MOSES AND JESUS
Moses prophesied the
arrival of a prophet like him {Deuteronomy 18:14-18}.
Christians consider this as a prophecy about Jesus Christ. There are several
points of similarity between Moses and Jesus.
Both Moses and Jesus
were Jewish prophets. When Moses was born, Pharaoh had ordered that all newborn
Israelite boys should be thrown into the Nile and killed. When Jesus was born,
Herod ordered the murder of all boys, two years of age and under.
Jochabed, mother
of Moses kept him in a watertight basket
of reeds to save him. His elder sister, Miryam (Miriam) remained close,
watching him. Mother Mary (Miryam in Hebrew) placed Baby Jesus in a manger and
stayed near Him. Miryam loved and supported Moses in his mission. Jesus
received the love and support of Mother Mary in His ministry. The daughter of
Pharaoh adopted Moses as her son. St. Joseph adopted Jesus as his own son.
Moses
spent his early years in Egypt. He was sent to the palace of Pharaoh for his
safety. Later he came out of Egypt and God anointed him to lead His people in
the exodus from the slavery of Egypt. The Holy Family had to flee to Egypt
carrying Baby Jesus with them to save His life. They returned from Egypt and He
redeemed humanity from the slavery of sin by His Sacred Sacrifice at Calvary.
Moses sacrificed his royal privileges to
save the Israelites. Jesus gave up His equality with God and became a man to
save man from sin {Philippians 2:
6,7}.
Away from Egypt, Moses became a shepherd and
loved his flock. He physically saved women at a well. Jesus is the good
shepherd, ready to die for his flock. He saved a woman spiritually at a well in
Samaria, beyond the borders of Israel. Moses and Jesus had to suffer rejection
by their own people. Moses received the Law of God from the mountain of Sinai.
Jesus proclaimed the new Law of God from the mount of Beatitudes {Matthew 5}.
Moses
and Jesus fasted for forty days to prepare for their major mission. Moses initiated God's covenant with animal blood. The covenant of Jesus was
initiated with His own holy blood. God gave through Moses the bread from
heaven, Manna. God gave us Jesus as the bread from heaven. Both Moses and Jesus
served as mediator, judge, priest and intercessor and were men of prayer who
prayed for the forgiveness of man's sin. God provided water for the Israelites
through Moses. Jesus gave us the life-giving water for eternal life, the Holy
Spirit.
Moses was instrumental in making the people
walk through water to cross the red sea. Jesus showed His power over nature by
walking over water and by calming the tempest and the rough sea. Moses turned
water to blood while Jesus turned water to wine and later turned wine to His
precious blood. God used Moses to perform many miraculous signs. Jesus
surpassed Moses as a miracle worker.
Moses selected twelve
men and sent them on a special mission. Jesus chose the twelve apostles for His
great mission in the world. Moses gathered seventy leaders for special duties.
Jesus sent seventy disciples as missionaries. When Moses descended from Mount
Sinai his face was shining with the glory of God {Exodus 34: 29, 30, 35}. During the transfiguration at Mount Tabor, the
face of Jesus was shining like the sun{Matthew 17: 1-4}.
Both Moses and Jesus
were aware of the imminent end of their earthly mission. Moses died on the
mount of Nebo and Jesus on the mount of Calvary.
Moses was the greatest prophet of the Old
Testament, {Deuteronomy 34: 10} and
the first to perform miracles. God spoke with him face to face. Jesus talked
about how Moses lifted up the model of a serpent so that all who looked at it
would be saved. Jesus himself was raised on the cross at Calvary so that all
who look at Him will be saved from the slavery of sin. Moses was the prophet of
the 'Old Covenant'. Jesus is the living Prophet, Priest and King of the New and
Everlasting Covenant - the Church.
.......................................................................................................
© By: Prof.
Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science &
Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's
College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public
School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil
John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally,
Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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