Matthew’s Gospel in particular selects events from Jesus’ life which present Jesus as a new Moses, bringing his people out of spiritual Egypt. Here are a few examples.
| The life and teaching of Jesus | The life and teaching of Moses |
| Herod kills the boys of Bethlehem, but Jesus escapes (Matthew 2:13-18) | Pharaoh kills the baby boys of the Israelites, but Moses escapes (Exodus 1:15-2:10) |
| The baby Jesus is taken into Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod (Matthew 2:13-15) | The adult Moses flees from Egypt to escape the wrath of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:11-13) |
| Herod dies. An angel appears to Joseph saying they are to return from Egypt (Matthew 2:19-21) | Pharaoh dies. An angel appears to Moses saying he is to return to Egypt (Exodus 2:23-3:10) |
| Jesus goes into the wilderness for forty days. He eats and drinks nothing while there, but recalls the words of Moses (Matthew 4:1-11) | Moses goes up Mount Sinai for forty days. He eats and drinks nothing while there, but writes the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28) |
| Jesus goes up a mountain to give a new law (Matthew 5). His teaching is recorded in five speeches throughout the Gospel | Moses goes up Mount Sinai to receive the law. His teaching is recorded in the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) |
| Six days after talking about coming in the glory of the Father, Jesus goes up a mountain where he has a vision of Moses and Elijah. A cloud overshadows them, he hears the voice of God, and is transformed, his face shining like the sun (Matthew 17:1-4) | Moses goes up mountain covered by a cloud, where he sees the glory of God. After six days, he hears the voice of God (Exodus 24:15-18). After a later meeting with God, Moses face shone (Exodus 34:29-33) |
| Jesus inaugurates a new covenant with the blood of his sacrifice (Matthew 26:27-28) | Moses inaugurates a covenant with blood of animal sacrifices (Exodus 24:3-8) |
See this page for more on Jesus and the Exodus.
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