The Greater Exodus – Missed Connections

Automated transcript, lightly edited for readability. Scripture appears as spoken; the video is the authoritative teaching.

Revealing Jesus Through Scripture

Do you ever find yourself searching for something bigger than you? For a community to be a part of? A place founded on truth and love. A place to worship the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Son of God. Welcome to Founded in Truth, where we're more than just a fellowship. We're a family, so welcome home. Shabbat shalom, everybody. I'm really excited about the message this week. I wanted to do a message that reviews one of my favorite topics, and that is how the biblical authors of the New Testament reveal the person of Jesus, or Yeshua, to us. When we read the New Testament, we see all of these different authors telling us his story from a different perspective, or they have different narratives that they're explaining.

And of course, we know that their inspiration for displaying our King Jesus in this way is found in the Torah, of course, and the Hebrew Bible. And I feel that's completely significant because Paul has this position that the entire Old Testament was the single story that pointed to this Messiah, this coming king, not simply a coming king, but this Yeshua. And Yeshua says the same thing. All of it speaks of him. And so today I want to get a bit nerdy about the Bible, and I'm going to try my best to keep it short and to the point. But the Bible is just so cool. I love it.

Looking Beyond History

So many times when we read the Bible, both Old and New Testament, we make assumptions in the story. We make assumptions about the biblical authors and what they were writing and how it was written. For example, we assume, many of us, when we read the story of the Garden of Eden, that it was just a historical account. Now, please put a pin in my words here. Just is one of my favorite words. We believe that it's just a historical account. And that's it. Nothing more, nothing less. It's exactly what happened. The same thing when we come across the story of Noah. We sometimes view these biblical stories as just a historical account. The reason why I feel that's a little unwise, if we just keep that as the scope of the box that we put these stories in, is that sometimes we end up missing the hyperlinks and the patterns that the biblical authors left for us that actually intertwine the stories and expose a bigger storyline throughout the Hebrew Bible that lead us to Yeshua.

When Divine Violence Failed

For example, what's Noah's story? Well, the flood story is the moment where God recreates the world through the means of divine violence. He's going to violently kill everyone and birth a peaceful, fruitful creation from this whole big thing, the flood. The waters are going to come over and back together with one another. There will be one man that has dominion over all the animals. And then what happens in the story? Dry land appears, just like back in Genesis 1, but this time it's with Noah. And God is going to fix the problem with mankind. What was the problem with mankind that prompted all of this to happen?

Violence. That's what it says right here in Genesis : "Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence." Mankind became selfish in how they engaged with one another. They rebelled against the ethic of being God's image bearers to build this divine community of love that reflected God's character in the world, and they became violent. So God here in this story is going to fix the violence of human beings. How? By being violent. He's going to drown everybody. And yeah, that's how I see the story anyway. My son knows all about Jesus. He doesn't know about this story yet because I'm still struggling to try to explain it to him at such a young age.

But here's the thing about this story. Does it work? Does divine violence correct violent humanity? Well, no, it doesn't. That's the point of the story. It doesn't. It didn't work. And that's something that's going to carry on throughout the motif of the Old Testament, the story of the Old Testament, and land us when Yeshua walks on the scene.

Noah and the New Creation

God is going to reboot creation in the story of the flood through a flood, and his covenant with mankind is going to come through this man named Noah. And Noah is presented here like a new Adam. He tells Noah to take all the aspects of creation into the ark with him, all of the animals, and then all of the plants for the animals to eat, right? And then it says in Genesis , "After seven days, the waters of the flood came upon the earth." When was the last time we heard about seven days? After a seven-day period, water comes and resets creation. Seven days. It's trying to give you that hyperlink. Why does the author, after seven days, want to emphasize that?

So Noah's here, he finds himself in this confined space with dominion over the animals between the waters in the ark, just like Adam. And then in Genesis 8:2, it says that God sends his spirit to blow over the earth. Didn't that happen in Genesis 1? And it says the Spirit pushes the water away, and then Noah sends out a dove that hovers over the waters, and the next thing we see happen is dry land appears. Do you see it? Noah walks out of the ark to begin to pursue creation equipped with God's covenantal relationship. And then what's he do? What happens? He eats the fruit of the garden and he finds himself naked.

He plants a vineyard, he gets drunk off the wine, and he finds himself naked. It's a repeat of the Adamic story of that cycle. And that's why I love our Bible, because this is how it's built. These aren't just historical accounts. Not dismissing that aspect, but they have another function, and that is to take us along the narrative and where it's heading. It wants us to see these things happening over and over and over again.

How the Bible Points to Jesus

So when we look at the New Testament, we should not be surprised. It's written in a very similar fashion, with little details that the biblical authors wanted us to notice to try to pin other stories together and to bring together a bigger significance to who Yeshua is. Matthew, for example, my favorite biblical author, divides Yeshua's teachings in the book of Matthew into five sections. Well, why is five significant, especially to a Jewish audience? He's showing a connection between the teachings of Yeshua and the Torah that's given by Moses. He's emphasizing the elements in Yeshua's childhood as well as the childhood of Moses. Matthew wants to intentionally portray Yeshua as being the new greater Moses arriving on the scene, the one likened unto Moses, the true prophet that will deliver the trueness of the Torah in a way that would actually blossom and bless humanity instead of doing the opposite of what it really did. And Matthew continues to slide in all of these connections to the Moses story, one on top of another throughout his entire narrative of Yeshua's ministry.

The New Exodus

See, after Israel left Babylon, they were expecting this new Passover to occur. This is what the prophets write about. And a greater exodus would take place after Babylon. And God was going to ultimately redeem all of his people, the people of God. A king would be instituted, a new David, and this new godly kingdom, or kingdom of God, would flourish and overtake humanity. And this was described by the prophets as a way of ending slavery or coming back to God's kingdom or in many, many, many different ways. And this is exactly what the biblical authors are telling us here in the New Testament. Yeshua is the one who's actually leading this greater exodus in a way that was totally unexpected by the first century audience. Not a physical journey across oceans or deserts, but into a new creation, as Isaiah calls it. Not simply physical slavery and being freed from that, but being freed from the sin and the death that has bound humanity's hearts for so long. And these authors believe this is done through the ministry, death, resurrection, and inauguration of King Yeshua.

The Pattern from Moses to Jesus

And so Matthew overemphasizes this connection with Moses over and over and over again. In the childhood of Moses, the evil king Pharaoh attempts to kill him through the mass slaughter of children in Exodus , right? Well, in the childhood of Yeshua, it's the evil king Herod that attempts to kill him through the mass slaughter of children in Matthew . You have the midwives in Egypt, how they tricked Pharaoh in Exodus . But in Matthew's account with Yeshua, it's the wise men in Jerusalem who trick Herod in Matthew . Moses was hidden from the evil king when he was a child in Exodus 2:2, and the angel told Mary to hide Yeshua from the evil king in Matthew . Moses was hidden within Egypt in order to save him in Exodus 2:3. Where did Yeshua go to be hidden? Egypt, in Matthew -15. And Matthew is not the only gospel account to try to make all of these connections.

The Finger of God

Luke has a very interesting phrase here that's used. It says, "Now if I drive demons out by Beelzebul... remember, Yeshua is being accused of using demons in his ministry to cast out demons. And so this is his rebuttal. "...by whom do your followers drive them out? So then they will be your judges." So that's an interesting phrase: finger of God. I used to read that. That's kind of random. Finger of God? Why not the Spirit of God? Why not kingdom of God? Authority from God? Finger of God. Well, Luke's using this phrase because it's intentional. It's used in the Hebrew Bible and the Torah two different times, both in the Exodus account.

The first time is in Exodus , when the magicians in Egypt tried to produce gnats by their secret art, and they could not. And it says that since the gnats were on people and animals everywhere, the magician said to Pharaoh, "This must be the finger of God." The second time it's mentioned is in Exodus 31, 18, and these are the only two places where this phrase is used in the entire Old Testament, right here pertaining to the Exodus story. And here Luke records Yeshua saying this on purpose. Luke is attempting to show us that just like the incident with Moses stymied the magicians in the Exodus account, Yeshua has stymied the demons. Just like the power and authority are given in the Ten Commandments, the same power and authority here is on Yeshua.

Yeshua's Signs and the Parallels to Moses

What was Yeshua's first miracle, according to John? Turning water into wine in John chapter 2, the wedding ceremony. What was the first sign or plague brought upon Egypt through Moses? It was turning water into blood in Exodus 7. Remember later in the narrative, you have John the Baptist, and he reaches out to Yeshua, and he asks, hey Yeshua, are you the one? Are you really the king? Are you really the son of David? Are you really the messianic king that is coming to lead this greater Passover or greater Exodus? Is he the greater Moses? There are many explanations about this. There are many that draw on this later Talmudic commentary about the son of David or the son of Joseph and whatnot.

No, Yeshua quotes Isaiah 35 when he responds. And what does he tell John? He tells John, listen, the blind shall see, the lame shall walk. He quotes all these scriptures, and they're all centered around Isaiah 35. And what's so significant about Isaiah 35? Well, Isaiah 35 speaks of a day when God's kingdom engulfs the world. And I encourage you to read the whole chapter, but I wanted to go over a few of the verses right here. So let's read this section starting in verse 5. It says this in verse 1. And in verse 10, Isaiah 35 is a chapter about the greater exodus that's coming when God's kingdom is manifest and we run into it as redeemed slaves.

Yeshua answers John the Baptist, showing everything that he's doing in his ministry, right then and there, the healings, everything significant, that he's initiating this greater exodus spoken by the prophets. Yeshua answers declaring that he is the greater Moses. He is the king that is coming to inaugurate these things. Yes, I'm he. I will redeem. The ransomed will return home,

The Transfiguration: Moses and Yeshua

Remember the transfiguration of Yeshua in Matthew chapter 17. We can read it here in verse 1. After six days, how many days? Six days Jesus took him with Peter, James and John, and the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun, his clothes became white as light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, Lord, is it good for us to be here? If you wish, I will put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my son, whom I love, and with him I am well pleased.

Listen to him. So what's the backdrop here? What's going on? Yeshua goes up a high mountain, and how many people does he go up with? Three, James, Peter, and John. In the Exodus account, at the beginning of chapter 24, it starts off with God commanding Moses, along with Aaron and his two sons, to go up the high mountain to meet him, followed by the elders way behind him. Three, both Mount Sinai and this mountain also have a cloud that covers them. Exodus 24, 16 states the cloud covered the mountain for six days before Moses was called up. Matthew and Mark both make sure to say that it was after the sixth day when Yeshua went up this mountain, the seventh day.

In both stories, Moses descended the mountain with something shining. Remember what it was? It was his face. Yeshua's face and also his clothes were shining. But the most fascinating, fascinating thing about this incident is that Luke's account actually holds the key to the main focus of what is happening here.

The Greater Exodus

In Luke 9, verse 30, it says, "...two men, Moses and Elijah, appear in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but then they became fully awake. They saw his glory and the two men standing with him." They spoke about his departure. Now notice I put that word in bold there. Do you know what the Greek word for departure there is? Exodus. They spoke about his exodus that he was going to bring forth or bring to fulfillment in Jerusalem. Yeah, it was about the greater Moses.

That's what everything in the story is lifting up because this greater Moses is going to bring this greater departure, this greater fulfillment to the original exodus story that's going to actually blossom into everything it was always supposed to blossom into through this King Yeshua. The biblical authors, guys, were not stupid. They were extremely clever in the way that they retold the stories and accounts of Yeshua. They were meticulous to include certain details and maybe not include others. Why? Because they wanted you as the reader to understand the New Testament belongs in the Bible. They wanted you to understand that this is not just a bunch of random stories compiled together about this Jewish rabbi from Nazareth.

No, they wanted you to see how this is all one big unified story and that this guy named Yeshua, this guy named Jesus, is not only a part of the story, the entire story is about him. That's how everything is compiled together.

One Unified Story: From Creation to Redemption

By connecting his story back to Moses, back to creation, back to Adam, back to the Exodus, they are setting up a grand high point in the story about the downfall of humanity. And God is about to reboot the Exodus story on Passover. God is going to perform a greater Passover that leads us on a greater exodus away from the slavery to sin and death in our lives. And it's not just our lives, it's humanity collective. Sometimes we get so focused on, oh, it was just spiritual about me. No, he broke the chain that is mentioned in Genesis 3. He fulfilled the prophecy of the seed of the woman crushing the way of the beast that has infected all of humanity.

This was a big deal. And the way that the Bible tells us it came to happen is nothing short of amazing. And I say all of that to say Yeshua matters. And the New Testament authors wanted you to understand just how much He does. So, just to review, as nothing is written in there just for the sake of it, it's all in there as a part of the story. I know a lot of people get really confused because they look at the gospel accounts and they don't understand that each gospel account writer is trying to frame the story of Yeshua in a bigger box for you to understand. It's not simply, okay, he did this, and then he did this, and then he did this.

That's why sometimes the details are a little mixed up in some of the stories because the authors are trying to give you a bigger message about the king. So don't let that discourage you. Know that there's a bigger message here. And yeah, I hope this message was edifying. I want to show you guys just how neat the Bible is and how inspired it is. And I really hope that this causes you to search out the scriptures and dig a little bit deeper in your studies. Dive into the story of Yeshua and what that ultimately means for you in your life, because it's nothing short of amazing.

Prayer and Closing

Alvina Malkinu, our Father, our King, Father, we thank you for this time that we can explore your word once again, that you inspired the authors of the Bible to write the things that they did so that we could not only simply read them, but meditate on them, digest them, and see the bigger story of our salvation revealed through them. We thank you, Father. In the name of Yeshua, we pray. Amen. Shalom. I'm Matthew Vander Els, and I hope you enjoyed this message. Founded in Truth exists to build a community that bears the image of God and lives the redeemed life only Yeshua gives. If this message impacted you or if this ministry has been a blessing to you, we invite you to take part in making sure the message of Yeshua and the truth of God's word continues to reach others. To make sure this happens, you can donate through our online giving portal at foundedintruth.com/give or by texting any amount to 704-275-0752. Don't forget to like and subscribe for new content every single week. And we thank you for your continued support. And we look forward to seeing you next time. Shalom.