Moses and Matthew (part 1)

The Pentateuch in Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 9 months ago • Presented 9 months ago

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Introduction

The connections from the Old Testament to Jesus are sometimes plain and clear but are more often obscure and subtle (1 Cor. 10:1-4).

Someone asked Tommy Peeler how we avoid the danger of seeing too much. His response was essentially that we need to worry about seeing too little.

The Pharisees saw the resurrection in the Old Testament and believed in it. Not only do I think we might struggle to find the resurrection without Matt. 22, but I have even heard people posit that the Old Testament doesn’t teach an afterlife at all.

With that and several other admonitions in mind I am always looking for Jesus in the Old Testament (study in NY).

I think there is significant evidence to suggest that Matthew patterned his Gospel after the structure of the books of Moses.

The Genealogies

The word genealogy is the Greek word from which we get Genesis (Matt. 1:1).

The book of Genesis is structured around this word (Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10; 11:27; 25:19; 37:2).

There are additional uses of this word (Gen. 10:1; 25:12; 36:1).

Each of these uses is swallowed up in the following verses.

Genealogies are a way of telling or reminding of history (cf. 1 Chron. 1-2).

All of Israel’s history leads to Jesus.

Abraham to Joseph

Notice the name of Joseph’s father (Matt. 1:16).

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph

Israel looked to their history to explain their present.

“What’s past is prologue”

They didn’t just think history repeats itself as some generic observation.

They believed in a more forceful version. God was at work in repeating that history.

The history of Israel foreshadowed.

A famine in the land leads to Egypt (Gen. 12:10).

Pharaoh is struck with plagues (Gen. 12:17).

Abraham leaves with gifts from Pharoah (Gen. 12:20, cf. v. 16).

He comes into the promised land between Bethel and Ai (Gen. 13:3; cf. Josh. 8:9).

Abraham defeats the king that defeated Amelek (Gen. 14:7).

God invokes the same covenant language with Abraham and Israel at Sinai (Gen. 15:7; cf. Ex. 20:2).

God tells Abraham the people will leave captivity and then there is darkness and smoke and fire and then he cut a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 15:16-18; cf. Ex. 19:18; 24:8).

We will come back to Gen. 16.

We have in the midst of this circumcision introduced as a sign of this covenant (Gen. 17:10, 12-13).

Abraham sups with God (Gen. 18:8; cf. Ex. 24:11).

Abraham intercedes for a wicked people (Gen. 18; cf. Gen. 32-34).

Hagar sits right in the place of Sinai in this story (Gal. 4:25).

There are several parallels between Abraham and Isaac and David and Solomon.

The mountain of the sacrifice is the mountain of the temple.

It is followed by a story of Abraham buying a piece of land offered to him for free but for which he demands to pay full price. (cf. 1 Chron. 21:22-24).

Jacob and Esau present us a picture of the divided kingdom with the greater kingdom scorning its inheritance while the lesser at least shows SOME devotion to God.

Finally, we come to Joseph whose story shares parallel language with Jeremiah when Jeremiah is thrown into a pit.

But also more thoroughly parallels the story of Daniel.

A young man taken into bondage who frequently escapes death only to rise higher and higher in the kingdom.

One of the interesting parallels here is how Pharaoh comes to recognize God through Joseph as Nebuchadnezzar did through Daniel (Gen. 41:38-39; 45:7-8).

There is even a suggestion here with the death of Jacob in Egypt but that even death does not keep him from entering into the promised land (likewise with Joseph). Gen. 50

Joseph son of Jacob

Joseph is guided by dreams (Matt. 1:20-23, 2:13, 19, 22).

Joseph brings his family to Egypt to save them.

The execution of the children ends up being associated with Rachel not Exodus (Matt. 2:6).

Conclusion

Why does any of this matter?

Number one, the Pharisees saw the resurrection in the Old Testament and believed in it. Not only do I think we might struggle to find the resurrection without Matt. 22, but I have even heard people posit that the Old Testament doesn’t teach an afterlife at all. We are in trouble if we think less deeply about the Old Testament than the Pharisees.

But more than that. Presenting the interwoven nature of all of scripture engages us in a deep way. Sometimes we talk about scripture in ways as if we are dispassionately investigating a crime (Cold Case Christianity). There is a place for that cool consideration of facts. But God’s word needs to make our hearts swell (Lk. 24:32). This is the very sort of thing Jesus was teaching that made their hearts burn within them.

I want people to know the rules and will preach lessons that dissect those rules so we can better understand them. But I want to present the whole picture that brings those rules into the grand history. I want to help people be inspired and motivated to care about those rules and love those rules so they can truly understand and follow them with all their hearts.

That is what this does for me. I hope it is what it does for you.

If you are not a Christian, consider this, all of history has been orchestrated to make becoming a Christian possible. Christ is literally at the center and the point of it all. All the other stories in your life are like the genealogies of Ham, Japheth, Ismael, and Esau. They are all dead ends. Only one genealogy endures. Are you a part of it?

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