Archive for the ‘Moses’ tag
February 10, 2013: The Transfiguration
em>The text for this lesson is Luke 9:28–36.
Key Point
- At the transfiguration, God said to listen to His Son, Jesus, who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets for sinners.
- Law: Because of my sinfulness, I cannot keep the Law of God.
- Gospel: God’s Son, Jesus, satisfied the requirements of God’s Law for me and fulfilled all the promises made by God’s prophets to be my Savior.
Discussion Points
- In order to set the stage for our study of the transfiguration, read Luke 9:18–27. Based on the prophecy in Isaiah 53 that the Christ would be the Lord’s Suffering Servant, how is the suffering and death of Jesus alluded to in Luke 9:18–20? According to 9:21–22, what is the ultimate mission of the Son of Man? How does 9:23–27 indicate that the Christian life will not consist of a string of unbroken glorious times? How does a Christian take up his cross daily and follow Jesus?
- The transfiguration story is filled with references and allusions to the Old Testament. Luke 9:29 describes Jesus’ physical transfiguration, when “the appearance of His face was altered, and His clothing became dazzling white.” Read Exodus 34:29–35. Who else’s face shone with divine glory—the glory of God? Where did this person go to meet with God? Luke 9:34–35 describes a cloud overshadowing the group, and the Father’s voice coming from the cloud. Read Exodus 24:12, 15–18. Who is involved in this story, and what does the cloud on the mountain represent? In Luke 1:76–79, how was the bright glory of Jesus foretold in the prophecy of John’s father, Zechariah?
- Moses and Elijah are the only two Old Testament figures who spoke with God on Mount Sinai. There are similarities between Moses and Elijah and Jesus, but the New Testament is emphatic in portraying Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets—one greater than any prophet. In Luke 9:35, Jesus is called “My Son, My Chosen One,” which are words that echo His Baptism in the Jordan. Neither Moses nor Elijah was ever called the “Son of God” or the “Chosen One.” In Luke 9:36, the disciples see that after all the excitement, “Jesus was found alone.” What could this tell us about the importance of Jesus in relation to Moses and Elijah? In John 1:14–17, to what could “we have seen His glory” refer? How does John depict the relationship between Moses and Jesus?
- The Greek word translated as “departure” in Luke 9:31 is actually exodos or Exodus. According to Psalm 78:51–55, what did God do for His people in the exodus? Based on Exodus 19:1–6, how do you think the exodus provided the basis for all the future promises of God? What do the Old Testament exodus and the New Testament one of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension have in common?
- We have already noted how the reference to Jesus’ exodus pointed to His passion, death, and resurrection. There are a number of other similarities and contrasts between the transfiguration and Jesus’ crucifixion. Read Luke 23:32–43 and identify some of these similarities and contrasts.
- In Luke 24:4, the two angels at the empty tomb are there in “dazzling apparel,” a description similar to Jesus’ appearance at the transfiguration. This suggests a connection between the divine glory of Jesus shown in the transfiguration and that of His subsequent glorification shown by the resurrection. It also points forward to the glory that we will share with Him when we are raised from the dead on the Last Day. What connection is there between Luke 24:44–47 and the transfiguration account?
- Have you ever wondered what people talk about in heaven? Based on our lesson today, what do you think they talk about? What does this teach us about our lives here on earth?
- What do we find Jesus doing in Luke 3:21–22 and 9:18–20? According to Luke 9:28, for what reason did Jesus go up on the mountain? What does this tell us about the transfiguration account? How could Jesus’ example apply to our own lives?
- In Luke 9:35, the Father declares from heaven, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” Read Deuteronomy 18:15–19. How does this passage from Moses shed light on the words of the Father at the transfiguration? The last part of the Father’s statement actually could be translated, “Continue always to listen to Him!” According to 2 Peter 1:16–21, who provided an eyewitness account of this event, and how can we continue to listen to Jesus?
The Bronze Serpent: September 16, 2012
The text for this lesson is Numbers 21:4–9.
Key Point
- As the bronze serpent was lifted up to heal and save the Israelites from the snakes, so Christ was lifted up on the cross to heal and save us from sin, death, and the devil.
- Law: Bitten and poisoned by sin and death, I complain when life is not what I want.
- Gospel: God calls me to repentance and points me to Christ, who heals me by His death and resurrection.
Discussion Points
- What hangs on the walls in your home? What do these items represent in your life? What items would you never hang on a wall in your home?
- Forty years have passed since the Israelites first attempted to enter the Promised Land. That generation has died, and their children are nearly ready to make that land their own. The conquest has already begun. Read Numbers 21:1–5 and the parallel passage, Deuteronomy 2:1–5. Why are the Israelites upset?
- In Numbers 21:5, the Israelites call the manna they have been eating for forty years “worthless.” Why is this more serious than just complaining?
- Read Numbers 21:6. Connect this passage to the account of the fall into sin in Genesis 3. What would the Israelites have thought about immediately when they saw the serpents?
- Read Numbers 21:7–9. What is the people’s prayer? Does God answer it with a yes? Why would God answer their prayer the way He does?
- Read John 3:14–15. What prophetic message does God send by healing the Israelites through a serpent lifted up on a pole?
- Read John 3:14–15 again and this time read verse 16 as well. Does the Israelites’ encounter with the serpents highlight any specific aspect of verse 16?
- What attitudes lured the Israelites into sin? Do these same attitudes tempt us? Read 1 Corinthians 10:6–13. How does the Lord help us stand against these temptations?
- The Israelites looked to a bronze serpent on a pole and found healing. Where do we look to find the healing that God provides?
Worship in the Tabernacle: September 2, 2012
The text for this lesson is Exodus 40.
Key Point
- In the tabernacle, God dwelled with His people, cleansing them and making them holy through the blood of sacrifices. In Christ, God now dwells among us, cleansing us and making us holy through Jesus’ blood, shed for us on the cross.
- Law: My sin makes me unholy and separates me from God; I am unworthy to stand in His presence.
- Gospel: God cleanses me, makes me holy, and dwells in me through the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ.
Discussion Points
- If you were given the task of designing a church and money were no object, what would you include in your plans? How would you convey God’s presence and holiness through the architecture and furnishings?
- In Exodus 40, God gives Moses a design for His house during the Israelites’ time in the wilderness. Read Exodus 40:1–8. Note that verses 1–5 are concerned with the arrangement of the inside of the tabernacle, and verses 6–8 are concerned with how the area around the tabernacle is arranged. What characteristics of God are emphasized in the design of the tabernacle? What items in and around the tabernacle would have had symbolic value, and why?
- Read Exodus 40:9–15. Why does God require that everything in the tabernacle be anointed? Why are Aaron and his sons anointed? What is to be “most holy,” and why?
- Read Exodus 40:16–33. What is the refrain, repeated eight times in these verses? Why this emphasis?
- Read Exodus 40:34–38. Why would God choose to reveal Himself as a cloud in the desert? Read Exodus 19:9 and 16–20. How did the people react to God’s presence? Why was Moses unable to enter the tent of meeting after the cloud settled on it? What does this emphasize about our relationship with God apart from Jesus Christ?
- Keep in mind all the symbolism of the tabernacle and the emphasis that God’s design for His dwelling place puts on the separation between the holy and the unholy. Read Mark 15:33–34. Why would Jesus have cried out those words? Read Mark 15:37–38. The curtain in the temple is the equivalent of the screen in the tabernacle. What does its tearing symbolize?
- The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has forever changed the relationship between God and His people. We are no longer separated. Where does God meet with His people today?
- What furnishings in the church best represent the truth that we are no longer separated from God? How do we reflect this in the way that we design our churches?
June 13, 2010: God Divides the Jordan River
The text for this lesson is Joshua 3:1-4:24
Discussion Points
- What did God point Joshua to that would help him to be a good leader?
- God commands Joshua, who then commands Israel, and they obey the command. God tells Joshua that when the people see the miracle they will know that the Lord is with Joshua just as He was with Moses. Why is that important?
- What is significant about the twelve men chosen to carry the memorial stones and the purpose for building this sign?
- Why did Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan in the place where the priests had stood?
- Why did God miraculously heap the Jordan River? Couldn’t He have told the people to build rafts or boats or engineer a bridge?
- What is the message of the twelve stones?
- How is the crossing of the Jordan similar to the crossing of the Red Sea?
- How does this miraculous passing through the Jordan River point us to the New Testament and into our time?
- On what did God constantly have the children of Israel focus? Why is that important?
- On what does God constantly have us focus for our salvation?
June 6, 2010: God Leads in Cloud and Fire
The text for this lesson is Exodus 13:17-14:31
Discussion Points
- Did the children of Israel have good reason to be terrified?
- How can Moses’ response in Exodus 14:13-14 be helpful for you today?
- What else did God do to rescue the Israelites?
- What were the results of God’s mighty act at the Red Sea?
- Did the people of Israel always trust God’s leadership? Explain your answer.
- Was God a good leader? Why do you think so?
- How did the people know that God was present with them?
- How are we like the children of Israel in the story?
- How does this verse from Moses’ song (Exodus 15:2a) show us God’s love and grace?
- How do we know God is present with us?
February 22, 2009: The Transfiguration
The text for this lesson is Mark 9:2–10.
Key Points
- The transfiguration of God’s Son, Jesus, exemplifies the transformation that God gives us. Through uniting us in Baptism with His death and resurrection, Jesus purified and transformed us from sin-filled children of Adam to Christ-filled children of God.
- Law: Though Adam was created in the image and likeness of God, when sin corrupted him, he “fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Genesis 5:3, emphasis added). Sin-filled Adam sired a sin-filled son. And if we ask, “Mirror, mirror of the Law, who’s affected by this flaw?” it will point its reflective finger at us, to all the sin-filled sons and daughters of Adam. As we sing, “In Adam we have all been one, One huge rebellious man; We all have fled that evening voice That sought us as we ran” (LSB 569:1).
- Gospel: The Son of God became a man to make us sons of God. He restored us to the image and likeness of God. No, yet more! He restores and improves that image and likeness. His transfigured flesh, radiating the brilliance of divinity, links us bodily with God Himself as we are baptized into Him, purified, and transformed from the sin-filled children of Adam to the Christ-filled children of God.
January 18, 2009: Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
The text for this lesson is John 1:43–51.
Key Points
- In Jesus, access to heaven is given to all who believe.
- Law: You get the god you believe in. If you believe “God” to be a mean-spirited, unforgiving, damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t deity, then your belief in that false god attaches you to him. Again, if you believe “God” to be an everybody-gets-to-heaven, anything goes, laid-back Lord, then your belief in that false god attaches you to him. Remember, you get the “God” you believe in. But if the deity in whom you believe is false, then, alas, he is nothing more than one of the devil’s myriad disguises. And what you get is hell.
- Gospel: Jesus is who Jesus is. He is not whomever we twist, wrench, or otherwise manipulate Him into being. He defies our expectations, knowing all, loving all, dying for all. Something good did come down from Nazareth. That good is the Savior, who is the true Jacob’s ladder, for upon Him the angels come down to escort us upward to our heavenly home.
September 21, 2008: The Bronze Serpent
The text for this lesson is Numbers 21:4–9.
Key Points:
- As the bronze serpent was lifted up to heal and save the Israelites from the snakes, so Christ was lifted up on the cross to heal and save us from sin, death, and the devil.
- Law: I have been bitten and poisoned by sin and death and foolishly complain when life is not what I want or expect.
- Gospel: God calls me to repentance and points me to Christ, who heals me by His death and resurrection.
- Catechism: 2nd Article of the Creed
