Even Moses Bows Down To Jesus

Jesus or Moses?

Moses, and other Old Testament prophets, heard from God and wrote it down to the best of their ability. A lot of what they were writing about was pointing to an eventual Messiah to come.

That Messiah was Jesus.

Jesus also heard from God, but not in the same way that these previous prophets did. Jesus and God were/are One. So, the testimony of Jesus is better than the testimony of Moses, or Elijah, or any other Old Testament prophet. The author of Hebrews confirms this:

”For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)” – Hebrews 3:3-4

And the Apostle John also tells us that:

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” – John 1:18

So, Moses (and the other OT writers) heard from God, but not in the same way as Jesus did. In fact, we are told by the Apostle Paul that there is a veil that covers our understanding whenever we read those OT writers, and that this veil is only removed when we look at those scriptures through the lens of Christ:

“For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.” – 2 Cor. 3:14

Therefore, Moses and the other OT prophets have given us an incomplete picture of who God is and what God is like. The only complete and perfect picture we have of who God is and what God is like is found in Jesus.

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." [Hebrews 1:3]

"[Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing..." [Phil. 2:6-7]

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." - Jesus [John 14:9]

So, what many Christians fail to realize is that those Old Testament prophets didn’t actually see God, and what they did see wasn’t always exactly 100% accurate.

One of the main reasons Jesus came to us – God in the flesh – was to correct these misunderstandings and clear up once and for all what God is really like.

That means if Moses or any other OT prophet says something about God that doesn’t line up with what we see revealed in Christ, we know that this is an example of where those men were wrong and where God in the flesh was correcting them.

Whenever the OT prophets are in agreement with Jesus, then we know that they were right about who God is.

But whenever we read an Old Testament scripture that says something about God that doesn’t square with what Jesus revealed to us, we know they were mistaken.

The bottom line is simply this: Jesus is right about who God is. He knows – better than anyone who has or will ever live – exactly what God is like.

Why?

Because Jesus is God.

Because Jesus is the only person who has ever seen God.

Because only Jesus reveals to us what the Father is really like.

Because Jesus is the “exact representation” of the Father.

Because God told us clearly: “This is my Son. Listen to Him!”

[And just before God said that, He removed Moses and Elijah and left us with Jesus]

"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me" - John 14:11

Do you believe that? Do you accept that Jesus – and only Jesus – is the absolute authority on who God is and what God is like?

If so, keep your eyes on Jesus. He is what God is really like. He is what God has always been like. He is what God will forever be like.

I know for many this is an unusual teaching. I understand that many pastors teach from a “flat Bible” perspective that wants to downsize the revelation of Jesus and elevate the teachings of the Old Testament writers. But that is not consistent with what is revealed in Christ, or by the New Testament, or by the Apostles.

Jesus is Lord. Jesus is what God is like. Jesus - and Jesus alone – is our only standard. Everything else needs to line up with Him or conform to His authority.

Jesus is, after all, the Word made flesh. He is more than a book. He is greater than our Bibles. We have to come to Him and bow down. Even Moses and Elijah and every single OT prophet needs to bow down before Jesus.

He is the Way, and the Truth and the Life.

“He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God…. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell….” [Colossians 1:15-20]

“‘For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” [Colossians 2:9-10]

-kg

IS JESUS KING OF ANYTHING? REALLY?

The Gospel was once considered a threat to those who held political power.

When Paul and the other apostles started preaching about Jesus there were often riots because they were “….all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” [Acts 17:7]

There was no doubt about it. This Gospel was dangerous. 

Jesus was a serious threat to status quo.

City officials and the crowds were thrown into turmoil over this subversive man. [See Acts. 17:8]

Those who accepted his message were arrested and tortured because of it.

Many went to their death because they refused to hail Caesar as Lord. They were burned alive shouting, “We have no King but Jesus!”

The line between following Christ and following the political systems of this world used to be unmistakable.

But not anymore.

Today, those who claim to follow Jesus may loudly proclaim that “Jesus Is Lord!” but they don’t mean that Jesus stands opposed to political powers.

They may have a “King Jesus” bumper sticker on their Lexus, but they don’t act as if Jesus is their choice for ruling their world.

A Christian in the first century knew vividly that their loyalty to Caesar was forfeited now that they had surrendered everything to their new King, Jesus.

Early Christian teachers spoke often about this shift in loyalty. 

As Tertullian wrote to the Romans around the year 195:

“In us, all zeal in the pursuit of glory and honor is dead. So we have no pressing inducement to take part in your public meetings, nor is there anything more entirely foreign to us than the affairs of State.”

Origen also wrote to Celsus in an attempt to explain the peculiar Christian practice of noninvolvement with Roman politics, saying:

"It is not for the purpose of escaping public duties that Christians decline public offices, but that they may reserve themselves for a diviner and more necessary service in the Church of God – for the salvation of men. And this service is at once necessary and right."

He also explains to Celsus that those who follow Christ recognize another, higher authority than the State and that because of this they urge their brightest and best to apply their wisdom and talents and qualities of leadership to further the more urgent and necessary work of the Kingdom of God:

"We recognize in each state the existence of another national organization [the Church], founded by the Word of God, and we exhort those who are mighty in word and of blameless life to rule over Churches. Those who are ambitious of ruling we reject; but we constrain those who, through excess of modesty, are not easily induced to take a public charge in the Church of God. And those who rule over us well are under the constraining influence of the great King, whom we believe to be the Son of God, God the Word. And if those who govern in the Church, and are called rulers of the divine nation -- that is, the Church -- rule well, they rule in accordance with the divine commands, and never suffer themselves to be led astray by worldly policy."

To Origen, and Tertullian, and every other Christian in those first 300 years of the Untangled Church, the issue was clear and the differences were distinct: Those who were citizens of the Kingdom of God were uninterested in the politics of men.

Why? Because they already had a King. His name was Jesus. They had already pledged their loyalty to another nation. It was called the Kingdom of God.

Try to imagine if Jesus were the King of your life in the same way that He was King over the lives of those early Christians who defied Caesar to the point of death and who pledged allegiance to "another King, one called Jesus."

What would that look like? How would it change the way you live today?

I wonder, if those early Christians could see the Church in America today, what would they conclude?

Would they assume that, to us, Jesus is really only "King" in a metaphorical sense? 

Or would they see a Church that was under the absolute authority of Christ? 

Would they see Christians who loved their enemies, welcomed the stranger, cared for the hungry, showed compassion to the prisoner, and forgave those who spoke against them?

Or is Jesus only King in a metaphorical sense?

If Jesus is your King, are you putting His words into practice?

Or are you still searching for another political ruler who can provide security, and comfort, and prosperity?

Jesus was pretty clear about the fact that we cannot serve two masters.

Cast your ballot.

-kg

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NOTE: My new book, "Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb" is coming soon. Stay tuned for more info.

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*SOMEONE TO RULE OVER US

*HOW TO SAVE AMERICA

*THE JESUS UNTANGLED BLOG SERIES