Acts of the Apostles 3:20-23 NLT Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’
Moses was a ‘ type" of Christ. He foreshadowed and prepared the way. There are at least fifteen similarities between Moses and Jesus:
1. Like Jesus, Moses was ‘no ordinary child’. The circumstances surrounding the births of both Moses and Jesus were appropriately extraordinary.
Exodus 2:1-2 NLT About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months.
Matthew 1:18 NLT This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
2. Like Jesus, Moses was born at a time when newborn babies were being killed off.
Matthew 2:16-18 NLT Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A cry was heard in Ramah— weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead.”
Acts of the Apostles 7:19-20 NLT This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die. “At that time Moses was born—a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months.
3. Like Jesus, Moses was noted for his wisdom.
Luke 2:40 NLT There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.
Acts of the Apostles 7:22 NLT Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.
4. Like Jesus, Moses was ‘powerful in speech and action’.
John 7:46 NLT “We have never heard anyone speak like this!” the guards responded.
Acts of the Apostles 7:22 NLT Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.
5. Like Jesus, Moses had a season of preparation. We know little about the first thirty years of either of their lives. Both spent this time being trained for the task ahead
Acts of the Apostles 7:22-23 NLT Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action. “One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel.
6. Like Jesus, Moses showed righteous anger at sin. However, unlike Jesus, Moses committed a crime. But God, in his providence, even used this mistake.
John 2:16 NLT Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!”
Acts of the Apostles 7:24 NLT He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian.
7. Like Jesus, Moses was sent by God to rescue his people, but was not recognised as such at the time.
John 1:11 NLT He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.
Acts of the Apostles 7:25 NLT Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.
8. Like Jesus, Moses aimed at reconciliation:
2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
Acts of the Apostles 7:26 NLT “The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’
9. Like Jesus, Moses is described as ruler and judge.
John 5:22 NLT In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge,
Acts of the Apostles 7:27 NLT “But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked.
10. Like Jesus (Luke 3:22), Moses heard the Lord’s voice (Acts 7:31).
Luke 3:21-22 NLT One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”
Acts of the Apostles 7:31-32 NLT When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the Lord called out to him, ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.
11. Like Jesus, Moses recognised that the holy place was not in a specific religious location, but where God is present. For Moses this was at the burning bush.
John 1:14 NLT So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
John 2:21 NLT But when Jesus said “this temple,” he meant his own body.
Acts of the Apostles 7:33 NLT “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.
12. Like Jesus, Moses set the people free from oppression.
John 8:36 NLT So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
Acts of the Apostles 7:34 NLT I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’
13. Like Jesus, Moses was misunderstood and rejected by his own people.
Acts of the Apostles 4:11 NLT For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’
Acts of the Apostles 7:35, 39 NLT “So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior. “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.
14. Like Jesus, Moses succeeded in delivering his own people.
2 Corinthians 1:10 NLT And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
Acts of the Apostles 7:36 NLT And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.
15. Like Jesus, Moses’ rejection brought God’s judgment, but led to eventual victory.
Acts of the Apostles 7:42 NLT Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?
Acts of the Apostles 2:36 NLT“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”