Jesus: The New Moses
In last Sunday’s First Reading we read how Charlton Heston Moses said that another prophet would come after him. This promise reaches its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. This is why Jesus is often referred to as “The New Moses”.
Below are a list of similarities between Jesus and Moses which I recently added to my commentary on last Sunday’s Readings:
1. Pharaoh killed all the the male Hebrew babies, but Moses was saved (Exodus 1:22; 2:1-2).
Herod killed all the male babies in and around Bethlehem, but Jesus escaped (Matthew 2:16-18).
2. Moses fled from Egypt, but later returned (Exodus 2:15; 4:18)
Jesus fled to Egypt and later returned to Israel (Matthew 2:13-23)
3. Moses went up the mountain to receive the Law (Exodus 24:1-3)
Jesus delivered the New Law at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-3)
4. Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant through the blood of young bulls (Exodus 24:8)
Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant through His own blood (Matthew 26:28)
5. Moses did not eat or drink for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28)
Jesus also fasted while being tempted in the desert (Matthew 4:2)
6. Moses delivers the first five books of the Bible (Genesis – Deuteronomy)
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives five extended sermons (Matthew 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 24-25)
7. Moses lifted up the bronze snake in the wilderness (Numbers 21:9)
Jesus said that, in a similar way, He Himself would be “lifted up” (John 3:14).
In our First Reading, Moses promises that a prophet will come after him, someone who will guide Israel. In the light of the New Testament, we recognize this person to be Jesus Christ who, in this Sunday’s Gospel Reading, not only teaches with authority, but demonstrates that authority by casting out an unclean spirit.