Exodus 14 — Thoughts

Did Jesus Tell This Story?

I wonder if Jesus talked about this story on the road to Emmaus. We’re told that He began with Moses and then explained how all Scripture is about Himself. So He must have.

Because this phrase — “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still” — is a powerful summary of the Gospel.

Other religions and human philosophies focus on what we can do to save ourselves — as though our good deeds, personal sacrifices, positive thinking, or good intentions can make a difference. Christianity, on the other hand, tells us that all our striving is hopeless.

By sinning, we have all rejected God and separated ourselves from Him. That separation is something impossible for us to repair. We cannot atone for it. We cannot make up for it. We cannot escape it.

But the Good News is that we don’t have to.

We are all like the Israelites, stranded on the shore of the Red Sea with Egypt’s armies at our backs. But then we hear the Lord tell us, “I will fight for you. You don’t have to do a thing.”

Jesus fought for us by taking our place, going to the cross, and dying the death for sin that we deserved. He did all the work for us. It is finished. There’s nothing left for us to do.

When we do nothing, we look to Him in faith instead of to ourselves. And that’s when He parts the waters of sin and death and opens a path for us to freedom.

But that path is only available when we learn to be still and trust in His fight for us.

(Originally written April 28, 2022)