In Matthew, the life and the deeds of Jesus echo key events in the history of Israel; not that he reenacts them, but rather that he brings the things that God began in the past to their intended fulfillment. He is the Greater Lawgiver foreshadowed in the story of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt. By presenting parallels between Moses and Jesus, Matthew sets the stage for the teachings of the “Coming One,” especially as represented in his ‘Sermon on the Mount’.
Moses delivered the Law to Israel at Mount Sinai.
Likewise, on the “Mount,” Jesus pronounced his definitive
interpretations of the “Law and the Prophets” since he came to fill the Scriptures
up to the brim, not to destroy the Law.
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After the “wise men” told King Herod of their intent to find the one “born king of the Jews,” he asked them to inform him when they found the child so he, also, could pay homage to him. But the “wise men” were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, for he intended to kill the child – (Matthew 2:1-12).
Similarly, at the time Moses was born, the
“King of Egypt” ordered the “Hebrew midwives” to kill all male
infants when they were born. But they “feared God and did not as the king of Egypt
commanded them” - (Exodus 1:17).
In Matthew,
an angel warned Joseph to take the infant to Egypt, “for Herod will seek to destroy the child,” which is
exactly what the king did when he ordered the slaughter of all males under the
age of two in Bethlehem.
Joseph remained
in Egypt until Herod died in fulfillment of the prophecy in the Book of Hosea,
originally, a passage applied to Israel that referred to the nation’s
deliverance from Egypt - “Out of Egypt, I called my son” - (Hosea 11:1, Matthew 2:13-16).
Likewise,
Moses fled Egypt because Pharaoh sought to slay him, and he remained in Midian
until Pharaoh died. Only then did Yahweh “hear the groanings of the children
of Israel and remember his covenant with Abraham” and send Moses back to
Egypt to deliver Israel - (Exodus 2:15-25, 3:14).
After his
baptism, the “Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by the Devil.”
The temptation as recorded in Matthew echoes the tests that Israel faced
in the wilderness, only she failed each test whereas he overcame them all -
(Matthew 4:1-11).
THE WILDERNESS
In the wilderness,
the Israelites complained. They missed the “fleshpots of Egypt.” God
responded by sending them “manna” to eat, though many came to despise it.
Years later, Moses reminded the nation how God “fed you with
manna…that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by EVERYTHING
THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF YAHWEH,” the very passage Jesus quoted
to Satan during the Temptation - (Exodus 16:3, Deuteronomy 8:3).
At Massah,
the Israelites grumbled about the lack of water. In so doing, they “tempted
Yahweh.” Before entering Canaan, Moses reminded them of the incident when
he warned Israel, “Do not tempt Yahweh your God as you tempted him in
Massah.”
In Judea, Jesus cited the same
passage when Satan challenged him to throw himself down from the “pinnacle
of the Temple” - (Exodus 17:1-7, Deuteronomy 6:16). When the
Devil offered him political power, he responded by again citing the words of
Moses to Israel - “Beware lest you forget Yahweh who brought you forth out of the land
of Egypt. You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him” -
(Deuteronomy 6:12-13).
After his
temptation, Jesus returned to Galilee where he began to proclaim the Gospel.
Consequently, “great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem and Judea” started to follow
him - (Matthew 4:18-25).
The
geographic names indicate the crowds were composed of Gentiles and Jews. In the
same passage, Galilee is called “Galilee of the nations.” Matthew’s
description of the “multitudes” parallels the “mixed multitude”
that “came up with the children of Israel” when God brought them out of
Egypt “with signs and wonders.”
Likewise,
many members of the “multitude” in Galilee followed Jesus because they were
attracted by his miraculous healings and exorcisms rather than his teachings
and summons to discipleship – (Exodus 12:38, Deuteronomy 26:8).
The background from Exodus and Deuteronomy prepares the reader of Matthew for the first major block of Christ’s teachings. After “seeing the multitudes,” he led his disciples “up onto the mountain” where he sat down and began to teach.
The Greek
text uses the definite article or “the” with “mountain.” It was “THE
mountain.” However, the text does not provide any information about its
identity. Instead, it includes a verbal allusion to the story of Moses when he
“ascended onto the mount” at Sinai.
Matthew wants us
to hear these parallels. While Israel was encamped on the plain, Moses “went
up to Yahweh” and received the “ten words” inscribed on the stone
tablets. In the Greek Septuagint version of Exodus, Moses “ascended
onto the mount” (anebé eis to oros). The same clause is found in the
Greek text of Matthew describing how Jesus “ascended onto the mount”
(anebé eis to oros). This is not coincidental.
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| [Photo by Avi Waxman on Unsplash] |
When Moses entered the presence of Yahweh to receive His commandments, only Aaron accompanied him. Not even the sanctified priests were allowed on the mountain – “Let not the priests and the people break through to ascend up unto Yahweh, lest he break forth upon them.” - (Exodus 12:12-25).
Likewise, having ascended the “mount” as Moses
did, Jesus taught the words of God to his closest disciples. However, unlike
Moses, he gave the definitive interpretation of the Law and the will of his
Father which is summarized in the contents of his ‘Sermon on the Mount’.
SEE ALSO:
- Who is this Man? - (No one recognized who Jesus was except the demons that he exorcised. Only in his death on a Roman cross was his identity understood)
- The Son of Man - (The one like a Son of Man in Daniel is the source of Christ’s self-designation as the Son of Man and his authority)