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Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
The pages of the Bible are strewn with stories of men who were known for their faith, leadership, integrity etc. Abraham considered the father of the nation is without question a superlative example of faith in action. Other remarkable men like Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were prophets of the Lord who denounced sin and predicted future events. Men like Daniel and Joseph were known for their exemplary character and godly ways. In fact Daniel’s prophecies regarding the rise and fall of nations were mind boggling. See Daniel’s Amazing Prophecies.
Then there was Moses.
Not only was Moses one of the most prominent leaders in the Bible but he was the person chosen by God to liberate the Jews from slavery in Egypt. He not only worked great miracles in Egypt but shepherded the Jews through forty years of wandering in the wilderness finally leading them to the edge of the promised land. It was Moses who received the law from God on Mt. Sinai and was the only person we know of that God spoke to "face to face".
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. (Exodus 33:11 NASB)
The Lord spoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire, (Deuteronomy 5:4 NASB)
Also See Has Anyone Ever Seen God?
And that is not all
In John 5:46, Jesus told the Jews that if they did not heed Him it would be Moses who would accuse them before the Father.
"Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?" (John 5:45-47 NASB)
The Scriptures also tell us that Moses was the greatest prophet of all time...
Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, and for all the mighty power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:10-12 NASB)
Moses' Great Messianic Prophecy
In a very specific prediction, Moses told the Jews that in the future God would raise up another prophet who would in some way be "like" him. Those that did not listen to this prophet would be held accountable by the Lord Himself.
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him... 'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 'It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. (Deuteronomy 18:15. 18-19 NASB)
Christians recognize this prophecy as pointing to the Christ as the Messiah as did the Disciples and Apostles.
The Earliest Understanding of Moses' Prophecy
Peter:
Peter understood that Deuteronomy 18 was speaking about Jesus. When Jesus asked them who people thought He was and who the disciples thought He was Peter’s replied
"Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He *said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:14-16 NASB)
In Acts 3 Peter healed a lame beggar who sat at the gate of the temple. When the crowd gathered in amazement, Peter told them that the cripple had been healed by Jesus, the "Holy and Righteous One" whom they had disowned (Vs. 14). He instructed them to "repent and return" so that their sins might be wiped away (Vs. 19), then quoted the Lord's words in Deuteronomy, warning them that those that did not heed the prophet would be "utterly destroyed".
"Moses said, 'the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. 'And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' (Acts 3:22-23 NASB)
Philip
After Phillip became a disciple of Jesus, he told Nathanael that they had found the one of whom Moses wrote
The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, "Follow Me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:43-45 NASB)
Stephen
When Stephen was defending himself to the council he pointed out that the history of their fathers wasn’t as illustrious and glorious as they fooled themselves into believing. And speaking about Jesus he had warned that those that did not listen to this prophet (Jesus) would be held accountable by the Lord Himself.
“This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your countrymen.’ (Acts 7:37 NASB)
Was Jesus The Prophet "Like" Moses?
When Moses, the most revered man in Judaism, said that the coming prophet would be like him, it seems that the background, life and works of anyone who claimed to be the Messiah would be carefully compared to the background, life and works of Moses. This comparison would determine whether the claimant was indeed the prophet spoken of by Moses, or a mere pretender to the throne.
Had the Jews done this it is likely that many more of them would have paid heed to everything Jesus said simply because there were numerous parallels between the lives of Moses and Jesus, most of which were well beyond human control. The evidence is actually very compelling.
1) Both Moses and Jesus were born under an oppressive foreign rule - their very lives threatened by corrupt and brutal kings who would stop at nothing to stay in power.
Moses: In Moses time Pharaoh, fearing the numbers of the Hebrew slaves, ordered the death of all new born male babies.
Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other was named Puah; and he said, "When you are helping the Hebrew women to give birth and see them upon the birth-stool, if it is a son, then you shall put him to death; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live." But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt had commanded them, but let the boys live. (Exodus 1:15-17 NASB)
Jesus: Similarly, just after Jesus was born Herod, fearing the rise of another king, ordered the death of all male children under the age of two.
Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: "a voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more." (Matthew 2:16-18 NASB)
2) Both Moses and Jesus spent their early years in Egypt miraculously protected from those who sought their lives.
Moses: Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got him a wicker basket and covered it over with tar and pitch. Then she put the child into it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to find out what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the Nile, with her maidens walking alongside the Nile; and she saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid, and she brought it to her.
When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying. And she had pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?" Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go ahead." So the girl went and called the child's mother. Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. The child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. And she named him Moses, and said, "Because I drew him out of the water." (Exodus 2:1-10 NASB)
Jesus: Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him." So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "out of Egypt i called my Son." (Matthew 2:13-15 NASB)
See More about the prophecy of The Father calling His Son out of Egypt. HERE
3) Both Moses and Jesus rejected the possibility of becoming earthly kings.
Moses was raised as a son in Pharaoh's court which meant he could have lived very lavishly... possibly as a ruler of Egypt. However, he refused to enjoy the passing pleasures of this world and went on to deliver his people from slavery and lead them to the promised land.
Moses: By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. (Hebrews 11:24-27 NASB)
Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would bow down and worship him. Jesus rejected Satan's offer, choosing instead to fulfill the mission He was sent to earth for ... deliver His people from the consequences of their sins, and lead them to the promised land.
Jesus: Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'you shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" (Matthew 4:8-10 NASB)
4) Both Moses and Jesus lived during a time Israel was suffering under foreign domination. In Moses time the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, and during Jesus time the nation was under Roman rule.
5) Moses rescued Israel from the dead religion of pagan Egypt, Jesus rescued Israel from dead 'letter of the law'
traditions. See Jesus And The Law
6) Both Moses and Jesus authenticated their mission and teachings with signs and miracles
7) Both Moses and Jesus were mediators of a blood covenant: Moses was the mediator of the first covenant while Jesus the mediator of the new.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. (Hebrews 9:11-15 NASB. Also see Matthew 26:26-28)
8) Passover
On the fourteenth day of Nisan The first month in the Hebrew calendar) Moses instituted the Passover when the angel of death "passed over" the houses of the Jews that were covered by the lamb's blood, but caused the death of the firstborn of all families in the houses that were not.
'For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments - I am the Lord. 'The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:12-13 NASB)
On the feast of the Passover Jesus offered himself as the sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. At the End of the age God will "pass over" (not execute judgment) every Christian who is protected by the blood of the lamb Jesus. See The End of The Age
The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29 NASB)
9) Controlling The Weather
Moses stretched his hand over the Red Sea causing it to part,
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided. The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (Exodus 14:21-22 NASB)
Jesus calmed a storm by rebuking the winds and the sea (possibly the Sea of Tiberias).
They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?" (Luke 8:24-25 NASB)
10) Both Moses and Jesus fasted for 40 days and faced spiritual crises on mountain tops. Jesus before beginning His ministry and Moses while he was writing the Ten Commandments on tablets. (Exodus 34:28; Matthew 4:1-2)
So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28 NASB)
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. (Matthew 4:1-2 NASB)
11) Both Moses and Jesus' faces shone with the glory of heaven. Moses as he was descending from Mount Sinai - Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration
It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him. So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. (Exodus 34:29-30 NASB)
Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. (Matthew 17:1-2 NASB)
12) Moses sent 12 spies to spy on the land of Canaan that was promised Israel, Jesus sent His 12 disciples to preach the message of the Kingdom of Heaven - the land that has been promised believers
"Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, every one a leader among them." (Numbers 13:2 NASB)
When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. (Matthew 11:1 NASB. Read Matthew chapter 10 for context)
See What Was Jesus’ Main Message? (No it wasn’t love as so many believe)
And What And Where is Heaven?
Part II... The Promises and The Prophecies
13) In Numbers 21 we are told that the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people in punishment for their endless whining and complaining. Many of them died and, fearful for their lives, those still alive asked Moses to intercede with the Lord on their behalf. On God's instructions Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole that the people might look on it and be healed.
Just as there was no remedy for the wounded Israelites to be cured and live, other than looking to the serpent on the pole, there is no way, other than looking in faith to Jesus lifted up on the cross, for anyone to be forgiven of sin and live...
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9 NASB)
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." (John 12:32 NASB)
14) Similarly, when the Israelites under Joshua were fighting a battle with the Amalekites, it went their way as long as Moses held his arms up during this battle - with some help from two people on either side of him. This was symbolic of Jesus conquering death our ultimate enemy by his upraised arms on the cross. Although they could not help him two thieves were crucified along with Christ - one on either side.
So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. (Exodus 17:11-13 NASB)
There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. (John 19:18 NASB)
15) Moses appointed 70 elders to help him deal with the people.
The Lord therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. "Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. (Numbers 11:16-17 NASB)
Jesus appointed 70 disciples to go into the villages and towns, and prepare the way for His coming.
Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. (Luke 10:1 NASB)
16) Moses' brother Aaron became the first high priest of the temple.
Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me - Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. (Exodus 28:1 NASB)
Jesus' brother James was prominent among the elders of the church at Jerusalem, possibly even the head of the Jerusalem church.
But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brothers.” ... (Acts 12:17 NASB)
After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, “Brothers, listen to me. (Acts 15:13 NASB)
And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. (Acts 21:18 NASB)
17) Moses promised that another Prophet would come; Jesus promised believers that His Father would send them the Holy Spirit.
18) Neither Moses' not Jesus' body remained where it was buried.
And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day. (Deuteronomy 34:6 NASB)
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. (Matthew 28:5-6 NASB)
Although there is some dispute about verse 9 in the book of Jude, it seems that Moses' body was claimed by Michael...
But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude 1:9 NASB)
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