Faith on Display

“Talk is cheap.”

“Actions speak louder than words.”

“Easier said than done.”

We’ve all heard these phrases before — and nobody questions their point. We all tend to agree that in most cases, according to conventional wisdom, it is easier to say stuff than to do stuff.

And I think the writer of Hebrews would also agree with that, which is why in Hebrews 11, when he wants to show us what real faith looks like, in the example of Old Testament saints he does not give us a list of quotes they said, but he describes things they did. He tells us about actions they carried out. 

And beginning in verse 4, he is just working his way through the Old Testament storyline. If you remember, he starts with Abel, then Enoch, then Noah, and then he gives extended attention to Abraham, which we saw last week — and the writer doesn’t mention everybody he could, and he doesn’t say everything about those he does mention — but he hits the highlights and his main message is the same. He’s saying: This is how faith looks. Faith has consequences.

And we understand this. We get this. I think it’s intuitive. A couple weeks ago after our service, I was talking with someone about Hebrews 11 and he said:  

“The examples of faith in Hebrews 11 make me wanna do something.”

I think that’s the bull’s-eye sentiment we should have. The writer of Hebrews would hear that and say “Exactly!” And I think that’s especially the case when it comes to our passage today, Chapter 11, verses 23–31, which focuses in on Moses.

Structure + Outline

Now in terms of the structure of this text, in today’s passage there are seven total examples from the ‘Moses generation’ — just like there were seven total examples from the ‘Abraham generation’ in the previous passage: there were four examples connected to Abraham directly, and three examples from people who came after him – Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (see vv. 20, 21 22). 

In today’s passages the writer is running that same 4:3 — there are four examples connected to Moses directly, and then three from those who came after: the people who crossed the Red Sea (v. 29), the people who march around Jericho (v. 30), and Rahab hiding the Hebrews spies (v. 31).

There is a lot here that we could talk about, but what I’d like to do for today is to take this focus on Moses and focus in even more on one example from his life, in verses 24–26. 

Let me read these verses to you again. Look at these verses with me if you can. Hebrews 11, verse 24:

“24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”

Now within this focus on Moses, I want to tell you three observations of his faith that I think are especially relevant for our church right now. Moses displays his faith by:

1. A deliberate decision

2. A costly association

3. A peculiar valuation

That’s our outline. And now before we dig in, let’s pray again and ask God to help us.

Father in heaven, by your grace alone, in your providence, we are here in this moment with your Holy Scriptures opened before us. We ask, by the power of your Spirit, open our hearts to hear from you. In Jesus’s name, amen. 

Moses displays his faith, #1, by …

1) A Deliberate Decision

We see this right at the start verse 24: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up…” 

Now that might seem like an odd thing to say, but it makes more sense when you contrast it with verse 23 which starts, “By faith Moses, when he was born…”

So these are different times in Moses’s life. There’s Baby Moses in verse 23 and Grown-up Moses in verse 24. And the writer of Hebrews points out examples of faith in both times, but it’s important to notice in verse 23 that it’s not really the faith of Moses on display, but it’s the faith of his parents.

“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents…”

See, Moses was entirely passive there. The being hidden was not his idea.

Some of you have seen the animated movie, The Boss Baby. It’s a funny movie, has some meaningful moments, and central to the whole plot is that this family has a newborn baby that acts like a normal baby around adults, but then acts like an adult when the adults are not around. The baby was sent by a higher unknown organization, and as a newborn he knows right away that he has a certain mission to accomplish.

It’s a funny movie, and what makes it funny is that the idea of a baby thinking like an adult is silly. It’s all pretend. In real life, babies are cute, but they’re not that smart — which is why you have to ‘baby proof’ your house and tell them to not eat dirt (and things like that). Babies can only do baby things … including Baby Moses. Baby Moses did not hide himself. Baby Moses did not have the faith to not fear Pharaoh. That was his parents. 

But when Moses was grown up — that’s different. Grown-up Moses has agency. He’s able to do things on his own, including to have his own faith that he himself displays. That’s what we see in verse 24. Verse 24 is the faith of Moses himself, not his parents.

Now why is this relevant for our church?

For the Kids

Well it’s because we have a lot of kids in our church — like hundreds — and there’s a range of ages, from newborns all the way up through high school. And in this service there’s a lot of the younger kids in childcare, but there’s a lot of kids in here too — and I want to speak for a minute to you kids. Kids in the room, listen up. This is for you. 

One thing that I’m pretty sure you all have in common is that your parents have faith. In fact, the faith of your parents is a big reason you’re here right now. Now that doesn’t mean that you don’t have faith yourself. Many of you do. Many of you have been baptized based upon the profession of your faith. But still as kids, as tweens and teens, you live at home under the authority of your parents, a lot of your faith is rightly influenced by them. But see here’s what happens: As you get older, and as you become more independent, eventually you’re gonna come to a time when you make all your own decisions about life and all this. 

You will no longer be passive in faith, but by your faith you will make deliberate decisions … like Moses did. Grown-up Moses in verse 24 is refusing one thing and choosing another — and you’re gonna have to do the same. 

So kids, I wanna tell you something and I hope you never forget this: 

The two most powerful words you have are Yes and No.

And your life, in large part, is going to be the outcome of how you use those words. What you say Yes to and what you say No to will form you into the person you become — and as Christians we say Yes and No by faith. As grown ups, starting where you are now, as you get into adulthood, by faith make deliberate decisions that display your faith in Jesus. 

Remember Jesus loves you, and make deliberate decisions by faith.

We see the faith of Moses do that here, which meant for him, #2 …

2) A Costly Association 

Verse 24:

“By faith, when Moses was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin.”

Now in order for this to make sense to us we need to know a little more about the story of Moses. It’s been a while since we’ve been in the Book of Exodus together, so this is a refresher: 

When the Book of Exodus opens, the people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, but their number continued to multiply and spread. There were so many Hebrews that the Pharaoh felt threatened, so he put a death warrant on all the Hebrew male children. He commanded all his people to throw the Hebrew sons into the Nile River. 

Well, Moses’s parents defied Pharaoh. They hid him for three months, and then they built him a raft, and so rather than he be thrown into the river, they floated him down the river in the raft and he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took pity on him and drew him out of the water.  

Now this was an amazing story in Exodus but to keep it short, Pharaoh’s daughter ended up adopting Moses as her son. And we could imagine that being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter — being the grandson of Pharaoh — had some perks. 

Notice the parallel in verse 24 between being “called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” and “enjoying the feeling pleasures of sin.” Those go together.

Moses would have grown up in a palace. He most likely, literally, had a silver spoon in his mouth. He had the best education possible, and became mighty in his words and deeds, the Bible says (see Acts 7:22). And we can imagine that the older he got, grown up Moses, he would have been afforded pretty much whatever he wanted. He would have had easy access to the “fleeting pleasures of sin.”

But look what the writer of Hebrews says: instead of all that, Moses “chos[e] rather to be mistreated with the people of God.”

Moses’s Fork in the Road

And if you have the Book of Exodus in mind, you might be thinking: When exactly did that happen?

Well, I am 99% sure it happened in Exodus Chapter 2 when Moses defended one of the Hebrew slaves who was being beaten by an Egyptian. Y’all remember this? Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating up the Hebrew guy. This is a big part of Moses’s story. It’s why he had to flee Egypt. 

Well, if we go back to Exodus Chapter 2 to read this story, it comes right after the birth story of Moses, and the story starts, Chapter 2, verse 11:

“One day when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens…”

And in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word there for “grown up” in Exodus 2:11 is the same word used here in Hebrews 11:24. 

And what’s going on in Exodus 2 is that when Moses “went out to his people” he presumably went out from the palace. He left the Egyptian palace and went down to the streets where his people were burdened. So see, there’s already an association happening in Exodus 2. But when he saw the Egyptian beating the Hebrew, that was a fork in the road for Moses. Who is he? Is he an Egyptian — Pharaoh’s grandson? Or, is he one of the Hebrews?

Is he with the powerful, the opulent, the movers and shakers of the day, or is he with the slaves, the-carry-your-lunch-pale-to-work, mistreated Hebrews?

Is Moses with the Egyptians and all their drip or is he with the insulted people of God?

Moses chose the people of God. He avenged his fellow Hebrew, and in fact, in Acts Chapter 7, in the famous speech of Deacon Stephen, he says that when Moses avenged the Hebrew he thought that the Hebrews would know that he was there to save them (see Acts 7:25). That was a watershed moment for Moses. He associated himself with the people of God, not with the Egyptians, and it cost him. He had to flee the palace and live in exile for forty years until he saw the burning bush.

Moses chose to associate with the people of God, and he paid a high price. What kind of price do you think you’d be willing to pay?

Let’s just think about this for minute. Do you think you would still associate with Christians — or to get more practical — do you think you’d still associate with this local church if it cost you more than it does right now? How much of a cost is too much?

Mr. By-Ends and the Negative World

There’s an incredible character in the book Pilgrim’s Progress I need to tell you about. His name is Mr. By-ends. Christian and Hopeful meet him as soon as they become friends and right away they’re put off by some of the things he says, so they ask him more questions to try to get to know him. And he admits that he’s not as “strict” as other pilgrims, and he says that he basically operates by two principles. He says he’s speaking for himself and his relatives — Mr. Smooth-man, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Mr. Any-thing, and Mr. Two-Tongues — and he says our two principles are: 

First, we never strive against wind and tide; secondly, we are always most zealous when Religion goes in his Silver Slippers; we love much to walk with him in the street, if the sun shines, and the people applaud him.

In other words, Mr. By-Ends is the epitome of a “fair-weather Christian.” He only acts like a Christian when it’s easy. He wants to be a Christian when it’s very low cost, very high direct benefit.

And I think his character is super relevant for us today because we live in a unique time of our nation’s history. We live in what’s been called a “negative world.” It’s the idea that since around 2014, American society, at large, has come to have a negative view of Christianity. 

In other words, especially in the higher ranks of society, among the educated, in a lot of the places where y’all work, associating with Christians is a social negative. Christian morality is despised and mocked and called bigotry (no matter how nicely we try to explain it). 

Now there are certainly other places in the world where it’s harder to be a Christian, but within our own nation’s history, for the first time, claiming to be a Christian is not a social benefit — but it comes with a cost (source).

And there’s a correlation here to what’s been called “The Great De-churching.” There’s been a study, recently published, that reports that fewer Americans go to church today than at any other point in our nation’s history. The study claims that about 40 million American adults used to be part of a church, but they stopped involvement (source). And there are several different theories why, and one of them is that it cost more. Active faith, regular Christian rhythms and life, being involved with a local church, cost more than it used to … and for Mr. By-ends and those like him, the cost is too much.  

Well, Moses knew it was going to cost him, and still, by faith, he chose to associate with God’s people. Talk is cheap, the cost is in the action. He chose the cost of that association.

And the writer of Hebrews understands what these early Christians are dealing with. A few weeks ago, back in Chapter 10, we saw that the writer encourages these early Christians in their faith by telling them to recall what they’ve already endured. Already, Chapter 10, verse 33, they’ve been “publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, sometimes being partners with those so treated.” And now in Chapter 11 he wants them to make the connection: They have shown the same kind of faith that Moses did. 

Can you imagine anything more encouraging for these early Hebrew Christians? The writer wants them to know that they have faith like Moses. They would have heard verse 24 about Moses and thought: “That’s us.”

And I want y’all to know the same applies to us today. What we read here about Moses, and what our Christian ancestors understood and displayed, is in the ‘spiritual genetics’ of our faith. Church, I want you to know that true faith will endure whatever the cost. Turn up the heat, come what may, true faith will be displayed.

Moses displayed his faith by (1) a deliberate decision that meant (2) a costly association because of, #3 …

3) A Peculiar Valuation

This is verse 26: 

“He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”

Now the first question here is: How is verse 26 connected to verse 25? We know there’s some kind of connection — this the same train of thought. Verse 25 says that Moses chose rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin — and now the first verb in verse 26 is going to tell us the reason he made that choice. 

Verse 26 says that Moses chose to be mistreated with God’s people because he considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt. Moses considered the reproach of Christ more valuable. That’s why he made the choice he did.

We can see this in the text, but What is the reproach of Christ? Is the writer of Hebrews saying that in Exodus 2 Moses actually knew about the future suffering of the Messiah and he made a conscious decision to align himself with that suffering?

The answer is Yeah, sorta. Hang with me here. …

Same Package of Suffering

The first thing I want you to see is the connection between the mistreatment of the people of God (in verse 25) and the reproach of Christ (in verse 26). Do you see how they’re parallel? If we look at these verses together, it seems like the mistreatment of God’s people and the reproach of Christ are talking about the same thing. They’re the same package. Y’all see that? Now where’s that come from?

Well, a lot of times in the Bible, God’s people and God’s Messiah are described as having solidarity. God’s Messiah takes on the identity of God’s people. Now we know Jesus did that ultimately on the cross as our substitute, and he also did that at clear points throughout his earthly ministry. We actually see this hinted at in the Old Testament. 

For example, let’s go to Psalm 89, verse 50. Turn there if you can. Psalm 89. I want you to see this. Read with me or listen closely to Psalm 89:50–51, 

“Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.”

There’s a parallel between the servants of God and God’s anointed. God’s people and God’s Messiah. What is said of God’s people is said of God’s Messiah. They’re both mocked.

Now listen to these verses in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament that the writer of Hebrews would have read). In Psalm 89 he would have read: 

Remember, O Lord, the reproach (oneidismou) of your servants, which I have borne in my bosom, [even the reproach] of many nations; with which your enemies have reproached (ōneidisan), O Lord, with which they have reproached (ōneidisan) your Christ …

Again, there’s the same parallel between God’s people and God’s Messiah, and the Hebrew word for “mock” is translated into Greek as “reproach.” God’s people and God’s Messiah are both reproached. And that Greek word for “reproach” in Psalm 89 is the same word the writer of Hebrews uses in Hebrews 11:26, “the reproach of Christ.” 

The writer of Hebrews has Psalm 89 in mind in Hebrews 11, so, is he saying that Moses was thinking about the reproach of God’s people or the reproach of Christ himself? The answer is Yes. 

When Moses chose solidarity with God’s people in their reproach, he also chose solidarity with Christ in his reproach — because it’s the same reproach. The reproach and insults and ridicule of Christ on behalf of his people is reproach, insults, and ridicule that we choose when we bear his name. 

And this reproach still exists today. Joe Rogan is one of the most influential men in the world — because millions of men listen to his podcast — and he routinely insults Christianity. He says Christianity is the easiest of all religions to mock. He says it’s reproachable. The reproach of Christ is still a thing. Now does that make us move toward Jesus or shy away from him?

The Greater Wealth

Well see, Moses didn’t just move toward this reproach, but he said that this reproach of Christ is better than the treasures of Egypt. The reproach of Christ is more valuable than the treasures of Egypt. And that’s the peculiar valuation —  it’s odd. 

Reproach, insults, suffering, culminating in a shameful execution on a Roman cross — how is that better than anything? That sounds horrible. Get me outta that! I’d rather do anything than to  go through that! 

And yet Moses looked at it: that reproach and the treasures of Egypt … and he said, I’ll take the reproach. 

Far be it from me to boast unless in the reproach of Christ, by which the world and all its treasure has been crucified to me and I to the world. The reproach of Christ is a stumbling block for Jews and folly to Gentiles, but for me — for Moses and those who have faith like Moses — the reproach of Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 1:22–25; Galatians 2:20).

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today

And that only makes sense when we, like Moses, by faith, look to the reward (end of verse 26). This reward is future and eternal, not immediate and temporal. This is when we have the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Unlike the fleeting pleasures of Egypt, we must see him who for now is invisible to us but who one day we will see face to face. One day, church, we will be looking at Jesus and everything will have been worth it.

That’s what brings us to this Table.

The Table

We display our faith in Jesus not only with words, but with action — and the same could be said for how God displays his love for us.

The Bible says that God shows/demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When we were most unloveable, God acted to show us his love. And that’s what we remember at this Table.

The bread here represents the body of Jesus; the cup represents the blood of Jesus — together this reminds us of the death of Jesus, the ultimate action of God’s love. This morning if you’ve received that love, if you have put your faith in Jesus, you can display that faith by sharing in this meal. Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us eat and drink together, and give him thanks.