Matthew's New Moses

Moses received God’s Law, and saved his people. Matthew’s Jesus will perform the same functions. The author of Matthew selects and creates his stories to make this point about the identity of Jesus. Here’s the evidence.

The virgin birth story in Matthew is patterned after the birth of Moses as described in Exodus (see Exodus 1:15-2:10). Herod in the Matthew story is seen as the Egyptian Pharaoh. The two infants are saved from an evil king bent on killing them. Both babies have to flee for their lives with the family of Jesus escaping to Egypt. Both families return after the death of the king.

Like the virgin birth, the story of the Sermon of the Mount is a work of fiction. The teachings most probably come from Jesus. What the author of Matthew does is to collect these teachings, and then create a story to present them. Moses received God’s Law on a mountain. Jesus delivers his reform of this Law on a mountain. Notice how Jesus introduces his new standards for Jewish Law: “You have learned how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill” (one of the Ten Commandments), “But I say this to you…(Matthew 5:21-22).” The reference to Moses is unmistakable. Matthew’s point is that Jesus is the new Moses, the one sent by God to reform Jewish legalism.

Compare the transfiguration stories in Matthew (17:1-8), Mark (9:2-8), and Luke (9:28-36). One noticeable difference is Matthew’s addition of the phrase, “his face shone like the sun.” Now read the story in Exodus (34:29-35) where Moses comes down from the mountain after receiving the Ten Commandments. The skin on his face shone like the sun. First century Jews would not miss the allusion to Moses here. What appears at first blush as a minor editorial change has great significance in the larger picture of the author’s intentions. This is creative writing, not history, the stuff of ancient biography.

The resurrection story is unique to Matthew (see chapter 28). As I will point out in two weeks, the resurrection stories in the four gospels differ considerably from each other. In Matthew’s story, Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain top in Galilee. Mountain tops play a central role in the story of Moses. Jesus concludes his final instructions to his disciples with, “and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you (28:20).” These words appear only in Matthew, the addition of an editor, where Jewish Law is a central focus (see next week’s blog). In making this statement, Jesus is acting as the new Moses.

Moses was also a savior of his nation. Matthew’s Jesus has also come to save, but his precise role in this work is unclear. There are hints in Matthew that salvation involves a renewed Israel, the establishment of a kingdom on earth. At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples that the next time he drinks wine it will be with them in God’s kingdom (26:29). Jesus gives Peter the keys to that kingdom (16:19), and he tells the disciples that each one will judge a tribe of Israel in the new kingdom (19:28). There is no ascension in Matthew. Heaven is the abode of an apocalyptic kingdom. The work of establishing a renewed Israel will be accomplished by God. The role of Jesus is to announce its imminent coming.

There is also plenty of evidence that the kingdom will result from an apocalypse that destroys the world. This kingdom will be ushered in by a Son of Man who will return to earth as divine judge. In this scenario, the kingdom will be for a select few who are judged to be righteous, and will exist in heaven. Jesus is frequently pictured in Matthew’s gospel as the Son of Man. Read the eschatological sermon in Matthew 24:1-25:46. See also Matthew 10:23, 12:41, 13: 24-30, 13:41, 16: 27-28, 17:10, 20:78, 21: 23-27, and 26: 2.

As I argued with the blogs in Mark, I find these two views of the kingdom to be incompatible, the product of two different voices that echo through the gospel. The voice of the early church was certainly not uniform, and yet there is evidence that some early congregations had apocalyptic views. I cannot picture the historical Jesus espousing apocalyptic views involving an end to the world that will lead to intense suffering for those left behind, and a kingdom for a select few who are judged as righteous. I also cannot picture Jesus claiming to be the Son of Man. The spiteful nature of an apocalyptic kingdom which seeks revenge against enemies (see Matthew 10: 11-16) contradicts the beauty of his teachings on love and forgiveness. Thus, I attribute all this Son of Man stuff to the early church, but this is nothing but speculation on my part. The New Testament provides little clarity in deciding this matter.

It is clear, however, that Matthew’s Jesus expected this kingdom to be imminent, that it would come within the generation of his followers. Matthew makes this point again, and again, and again. There are no contradictory statements. See Matthew 4:17, 10:23, 16: 27-28, and the eschatological sermon (24:1-25:46).

In addition to these passages, Matthew makes this point in three different but interesting ways. After arguing with the Pharisees over the nature of evil, Jesus concludes that his casting out devils is a sign that the kingdom is imminent (12:28). This lends support to a key point about Jesus’ work as a healer that was made in my earlier blog entitled “Mark’s Jesus and Jewish Eschatology.” When Jesus performs several cures near a lake, the crowds are amazed to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking, and the blind with sight. The prophet Isaiah predicted that when such things happened the kingdom was here. Finally, Jesus tells his disciples that Elijah has come in the person of John the Baptist (17: 9-13). The Jews believed that the kingdom would follow once Elijah returned.

Christians today ignore the unambiguous position of the New Testament that the kingdom of God would come in the first century. I do a statistical study of this question in my book on Evangelical Christianity. The results are interesting and fully support this point. Christians believe that salvation in God’s kingdom will come to them as a matter of grace, a gift from God. This idea comes from the apostle Paul, but it is not Matthew’s idea. According to Matthew, salvation was earned. It resulted from obedience to Jewish Law which is the topic of next week’s blog.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke end with Jesus’ last words of instructions to his disciples. Matthew’s instructions (see Matthew 28: 16-20) are different from the other gospels in two significant ways. The setting is a mountain top, and Jesus concludes with the words, “and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.” Matthew’s Jesus is the New Moses, the man sent by God to reform Jewish law and to save a nation.