — a promise fulfilled beyond our wildest imaginations. God is with us and brings us to where he is. God’s grace is greater than we can imagine.

We will still find ourselves on wilderness journeys personally and corporately. We exist in the tension between promise and fulfillment, already but not yet, Kingdom at hand and not yet in its fullness. On this journey through the wilderness, we get hungry, tired, thirsty, face death and despair. Yes, we question our experiences, our beliefs about God, and whether he is even with us. But in Jesus Christ, we can be assured that even in the dryest of deserts, the harshest of wilderness, God is with us.

He is both the promise and the fulfillment — so he is trustworthy to resolve the tension of the already / not yet. He himself is the bridge between promise and fulfillment, so he inhabits every messy in-between moment with us. He will not abandon us. He cannot abandon us. Because he has chosen to become one of us in Jesus Christ.

The wilderness becomes a place where we can meet God, where he reveals himself, and teaches us who he is. The wilderness becomes a place of transformation and preparation rather than desolation. We are not abandoned for dead or left to figure it out on our own. God is faithful, even when we cannot be. It means that we already have the most beautiful part of the promise — God dwelling in relationship amongst his people. Even in the messy in between, we already have what matters most — God with us.

This assurance emboldens us to live as those with hope. We know that fullness is coming. He did not bring us here to die. It emboldens us to enter places of desperation and despair, declaring that God is already present and at work in this place. It emboldens us to cry out to God, knowing that he answers with his very presence. It emboldens us to acknowledge that God wants more for us than this, that we are on a journey towards fullness. It emboldens us to participate in the work of transformation that God is doing in, through, and around us. It challenges us to interpret our circumstances through the presence of God rather than interpret the presence of God by our circumstances.

Even in the wilderness, the most desperate and desolate of places, God is with us.

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Go Deeper:

Book of Exodus | Guide with Key Information and Resources

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Small Group Discussion Questions