An Exhortation to Consider Your Allegiance to Jesus Christ
Faith in the Christ, who is God, is the ultimate privilege for the sons of Adam (humanity). When God justifies a sinner with the precious, atoning blood of the ultimate sacrifice for sin (Christ himself as the Lamb of God), the mark of God’s gracious justification of guilty sinners is this faith.
Faith comes to the unbeliever from outside himself. The man or woman living with singular focus on oneself in the world, providentially hears a message that suddenly transforms them (Rom 10:17). Moses and other Jewish prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) spoke long ago of the Messiah to come to God’s chosen people (Dt 18:15–18).
It has also been Jewish tradition to revere Moses. God chose to employ this Levite to deliver the Israelites from slavery (430 years) in Egypt. Through word and deed, Moses proved to be a faithful servant in the house of Yahweh. He was a man, greatly used by God and for God’s purposes. He served as a type of Him who would be like him yet far superior.
Moses was called by God to fulfill a role. He was sent by God, making him an apostle of God. He belonged to God’s family to serve his brothers and sisters. He is esteemed as the greatest, yet he was a servant to an obstinate people, unbelieving and disobedient.
Moses was a prophet of God with a speech impediment. Despite the use of the articulate Aaron, the people were dull of hearing. Not seeing the results they wanted from Yahweh or His chosen man, opportunists rose up in the ranks to usurp Moses’ position and power. Miriam, Aaron, Korah, etc. were all guilty. Despite all the troubles, Moses walked humbly with God as a faithful servant in the household of God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is exceedingly superior to Moses. First, He is the Apostle (literally) sent from heaven to be the Builder of God’s house (covenant family). As the only begotten Son of God, the incarnate Word preached and is preached to those who were close (Jews) and those where were far away from God (Gentiles) The preaching of Christ continues to this very day by Holy-Spirit-filled men of God.
We preach Jesus, the Builder of all things in the Universe, the sovereign Creator, who is Lord of all and who sustains all things by the Word of His power. We proclaim the Son of God who is over the house of Yahweh, Him being the Head of His church. Jesus is the antitype, the substance and fulfillment of the promised One to come into the world.
Moses was a sinful man, yet regarded as faithful to God. Jesus was a sinless man who is Himself…faithful God. How much more should we bow the knee and confidently confess our allegiance to the King of kings, who is the King of glory. A far better Moses has arrived to inaugurate His invading kingdom of righteousness amidst the rebellious kingdom of this world.
Moses was resisted by Gentile kings and nations. How much more so is Christ Jesus despised and rejected by men, today. Yet, there is a chosen people of God, a holy nation of witnessing sojourners heading for a better country than Canaan. In following our Great High Priest, as His royal priests, we offer up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to Him, who laid down His own life, in order to be the one-time acceptable sacrifice to Yahweh on the Cross of Calvary.
As our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ reconciled us to God and removed the enmity. He brought peace through His precious blood. By His act of redeeming blood shed for our forgiveness, Jesus has been afforded the name above every other name…even Moses’ name. All who have been brought into the house/family of God boast in Christ who released us from our sins (Gal 6:14; Rev 1:5). We glory in His purchase of His church off of the slave market of sin, where we feared death our whole lives. Jesus Christ always did the Father’s will, that is, what was pleasing to God. Our exhortation here is to consider our faithful allegiance to the Messiah of God. He comes to us and speaks to us through the Word of God (Bible) preached in our hearing. The same Spirit guiding the preacher to us is the Spirit who causes us to walk in obedience to God’s statutes (Ezek 36:27).
The preacher of the Gospel points our focus to King Jesus. The face of the preacher, one who actually believes the Gospel, may radiate as did Moses’ face in the light of God’s glory, but there is only one Man in focus. It is the God/man, the very radiance of His glory, who was sent from heaven to preach peace to the people. In His role as the only Mediator between God and man, Jesus prayed as a High Priest for them before propitiating the wrath of God through His death on the cursed Roman tree.
Will you draw near to Jesus? He is the perfect model for your imitation of how one lives in accord with God. You must shun the superstars. You must not heed any other hero. There is only One who is worthy of your absolute allegiance. He is Jesus, the Christ, who made you and then made all who were given to Him by the Father, fit to be in the family of God, to be gathered together in glory. O wanderer, Jesus is the Way…follow Him.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
August 8, 2023
