Jesus is the Better Moses
The Gospel According to Matthew
Matthew 16:16
A philosopher once penned, “The expectation of the heart is the most fertile ground for disappointment.” I have learned this truth time and time again in my own life. When I was 20 years old, I drove with my brother to pick up a hand-me-down car from my grandparents. We were about five minutes away when I said, “That Dodge Stratus will be a perfect car for the city.” Through his laughter, my brother said, “What makes you think you’re going to get the Stratus? You’re getting the station wagon.” For a month, I had assumed that I would be given their 2000 Dodge Stratus. At the time, it would have been almost a brand new car. But, instead of the Stratus, I got the 1986 Mercury Marquis station wagon, which was affectionately known as the “grocery getter”. It was white with sleek wood paneling, and it was longer than any car I had ever seen.
For me, the expectation of the heart was the most fertile ground for disappointment. Instead of being happy to receive a free car from my grandparents, I was disappointed because I wasn’t given the free car I had expected. My wrong expectations created some disappointment until I realized how iconic driving a wood-paneled station wagon would become. I quickly discovered that it was perfect for hauling my seven roommates to offseason workouts. I became known for that “O’Doyle Rules” station wagon (if you know you know). It was not the car I expected, but it was the car I needed.
In the same way, the Jews had their own expectations for a Messiah. They expected a powerful political and military leader who would liberate them from Roman oppression. Instead, they received an unexpected Messiah. He was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth. He was gentle and lowly in heart and chose to liberate them by His own death. Jesus was not the Messiah they expected, but He was the Messiah they needed. The Gospel According to Matthew masterfully portrays Jesus Christ as the long-awaited promised Son who would liberate not only His own people, the Jews, from oppression, but would liberate all people, Jews and Gentiles, who chose to believe and follow Him as King. Jesus was not the King they expected, but He was the King they needed.
Most scholars believe Matthew wrote his gospel between 50-60 A.D. just a few decades after Jesus’ earthly ministry. In the earliest manuscripts, the book was titled The Gospel According to Matthew, even though Matthew does not attest to his authorship in the book. No one has ever seriously doubted that Matthew wrote the gospel and, in fact, many church fathers quote the book as if Matthew wrote it. Matthew, along with Mark and Luke, is one of the synoptic gospels, meaning it follows a general summary of Jesus’ life and ministry. Although the gospel gives a general description of Jesus’ life and ministry, Matthew writes with a theological aim. He does not merely share facts about Jesus’ life, he organizes them in such a way to communicate the truth about who Jesus is and what He came to do.
So, if you’re here this morning with certain expectations of Jesus, I pray that you will discover not what you want to know about Him, but what you need to know about Him. Matthew wrote this gospel to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of Abraham, the Son of David, the long-awaited Savior who would deliver all people who believe. First, Matthew proves that Jesus is the Messiah by showing that He has fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.
The Promised Son: The Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets
The first sentence of Matthew’s gospel is a tidal wave of force crashing his purpose on the hearts of his hearers.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1
That sentence may not pack the same punch to our 21st century Gentile ears but, for a Jew, that sentence would have been a lightning bolt. Two of the greatest Old Testament Messianic promises can be found in Genesis 12:1-3, which refers to the Son of Abraham, and 2 Samuel 7:12-14, which refers to the Son of David.
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:1–3
God promised to make of Abraham a great nation that would bless all nations through his Son (Genesis 15:1-6).
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. 2 Samuel 7:12-14a
The Jews had been waiting and waiting and waiting for the Son of Abraham, who would bless all the families of the earth, and the Son of David, who would be a forever king on a forever throne. Then, Matthew begins his gospel with neon blinking lights that shout, “It's Jesus! He is the Son of Abraham, and the Son of David.”
The gospel of Matthew can be divided into three main sections. Chapters 1 through 4 are the introduction. Chapters 5 through 25 are the main body of the book, and Chapters 26 through 28 are the conclusion. In the introductory first four chapters, Matthew systematically shows how Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets proving that He was the promised Son of Abraham and of David. Matthew begins with the Jesus’ birth narrative, which culminates in Matthew 1:21-23.
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). Matthew 1:21-23
After Jesus was born, Herod sought to kill Jesus, so Joseph was warned in a dream to take Jesus to Egypt,
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:14–15
Jesus would grow up in Nazareth.
And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2:23
In an auditory culture, writers communicated truth through repetition, since books were meant to be heard, not read. Listeners would have heard Matthew’s refrain, “to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.” as him proclaiming, “Jesus is the long awaited Messiah. He is the promised Son!” Then, when he writes about the baptism of Jesus, Matthew leaves no doubt.
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16–17
God declared to the world that Jesus was the beloved Son. He was the long-awaited Son of Abraham, Son of David.
The opening pages of Matthew’s gospel are meant to communicate very clearly that Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the Messianic prophecies. He is the Christ. Then, as Matthew moves into the body of his argument, he shows how even the blind and the Gentiles were able to clearly see Jesus as the Son of David.
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” Matthew 9:27
And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Matthew 15:22
And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Matthew 20:30
The people saw Jesus’ works. They saw that He could make the blind see and the mute speak. So they asked in Matthew 12,
And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” Matthew 12:23
This is exactly the question that Matthew wants rolling around people’s minds as they read his gospel, “Can this be the Son of David?” Throughout the book, he screams at them, “YES! This is the Son of David!!” But he also writes his gospel as an indictment of the Jews, who know the scriptures but still don’t see Jesus as the Messiah. The blind and the Gentiles saw Jesus for who he was, but the Jews missed Him. Do you see that Jesus is the promised Son?
The Promised Prophet: The New and Better Moses
Matthew not only shows his readers that Jesus is the Son of Abraham and Son of David, but he also proves that Jesus is the new and better Moses. We have already seen that Jesus escaped Egypt because King Herod wanted to kill all male children, just like Pharaoh had done in the time of Moses. Matthew structures his gospel around five major sermons. The Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5 through 7, the Instructions to the Twelve Apostles in chapter 10, the Parables of the Kingdom in chapter 13, more Parables of the Kingdom in chapter 18 and, finally, the Olivet Discourse about the kingdom and judgment in chapters 24 and 25. These five major discourses allude to the five books of the Law written by Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Jesus gives His first and, I would argue the greatest, sermon when He goes up the mountain and gives the people of God a new law. Just as Moses went up Mount Sinai and came down with the Law, Jesus went up the mountain, as the lawgiver, and taught the true meaning of the Law. He says, “You have heard that it was said, but I say to you.” Jesus is the new and better Moses, giving a new and better law. This is not an external law but a law of the heart. He is the true lawgiver. He is ushering in a new age. He has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).
Just as the mountain plays a key part of Moses’ story, so it does with Jesus. After the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus gives the Law, He goes up a mountain again to reveal Himself to the disciples at the Transfiguration.
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” Matthew 17:1–7
Again, God the Father speaks from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” Indeed, Moses prophesied that another would come another after him,
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18
Jesus speaks the words of God because He is the “beloved Son”. He is the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, and the new and better Moses. Just as God revealed himself to Moses on the mountain, Jesus revealed Himself to the disciples. Peter would later use this very experience on the mountain to verify his claims that Jesus was the Messiah (2 Peter 1:16-17).
The Promised Messiah: The Way of the Cross
The turning point in Matthew’s gospel is when Peter gives the good confession and identifies Jesus as the Messiah.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Matthew 16:13–16
This is called “The Good Confession” because it is the first time in the New Testament that Jesus is explicitly identified as the Messiah. No more allusions, no more hints, Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus affirms Peter,
And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon [son of Jonah] Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:17–18
God had revealed who Jesus truly was. But, even though Peter rightly identified Jesus, he did not understand what kind of Messiah He was going to be. After He had been rightly identified, Jesus explained what He came to do,
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. Matthew 16:21
Jesus was not the Messiah they expected, but He was the Messiah they needed. Peter just didn’t know that yet.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Matthew 16:22–23
Peter was thinking like a man. He was hoping for an earthly deliverance from Roman oppression. He wanted the golden age of glory for Israel, but that was not the way of Christ. For Christ, it was the cross before the crown. First, He had to suffer many things at the hands of His own people and be killed. Then, and only then, He would be raised from the dead. Jesus was not merely seeking an earthly kingdom; He was building a spiritual kingdom that would have no end.
Jesus knew what it meant that He was the Messiah, and that He would not have a life of glory but a life of suffering. Jesus knew who He was and what God called Him to do.
And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Matthew 26:63b–64
Jesus believed that He was the Christ. His disciples believed that He was the Christ. But the Jews only believed that Jesus’ believed that He was the Christ.
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” Matthew 26:65–68
Jesus was sent to the cross for testifying that He was the Christ, and the Jews mocked him for it. They put a sign over His head as He spread His hands out on the cross, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Those who passed by mocked him saying,
“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
Matthew 27:40
Jesus was not the Messiah they expected, but He was the Messiah they needed. Jesus was the Son of God and, therefore, He chose not to save Himself, but stayed on the cross. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” quoting Psalm 22 and showing His faith was still in God who raises the dead.
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:50–54
The Gentile guard, who was keeping watch over Jesus, saw and was filled with awe and testified, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Jesus Christ is the promised Son of Abraham, Son of David, the new and better Moses, and the Son of God, who opened a door to His kingdom for those who will bow to Him as King. Three days later, they came looking for Jesus,
And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:2–6
“For He has risen, as He said.” Jesus fulfilled His promise because He was the Christ–not the one they were expecting, but the one they needed.
Jesus had to die if anyone was going to be saved. Jesus’ death and resurrection is the only hope for salvation. He came not to liberate the Jews from Rome, but to liberate all people, who believe by faith, from Satan and sin’s oppression and from death itself. If you are a non Christian, what are your expectations of Jesus? Do you think He is merely a good moral teacher? He didn’t think that of Himself. His followers didn’t think that. His enemies didn’t think that. The question He asked Peter still rings true today, “Who do you say Jesus is?” Is He the Christ? Is He your Savior, or will He only be your Judge? Consider the claims that Matthew makes about Jesus, and do what he chose to do, “Follow him.”
The Promised Salvation: Commissioned for All People
Matthew’s goal for this gospel was not merely to make people believe that Jesus was the Son of Abraham, Son of David, the new and better Moses, the Messiah, but that the church would share who Jesus was. He closes his book by saying,
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. Matthew 28:16–17
Jesus took His disciples up another mountain. Some worshiped and some doubted. Friends, this will always be the case. I pray you chose wisely.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18–20
All authority in heaven and earth belongs to Him. Now, He commands us to go and make disciples of all nations. No one who believes will be excluded.
Jesus is not the Messiah they expected, but He is the one we need. He did not come for His own people but for all people. He did not come for earthly freedom but to bring eternal life. He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Who do you say Jesus is? The only correct answer is, “He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, the new and better Moses, the Savior of all who believe.” No, He is not the one they expected; He is far better. Beloved, Jesus will never disappoint you. He is far better than we could ever ask for and far better than we deserve.