How to Save a Life - Part 1
“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.’”
~Exodus 16:4
Read: Exodus 15:22-16:36; John 3; John 6
All of the “I Am” statements, in some fashion, refer to Jesus as being the giver of life, as being Life itself. The “I AM WHO I AM” of Exodus proclaimed His self-existence thereby providing a solid foundation for the fact that He is also our Creator. Here in the New Testament, we see a new creation account coming into the story.
A Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus at night; he was fascinated by this man whom Nicodemus was sure God was with. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “‘Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3). Nicodemus takes Jesus’ words literally and is, thus, thoroughly confused. Jesus continues to explain what He means by saying that we must be born of both water and the Spirit (3:5); we must experience both a natural and supernatural birth to be a part of God’s kingdom. Jesus goes on to explain, “‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life’” (3:14-15). He foreshadows His own death which is the key to our new life. God sent His Son into the world to give us life – a life more abundant than we have ever imagined (10:10).
This life Jesus promises comes at a cost. The cost is Jesus’ life because sin cannot be ignored. While writing to the Romans, Paul says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (6:23). We cannot have this new life without also experiencing death in some fashion. Our sin nature must be put to death. Paul also writes:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Rom 3:23-26)
This is what faith requires. We must have faith in Jesus because we cannot save ourselves through our own righteousness. We can never make ourselves right with God in our own power. With sin inherent in human nature, now, it is simply not possible for us to save ourselves.
Thank goodness for Jesus.
At one point in His earthly ministry, Jesus feeds a crowd of 5,000 with five barley loaves and two fish (John 6:9-12). This would barely pass as a single meal for a person, but Jesus gave thanks and distributed it to the masses until all were satisfied, and there were even leftovers. This one story is retold in all four gospels, remarkable given how differently John wrote his gospel. The writers want us to understand something significant here.
Before we can delve too deeply into John 6, though, we must return to Exodus and a miraculous supply of food there. Just one month after Israel left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea to safety, they are in the Wilderness of Sin nearing Mount Sinai, the mountain of God where God told Moses they would meet again. They had spent some time at an oasis with food and water, but now the Israelites were in an area where there was no food, and if there was, then it was certainly not enough for the multitude of people. They grumbled (a recurring theme) against Moses and Aaron saying, “‘If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!’” (Exodus 16:3). Their complaints are against God Himself, not actually Moses and Aaron. They are exhibiting hangry all too well in this scenario, and probably a lot of fear as well. All they knew was the bondage and bitterness of Egypt, and they could not imagine something better. They wanted the familiar, even though the promise of freedom and abundance was within their grasp.
God responds to them, though, with words of life. “The LORD spoke to Moses, ‘I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them: At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat bread until you are full. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God” (16:11). He promises provision and deliverance, and then He delivers. God literally destroyed the cultural, political, economic, and religious foundations of Egypt to bring His people out of slavery and into new life, but they do not trust Him to provide for them. They do not trust the life He has given them.
The Israelites are told to only gather enough for the day, and on the day before the Sabbath they are to gather double so that they can rest on the Sabbath. This is a test. The NIV Application Commentary for Exodus says, “They are only to gather as much bread as they need for each day. This is a test, a point explicitly made in 16:4, to see if they will follow God’s instructions” (325). God will provide for us, but we must rely on Him every single day. Israel learns this physical lesson with 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. The NIV Application Commentary goes on to say, “Israel is to be kept in a perpetual state of dependence. After all, God has brought them out of Egypt so that they may ‘serve’ him. They must learn that as servants of God, they are bound to trust in his good pleasure” (326). This physical lesson points to a greater spiritual reality.
We are not capable of saving ourselves. We cannot provide all that we ultimately need. We are wanderers in the wilderness without food or water. We are lost, hangry, and dying. We can choose to grumble and complain, much like the Israelites did, blaming God for our own lack of faith, or we can make a different choice altogether.
How will we choose to save our lives? Will we continue to fruitlessly seek salvation in the things of this world – food, shopping, a new job, a different relationship, etc? Or will we look to the One who tells us: “‘I am the bread of life…No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again’” (John 6:35).
