The Chosen One
“But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’”
Matthew 14:30
Have you sometimes questioned someone in authority, either in your mind or actually confronted them? How did it go? Hopefully not how things ended for Miriam and Aaron when they questioned Moses’ authority. Miriam was plagued with leprosy (see Numbers 12:1-13). Miriam and Aaron was arguing the point that God speaks through others too and not just through Moses. God explained to them that if He does speak through prophets, He does so through dreams and visions, but when He speaks to Moses, He does so face to face. Moses was someone special. He was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land (although he himself was not to enter into it). Moses stood in the presence of God and communicated with him as though with a friend. Prophets do not do that. So, Moses held a special place, but he was not the only one. Over a thousand years later, the greatest Prophet came into the world, God Himself became man, and Jesus entered into our fallen world to save us from it.
Jesus is sometimes referred to as the “New Moses.” The Son of God walked amongst us and He gathered people to Himself to bring them to His Father. Perhaps one of the most famous events in the Bible is when Peter walked on water but then later began to sink and drown because of the wind and waves. Jesus told Peter to come to Him while He was on the water. He encouraged Him and assured Him that He was there with Him. Yet, when the wind began to blow and the waves crashed he wavered and his eyes were no longer set on the Lord, and he began to drown. Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” and He did. Jesus will always catch us and pull us up when we fall down or become overwhelmed by the storms of life, but we need to ask. We need to want Jesus to catch us and pull us up. He will not barge into our lives uninvited. We have nothing to fear. Jesus, the Chosen One, the Son of God, says to us, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid.” If our eyes are set on Christ, no matter how high the waves grow or how strong the winds blow, we will remain above water. Sin and death have no control over us because the Chosen One is with us. When trials and storms arise, may we call on the Lord, keep our eyes fixed on Him, and allow Him to lead us to dry land.
