Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for this daily challenge. It’s Thursday, the day we try to apply and live out what we’ve learned this week from the Bible. This week we’ve been studying Moses and the Burning Bush, when he met God and learned his name.
Yesterday we explored a bunch of passages in the Gospel of John where Jesus repeatedly said “I am”. Jesus was hinting that he was God.
Why so confusing? He was subtle for good reasons. In the Jewish culture of his day, saying he was God would have been considered blasphemy – a crime punishable by death.
So he showed it in all sorts of interesting ways:
- Spoke of himself using “I AM” sayings – a deliberate hint to the Jewish name of God – Yahweh, which means “I am”
- Said he was one with the Father
- Said he was the Son of God.
- Said he had the power to forgive sins
- Said he was greater than the temple – the most important place of worship for the Jews,
- In the gospel of Mark, Jesus is asked directly by some religious leaders “Are you the Christ (anointed one), the Son of the Blessed One ?” Jesus said “I am …”
- And more.
He did this all at great risk to his own hide.
Jesus was making an incredible claim, claiming to be God incarnate—which means God in the flesh, in human form.
The incarnation was hinted at in this story – with God appearing. A little bit later, Moses will again see God, but this time in a body. Even then, Moses was only allowed to see him partially. This was all pointing toward the day when God appeared most fully, to all of humanity, as Jesus.
Challenge: If God appeared to you today, what would he challenge you to take on? What impossible challenge is near and dear to God’s heart, and only you can take it on?
- You can [permalink append=”#comments”]Discuss the Challenge[/permalink] online, or by starting a local discussion group!
- Are you meeting just once a week with your discussion group? You can find all of this week’s discussion material in our Weekly Study Guide