We continue our Lent series, In Light of the Cross, using the image of overlapping transparencies to show how the Old Testament stories progressively reveal the coming Messiah: a savior like Noah, a faith-filled righteous one like Abraham, a king from Judah in Jacob’s blessing, and a prophet-mediator-deliverer like Moses.

From Exodus 6, we highlight God’s promise to deliver, redeem, claim a people, and restore them, undoing the effects of the fall and ultimately fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We then reflect on the Mosaic Law (613 commands): the law is good as an expression of God’s righteousness and love, but human sin makes it accuse us and show our need for a Savior. Jesus alone fulfills it perfectly and applies his righteousness to those who trust him, so our focus isn’t burdened rule-keeping but faith in Christ that becomes embodied in a transformed life of love.

We end by reflecting on trust and praying the Lord’s Prayer.

00:00 Lenten Series Welcome

00:26 Overhead Transparency Illustration

01:19 Messiah Promise Unfolding

02:40 Exodus Redemption Preview

03:15 Pause and Center on Christ

03:51 Why the Law Matters

05:03 Law Is Good but We Fail

05:52 Jesus Fulfills the Law

08:05 Not Under Mosaic Covenant

09:38 Heart Posture and Sermon

10:32 Faith as the True Work

12:24 Living Faith in Practice

13:24 Reflection and Invitation

14:49 Closing with Lords Prayer

Well welcome back to another episode of In Light

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of the Cross this Lenin season.

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We are simply trying to put the

cross before our minds daily

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in order to see how it really

impacts every other part of life.

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And so we've been tracing this,

um, old Testament narrative story.

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Recognizing that all of it points to

Christ and is fulfilled in Christ.

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As I was thinking about this, an

image came to mind of those old,

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transparent, films that we used

to use on the overhead projector.

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Do you remember those?

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Daniel Jepsen (2): I do actually.

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I used those.

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Nathan Beasley: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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You'd write some lyrics on 'em for singing

worship songs together in youth group

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back in the day, those kinds of things.

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But I remember people using,

those in various kinds of.

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Art or creative projects, and they would

put various markings on a number of them,

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They would lay one on top of another.

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And as they did, this image or scene would

emerge that all of the collective sheets

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together as the light shown through it,

uh, this image or scene would be revealed.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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Nathan Beasley: And that was a neat

thing and an apropos image for.

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How we are seeing, the Old

Testament narrative come together.

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the more we've reflected on this,

the more we see how God is at work.

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You know, we have that promise, uh, after

Adam and Eve ate of the fruit That one

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of their offspring would ultimately come

up and crush the heel of the serpent.

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And, we've seen that.

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Nope, it wasn't.

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Noah, no, it wasn't

Abraham or Isaac or Jacob.

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it wasn't Joseph, it wasn't Moses.

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But as we've read these stories,

we've seen that each of them

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is revealing a little bit more

about what kind of Messiah.

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Is going to come and

what they're going to do.

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I've just been struck by this idea

of God's faithfulness throughout,

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and especially yesterday as we

saw, uh, God speak to Moses.

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he said, I will deliver you from

under the Yoko of the Egyptians.

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So the Messiah's going to be some

kind of deliverer ultimately.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah, I love that

illustration of the overlapping.

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transparencies because

that's what happens.

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You see the promise of the seed and then

you see from Noah, he'll save the world.

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you see through, Abraham, the

righteous life of simply trusting God.

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You see through the words of,

Jacob in Genesis 49, he'll be

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a king from the line of Judah.

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We see from the symbology of

Moses, that he'll be a prophet

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delivering God's words to the people.

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He'll be the mediator between God and

people, and he'll be the deliverer.

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So Moses is this great figure that

expands our understanding of what

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Jesus or what the Messiah will be.

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Nathan Beasley: Yeah, and as we

looked at last week in Exodus six,

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the way that that is going to happen,

actually comes to fruition in Exodus.

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In a certain sense, but then

ultimately in in Jesus Christ

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and his death and resurrection.

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But there, God says to Moses that he's

going to free them from being slaves.

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He's going to redeem them.

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He's gonna take them as his

own people, and he's going

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to restore them to the land.

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So really, we see.

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All of the undoing of what is caused

in the fall in Genesis chapter three.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Exactly.

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Yeah, exactly.

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Nathan Beasley: But just a, just a

snippet of that and then ultimately

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in Christ, the fulfillment of that.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yep.

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Nathan Beasley: So, we're gonna

continue this story and, and Exodus

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and talk about, the, the law.

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But as we've done the past few days,

let's begin with a, a moment of pausing.

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use this time to, calm your scattered

senses and put them on Christ.

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Use it as a time to center yourself

and invite the spirit into our

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time of devotional reflection.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): So as Nathan said,

we're gonna talk about the law and what we

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learn about the law because of the cross

and also the cross because of the law.

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If there's one area of the Old

Testament that I think people have

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a real problem with understanding

and applying it is the law.

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So for those who aren't familiar with

that, it's called the Mosaic Law because

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God gave it through the Prophet Moses

to the people of Israel at that time and

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place and how to live within the land.

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There were 613 commands.

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They're often summarized with the

10 Commandments And some of them

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are easy and some of them are very

difficult and some of them just

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strike us as very weird, to be honest.

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So how does the cross illustrate that?

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Well, the New Testament tells us a

couple things about how we should

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understand the place of the law.

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One is that the law is actually good.

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The law is good.

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And Jesus talked about how he fulfilled

the law that the law would not be

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done away with until it was complete.

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I have not come to do away with

the law, but to fulfill it.

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He says in Matthew chapter five, and then

Paul talks about how the law was good.

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He talks about this in, for

example, the Book of Galatians.

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Why is it good?

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Well, it's good because the law

is simply the expression of how.

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Adam and Eve were supposed to be

God's image within this world.

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They're supposed to have God's

righteousness and reflect that out,

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and therefore mediate God to the world.

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The law becomes the expression

of how Israel is to do that

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within their time and place.

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So the law is not some

arbitrary list of rules.

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It is the expression of who God is

and what God's righteousness is within

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a certain time, place, and culture.

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So the law is good in that way, but

Paul says what the problem with the

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law is that we couldn't keep it.

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Nathan Beasley: Mm-hmm.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): The problem

wasn't with the law itself, but human

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nature was not able to keep the law

and so it became something accusing

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us and showing us our failure.

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And the third thing we see in the New

Testament is that Jesus is the only one

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who could fulfill the law perfectly.

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And he does that by fulfilling at

every point in his life, all the

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spirit of each of those 613 laws.

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So he does this now by this rigid rule

keeping like the Pharisees tried to

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do, but simply by living the life of

love, which is what the law was about.

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It was showing what love looked like

towards your neighbor and toward

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God within that time and place.

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does that make sense?

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Nathan Beasley: Yeah, yeah.

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Yeah.

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so let me see if I

understand this correctly.

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The law is good and that the law

really is about protecting the

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relationship between us and God.

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So you see that Genesis two,

principle coming out once again,

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but because we are sinful.

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The law shows us of our own brokenness,

and then the law also points to Christ

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and that Christ fulfills the law by

keeping it, keeping the spirit of

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it, and then also, in his death and

resurrection, forgiving us of our sins.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Right, I can't explain

the full logic of this perfectly, but

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because he fulfilled the law, he was able.

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Then to apply that righteousness to those

who place their trust in him is the idea.

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And so the law shows us then

our need for the savior.

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We can't keep the righteous

requirements that God desires of us.

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We can't be that, but Jesus can.

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And if we placed our trust in him, There

is this restoration that God begins

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within us to make us people of love.

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And if we're able to do that

fully, we are able to live out

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the law, the spirit of the law.

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None of us get there entirely, but

that's the goal within this life that'll

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be fulfilled completely in the next.

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Nathan Beasley: So it's like,

it's the second part of what

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God says to Moses in Exodus six.

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He says, I'm gonna deliver you

and I'm gonna redeem you, but

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then I will make you my people.

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And so that's this.

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You'll, you'll come into a right

relationship with me that's guarded by.

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some instructions that protect the

relationship and really help you

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receive, the goodness of life that was

intended back in Genesis chapter one.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And so when we read the Law in Light

of the Cross, the goal isn't to try to

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obey all the laws of the Old Testament.

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In fact, it says in the New

Testament, we are not under that law.

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That's not our covenant.

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And that's a good thing because

those will be hard, in several ways.

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Number one, we can't do a

lot of them because we're not

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living in the land of Israel.

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So we can't fulfill all those sacrificial

laws at all, even if we wanted to, but

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Nathan Beasley: because those

had to take place at a particular

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LA at a particular location.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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Had to be at the temple.

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Yeah.

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And there is no temple now.

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Nathan Beasley: Mm-hmm.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): At least

physically in that sense.

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Nathan Beasley: But also there's

just so many of them that, I mean,

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new Testament writers pick up on

this too, that it's, it's kind of

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easy to get bogged down, overwhelmed

with, trying to keep them all.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yes.

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Nathan Beasley: And then you throw

into the equation or sinful nature

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and you're like, okay, yeah.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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So when we read the law, it

should not be something that we

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impose a burden upon ourselves.

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Rather it should be something

that points us to Christ.

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He fulfilled the law because the law

is good and the law is an expression of

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love for them in their time and place.

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Therefore, because of what Jesus has

done for me, how can I fulfill the law

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of love using these as maybe an example

and a guide, but not a law over me.

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How can I show this kind of

love within my own time and

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place, following Jesus Christ?

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So in that sense, it's

not a burden over us.

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It's, an expression of

our heart, from within us.

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Nathan Beasley: Yeah.

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A lot of these laws, a lot of the 613

deal with the actions and it seems

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like God has always been, after a heart

posture, there's a, an actual reality in

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which we become the people of God, but.

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Like we said yesterday, it's,

it's possible to take people out

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of Egypt, but it's more difficult

to take Egypt out of the people.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Right?

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Nathan Beasley: And so there's

this ongoing transformation where,

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we begin to write the law in

our hearts as the Psalmist says.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Nathan Beasley: And that's

what, Christ reveals.

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especially in the Sermon on the Mount.

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You've, you've heard this law,

but I'm gonna tell you like, if

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your heart is not in it, you know,

you've heard it said, do not murder.

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But if you're, if you're angry.

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You know, that's, that's

committing murder in your heart.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Mm-hmm.

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Nathan Beasley: And

God is after the heart.

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So even if you could fulfill all

the law in your actions, it's

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not about just exterior actions

as much as an interior posture.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Right.

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One other thing we could mention here

is that, uh, when Jesus comes, he's

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asked, and this is in the Gospel of John.

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I forget what chapter, but he's

asked What works of God must we do?

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He's asked by the, by his Jewish

audience there, what works of God must,

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must we do to inherit eternal life?

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And Jesus says, the work of God is

to believe in the one that he sent.

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In other words, me, there is a sense

because we can't keep the law, but

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Christ did and applies it to us.

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There is a sense we can learn

from the law like we talked about,

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but ultimately the issue is.

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Have we chosen to trust God?

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The law was supposed to be an

expression of the way they trusted God

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in this particular way of putting my

faith and my trust in Jesus Christ.

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When that happens, then he creates this

new birth within us that will ultimately

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result in lives that fulfill the

purpose and the, the spirit of the law.

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But it starts there.

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We have to do one thing.

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We have to place our trust on Jesus

Christ for our salvation and follow him.

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Nathan Beasley: So the faith is

attributed to us as righteousness.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yep.

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Nathan Beasley: Just as we saw

with Abraham and just as we see

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the author of Hebrews pick up.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Nathan Beasley: And the expression

of faith for the Israelites at the

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time of Moses was adherence to the

law and the sacrificial system.

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But it's not about that.

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There's a spirit that undergirds

that that is still, the

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principle is still true today,

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Daniel Jepsen (2): right?

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Trusting God.

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Yeah.

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Uh, Paul picks up that phrase

from Genesis that we talked about.

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Abraham believed God and God said,

that counts for your righteousness.

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And Paul says that's the same thing.

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Now, the object of a belief

is a little bit different.

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It's more specific.

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It's in Jesus Christ himself

is the one sent from God.

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And the one who shows God, uh,

but he says, do that and God

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counts it as your righteousness.

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Nathan Beasley: Yeah.

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And importantly as well, I think, is

the idea that faith still is lived and

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embodied in following the way of God.

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So it's not just this cognitive

ascent that I believe that

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Jesus, you know, is God.

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To really, truly believe in the spirit of

belief, that means to base our life on it.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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Nathan Beasley: And so that comes with

a certain lifestyle that oftentimes is

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in congruence with the law of Moses,

but like you said, it's not always

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gonna be so, so, still not lying and not

murdering and not committing adultery.

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These are all in alignment with

the way of God and the way that

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we demonstrate our trust to God.

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But ultimately, it's Jesus is the.

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Pinnacle point.

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Trusting in Jesus as the son of God who

came to take away the sins of the earth

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is the ultimate way that we demonstrate

now this side of the cross that we trust

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in God and God's ability to save us.

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And is the desire to do,

and His desire to do so.

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Daniel Jepsen (2): Yeah.

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Well said.

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Nathan Beasley: So as we move

to a time of application.

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We thought that it would be good to

spend a moment, reflecting on our trust,

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our faith in Jesus, and to consider the

ways, that we live out that faithfulness.

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I think if anybody's listening and

they've never made a, a definitive

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decision to say, you know what?

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I recognize, I don't understand

all the ways that this works, but I

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recognize and I believe that Jesus is.

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God who has come to save

me and save the world.

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faith begins with making that

decision, but it doesn't end there.

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Once we put our trust in Jesus, then

we recognize in multiple iterations

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throughout the remainder of our lives, the

ways in which we can live out that faith.

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as the Holy Spirit leads us and

guides us into deeper holiness?

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So let's spend a minute reflecting

on, our trust in Jesus and our trust

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in his completed work of salvation

on the cross and in the resurrection.

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And then spend some time reflecting on

your day ahead and the ways that you can

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walk in faithfulness to his way of life.

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let's end our time now with a time

of yielding to God's will and God's

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way by praying the Lord's Prayer.

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Our father in heaven hallow it.

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Be your name.

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Your kingdom come, your will be

done on earth as it is in heaven.

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Give us today our daily bread

and forgive us our debts as we

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also have forgiven our debtors.

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And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

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Amen.