In this teaching I’m going to show how the Christian writings attempt to portray Jesus as the "New Moses".
The New Testament, or more properly called “The Christian Writings” attempts to portray Jesus Christ as a figure deeply parallel to Moses, the Redeemer of Israel. This deliberate effort tries to align Jesus with Moses in order to position him as a type of "replacement Moses," transcending the Torah's centrality in Judaism and creating a proposed new covenant that reshapes the original biblical faith. My presentation highlights key parallels between Moses and Jesus, illustrating how the New Testament attempts to mirror Moses' life and mission to craft a narrative that promotes Jesus as a transformative figure for people outside of Israel and outside of Judaism. I see this as an attempt to create a “New Moses” figure for the Greco-Roman world.
Jesus, like Moses, is shown to be the "Good Shepherd" of Israel. Both Moses and Jesus are portrayed as shepherds in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Moses, who tended the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 3:1), is often referred to as the shepherd of Israel, leading the Israelites out of Egypt's bondage and guiding them through the wilderness. Similarly, Jesus refers to himself as "the Good Shepherd" in the Gospel of John (John 10:11), emphasizing his role in guiding, protecting, and saving his followers from spiritual death.
Both Jesus and Moses were Threatened by Wicked Kings as Infants. Moses and Jesus both narrowly escape death as infants due to the murderous intentions of ruling monarchs. In Exodus 1:22-2:3, Pharaoh decrees the death of all Hebrew male infants, forcing Moses' mother to hide him in a basket. Centuries later, King Herod orders the massacre of male infants in Bethlehem in an attempt to eliminate Jesus (Matthew 2:16-18). These strikingly similar accounts cast both figures as divinely protected saviors destined to lead their people.
Both Moses and Jesus are Lawgivers and Teachers of God's Truth. Moses is the quintessential lawgiver, ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Torah and delivering God's commandments to Israel (Exodus 19-20). Similarly, Jesus is presented as a lawgiver in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), where he expounds upon and reinterprets Mosaic law. Jesus' declaration, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17), explicitly ties his teachings to Moses’ legacy while asserting a new interpretation for a broader audience. Jesus is being displayed as giving his own version of the law from on top of the “mount” of beatitudes. Just as Moses was upon Mount Sinai.
Both Moses and Jesus are said to be Deliverers from Slavery. Moses leads Israel out of physical bondage in Egypt, a defining moment in Jewish identity (Exodus 12-14). Jesus, on the other hand, leads his followers out of spiritual slavery to sin. In John 8:34-36, Jesus declares, “Everyone who sins is a slave to sin... So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” The liberation theme is central to both figures, but Jesus’ mission is framed as a universal, spiritual exodus rather than a physical one confined to the Israelite nation. In this way Jesus is displayed as a deliverer for the Greco-Roman world.
Both Moses and Jesus are proposed to be Covenant Mediators. Moses establishes the Mosaic Covenant between God and Israel at Mount Sinai, sealed with the blood of sacrifices (Exodus 24:8). This covenant forms the foundation of Torah Judaism. Similarly, Jesus inaugurates a new covenant during the Last Supper, symbolized by the bread and wine as his body and blood (Luke 22:20). His crucifixion is presented as the ultimate sacrificial act that seals this new covenant, purportedly fulfilling and superseding the old covenant.
A few other examples that come to mind of Jesus being portrayed as a new Moses are: Moses gave his followers manna bread from heaven in the wilderness. Jesus fed thousands of his followers with bread he made out of nothing and then claimed that he himself was the bread from heaven. Moses walked through the reed sea on dry land to bring his people to safety on the other side, while Jesus walked on the sea of galilee and calmed the storm to get his disciples to safety on the other side. God spoke to Moses from heaven and the people heard, God spoke to Jesus from heaven and the disciples heard.
Analyzing these comparisons, I see the novel story of Jesus as an attempted shift towards a New Religion for Hellenist Jews who were already engrossed in Greek worldviews and dabbling in the Greco-Roman mystery religions.
The New Testament's portrayal of Jesus as a "new Moses" appears to go beyond mere typology. By casting Jesus as a second Moses, the New Testament redefines central elements of Judaism, such as the covenant, the law, and the role of the Messiah. Unlike Moses, whose mission was to uphold and expand Torah Judaism, Jesus is presented as the foundation of a supposed new covenant, one that emphasizes faith in the story of a demi-god figure, over Torah and adherence to ceremonial law. By simply believing in the demi god, the story of the new Moses named Jesus, one can obtain righteousness irrespective of one's standing as a Pagan, a Roman, a Greek, or just as one unwilling to delight in and follow the Torah.
This shift aligns with the context of the Roman Empire, where Hellenistic influences and a polytheistic worldview dominated. The New Testament narrative's universalistic approach and reinterpretation of Jewish tradition arguably make Christianity more accessible to non-Jewish audiences, particularly those in a Greco-Roman culture and especially for those who were already accustomed to worshipping demigods, or anointed “christs” as god-men teachers like Jesus. By framing Jesus as a figure who transcends Moses, the New Testament effectively establishes a new religious identity for Hellensit Jews and Greeks that diverges from Torah Judaism, accommodating the theological and cultural sensibilities of the broader Roman world.
The writings of Paul, the first person in recorded history to ever write about Jesus Christ, was able to begin transforming the Greco-Roman world with his newly found idea of creating a new type of Moses for the Roman empire. A new Moses that pagan’s could accept without having to follow the Torah and be united with the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel.
In conclusion, The parallels between Moses and Jesus in the New Testament are striking and deliberate, serving to position Jesus as a replacement Moses who fulfills and supersedes the role of the original prophet Moses and the Torah. This narrative attempts to align Jesus with Jewish tradition, to give it credibility, but it completely redefines it, creating a new religious framework that departs from Torah Judaism and thus the Scriptures entirely. By promoting Jesus as the mediator of a supposed new covenant, the New Testament lays the foundation for a distinct and new religion that appeals to both Apostate Hellenist Jews and Pagan Gentile audiences. This marks a significant transformation in the history of faith and culture in the Greco-Roman world. A shift that the Roman Empire eventually found extremely useful to help it dominate the western world, by the power of the sword, and the power of their newly found syncretistic religion which they called Christianity.
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