Summary
Now, But Not Yet
At the end of Deuteronomy 34, Moses climbs Mount Nebo and the Lord shows him the entire promised land—north to Dan and Naphtali, west to the Mediterranean, south to the Negev, across the valley to Jericho. From a summit nearly 2,740 feet above sea level, he can see the fullness of what God had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then the Lord tells him: "I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there." Moses dies in Moab, and Israel mourns him for thirty days.
This ending feels unjust. Moses had been called at the burning bush Exodus 3 to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to that very land. He was the prophet whom the Lord knew face to face, unequalled in signs and wonders, mediator of the old covenant, sustained supernaturally so that at 120 years old his sight was undimmed and his vigor unabated. He led a grumbling, quarreling people through forty years of wilderness. Yet because of his disobedience at Meribah—striking the rock in anger rather than speaking to it as the Lord commanded Numbers 20—he is denied entry. Moses was mostly obedient. Mostly is not enough.
That "mostly" is precisely why we needed another mediator. On another mountain, the Mount of Transfiguration in Mark 9, Moses appears again, this time speaking face to face with Jesus before the cross. Jesus was not mostly obedient but holy and completely obedient. He did not mostly die for sin; He died completely for it, because sin must die completely. His full obedience and full resurrection mean the full forgiveness of your sin and the full promise of eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This is the shape of Christian life: the kingdom is already given, and yet not fully delivered. Through Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, the preached Word, and the body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper, God hands you the full forgiveness of sins right now, in tangible means you can hear, taste, and touch. Eternal life is not merely a future reward to be reached at the end of the journey—it is a present possession to which we cling today.
And still we ask, "Are we there yet?" We go to church, we pray, we serve, and our houses, jobs, relationships, and health remain less than what we long for. Like the Israelites grumbling in the desert, we wonder whether it is fair. Faith answers in the words of Hebrews 11:1—"the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Moses led Israel forward not because he would taste the land himself, but because he trusted God's promise of a greater land yet to come.
So the Christian lives in the "now, but not yet." We have eternal life now, though we do not yet see Jesus with our eyes. We are forgiven now, though we still struggle with sin. As Paul writes in Romans 8, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Take heart: you are already in eternity, and one day, in the fullness of time, the Lord will greet us with open arms and welcome us home. For more on this theme, see "Now, But Not Yet" 8-4-24.
Video citations
- "Now, But Not Yet" 8-4-24 — bags are packed. All the suitcases have been loaded into the trunk. Everyone is buckled in. Everyone has their drink of water. The last trip to the bathroom was made. The GPS is running. We see the…