“God gave his laws through Moses, making him, far and away, the most important teacher of Israel. No rabbi dared contradict Moses. Nonetheless, in the Sermon on the Mount, six times in a single chapter, Jesus says, ‘You know what Moses said, but I say . . .”- Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore
“Jesus had been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.”- Hebrews 3:3 (NIV)
As Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore move on in Chapter 7 of The Missing Messiah, they continue their discussion of the first stunning surprise.
Surprise #1 (cont.): Messiah Jesus is greater than historical heroes. In Matthew 2:14-15, the disciple cites a fulfilled prophecy from Hebrews 1:1 — “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Above all, Kyle and Mark note, this prophecy shows how Jesus embodied the entire nation of Israel. Certainly, the nation failed to be all God called them to be. But Jesus relived and restored their calling rightly.
Moving on to Moses, the authors observe that Jesus’ comparison to Moses goes beyond the law. It extends to manna. While Moses gave the Israelites manna, Jesus claimed to be the better bread from heaven.
In regard to Solomon, Jesus clearly stressed that now something greater than Solomon is here (Matthew 12:42). Because, while Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, Jesus embodied wisdom itself.
In conclusion, Kyle and Mark explain:
“Like ancient Israel, we want an earthly hero to fight our battles for us. We want a political figure or social icon to represent us. Since Jesus isn’t that visible to us and his actions aren’t always obvious, it can be tempting to follow someone with more charisma or a flashier presentation or greater social media influence. . . . But anyone other than the Messiah is, at best, a mere shadow of the real thing — and they will inevitably disappoint us.”
Today’s question: Why do you think that no rabbi dared contradict Moses? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “A hilarious skit on SNL?”