Speaking of Life 5045 │ Undercover Jesus
This week we’re sharing a Speaking of Life message from our archive as a supplemental resource. We encourage you to use this for reflection and preparation, or small group discussion. For your worship gathering, consider how a call to worship from a local voice or contextualized introduction to the theme might serve your congregation well.
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUOM0qQXIXc
Program Transcript
Speaking of Life 5045│ Undercover Jesus
Michelle Fleming
There’s a TV show called Undercover Boss. Maybe you’ve watched it before. The show revolves around a high-ranking executive or business owner who goes undercover as an entry-level employee in their own company, taking an alias, changing their appearance, and making up a back story. These undercover bosses work in different locations with their unsuspecting employees, and they learn a lot about their own business and their employees.
If we think about Jesus’ incarnation, we might compare it to God showing up in an unexpected way. No one would suspect a craftsman from Nazareth with his questionable parentage and birth story. In Matthew 21, an altercation between the chief priests, elders, and Jesus shows us that they almost blew his cover:
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Matthew 21:23-27 (NRSVUE)
It might be more accurate to say that they did figure out he was the Son of God undercover, but if they acknowledged that, they might lose their power and authority over the people. Undercover Jesus was not the Messiah they had expected. He didn’t look rich or powerful, and he certainly didn’t exert his authority over the common person as they did. Jesus went out of his way to disrupt their authority. So when Jesus asked them where John got his authority to baptize, they lied and said they didn’t know.
Jesus learned a lot about his people that day, just like undercover bosses learn what it is like to walk a day in their employees’ shoes – their joys and their struggles. The chief priests and elders let their expectations blind them to the Son of God standing right in front of them. Jesus taught that those who repented and turned back toward their Father would be first in the Kingdom of God, while those who stubbornly resisted divine love wouldn’t understand the peace and joy that was theirs all along.
Think about the expectations we have for the way God shows up in the world. Do we resist the peace God wants us to have because we think God should show up in our lives in a certain way? Holding fast to expectations doesn’t allow for the mystery of God to unfold in our lives in the way God deems best. We need to let God do his work in our lives because we can trust that whatever he is doing is for our good. God may be working undercover in ways that are far beyond anything we could imagine.
May we let go of expectations that keep us captive to unhelpful thoughts about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instead, may we be open to the mystery, love, joy, and peace of God.
I’m Michelle Fleming, Speaking of Life.
Program Transcript
Speaking of Life 5045│ Undercover Jesus
Michelle Fleming
There’s a TV show called Undercover Boss. Maybe you’ve watched it before. The show revolves around a high-ranking executive or business owner who goes undercover as an entry-level employee in their own company, taking an alias, changing their appearance, and making up a back story. These undercover bosses work in different locations with their unsuspecting employees, and they learn a lot about their own business and their employees.
If we think about Jesus’ incarnation, we might compare it to God showing up in an unexpected way. No one would suspect a craftsman from Nazareth with his questionable parentage and birth story. In Matthew 21, an altercation between the chief priests, elders, and Jesus shows us that they almost blew his cover:
When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Matthew 21:23-27 (NRSVUE)
It might be more accurate to say that they did figure out he was the Son of God undercover, but if they acknowledged that, they might lose their power and authority over the people. Undercover Jesus was not the Messiah they had expected. He didn’t look rich or powerful, and he certainly didn’t exert his authority over the common person as they did. Jesus went out of his way to disrupt their authority. So when Jesus asked them where John got his authority to baptize, they lied and said they didn’t know.
Jesus learned a lot about his people that day, just like undercover bosses learn what it is like to walk a day in their employees’ shoes – their joys and their struggles. The chief priests and elders let their expectations blind them to the Son of God standing right in front of them. Jesus taught that those who repented and turned back toward their Father would be first in the Kingdom of God, while those who stubbornly resisted divine love wouldn’t understand the peace and joy that was theirs all along.
Think about the expectations we have for the way God shows up in the world. Do we resist the peace God wants us to have because we think God should show up in our lives in a certain way? Holding fast to expectations doesn’t allow for the mystery of God to unfold in our lives in the way God deems best. We need to let God do his work in our lives because we can trust that whatever he is doing is for our good. God may be working undercover in ways that are far beyond anything we could imagine.
May we let go of expectations that keep us captive to unhelpful thoughts about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instead, may we be open to the mystery, love, joy, and peace of God.
I’m Michelle Fleming, Speaking of Life.
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.
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.
Go Deeper:
Book of Exodus | Guide with Key Information and Resources
Cherith Fee Nordling—Year A Proper 21
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/GReverb/GR079-Nordling-YearA-Proper21.mp3
Program Transcript
The transcript is coming soon!
Program Transcript
The transcript is coming soon!
Small Group Discussion Questions
- In what ways can you relate to the Israelites? What causes you to ask, “is the Lord among us or not?”
- How does knowing that we live in the “already / not yet” (already saved, not yet fully restored) shape the way we respond to suffering, disappointment, or waiting?
- How does it feel to know that God cannot forsake us because he has become one of us in Jesus Christ?
- What difference does it make that God is with us? What does God reveal about himself through his presence?
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