EXODUS

in the New Testament

ARTICLE: 20 MINUTES

Why study Exodus in the New Testament?

The Bible quotes the Bible countless times—one person even made a chart counting 65,000 parallel passages in the Bible! The Bible is an intricately interconnected book. While that’s a nice observation, does this reality impact your life?

Yes—in three ways.

First, paying attention to the cross-references in the Bible will help you see the Bible as a unified whole.

Second, paying attention to how Scripture quotes Scripture will grow your skill in learning how to interpret the Bible.

Finally, discovering how the New Testament references the Old Testament will help you understand the Old Testament stories and law, as Jesus himself and his followers explain Scripture for you.

So see for yourself where we see Exodus in the New Testament. 

Search Cross References:

Stephen Preaches from Exodus

Did you know there is a sermon in the New Testament about the events in Exodus? In Acts 7, Stephen, a disciple of Jesus, preaches to a crowd, retelling Israelite history from Genesis and Exodus. In his sermon, he directly quotes Exodus several times, and alludes to the events in Exodus.

Jesus Teaches About the Resurrection

Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6 to answer a question about the resurrection. He indicates that even though Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob physically died, they are consciously in the presence of the Lord. For, all who put their trust in the God of the Bible are promised eternal life. Using Exodus 3:6, Jesus proves that God will resurrect the dead to eternal life with him. This point is so important that the Bible repeats it three times, telling the story in three of the four gospels.

Paul Teaches Us About God’s Mercy and Salvation

In Romans 9, the Apostle Paul uses Pharaoh as an Old Testament illustration to explain that our salvation from God’s wrath towards our sin depends entirely on the mercy of God, and not on any person’s desire for God or effort.

John Identifies Jesus as the true Passover Lamb

In the Gospel of John, the author wants us to understand that the Passover celebration points to Jesus as the true Lamb of God. Jesus takes away the sins of the world by giving up his own life for sinners (John 1:29). As John tells us about Jesus’ crucifixion, he includes the important detail that although it was customary for Roman soldiers to break the legs of crucifixion victims, they chose not to break Jesus’ bones. This was one more prophetic indication that Jesus was the true Passover lamb. For just like the lamb, not one of his bones was broken.

Mary and Joseph Obey God’s Law from Exodus

We hear all over the New Testament about how Jesus was completely obedient to the law (Matthew 3:15). Even at his birth, Jesus’ parents, Mary and Joseph, obeyed the law of the Lord by consecrating Mary’s firstborn son to God.  

Paul Encourages the Corinthians to Give Generously

Paul encourages the Corinthian church to generously provide for their fellow Christians. He uses the story of the Israelites gathering manna in the wilderness to illustrate his point. God will supply the needs of all his people and will not leave them with any lack. God’s people will always have enough so they can be unsparingly generous to others.

Peter Explains Our New Identity Through Jesus

From the beginning, God has intended for those who trust in him to be his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests who help the world know God, who serve God and others, and who are totally devoted to God in their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Israel failed to carry out this identity because not all of them truly had faith. They doubted God and broke his covenant. But the apostle Peter explains in the New Testament that all who put their trust in Jesus are part of the new covenant. By believing in Jesus, we become part of God’s people, and we are given the identity God always intended for us: special, beloved, priests in God’s kingdom, who tell the world of the goodness of God.

Hebrews Tells Us How Jesus Brings Us into God’s Presence

The author of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that because Jesus is our new mediator (the one who brings us to God) we do not need to fear the presence of God any longer. In his death, Jesus the perfect sacrifice for our sins has fully paid for all our sins against God. Instead of living in fearful expectation of his judgment, those who trust in Jesus now are welcomed into the joyful presence of God and into the glory of his kingdom. In Exodus, God gave the law to his people—a law that revealed the sinfulness of their heart and need for a Savior (Rom 3:19-26). Jesus, the new Moses is our better prophet, who stands between us and God, not to declare God’s insurmountable law, but to declare God’s offer of righteousness to us, that we might accept it by faith and be welcomed into his joyful presence.  

Paul Explains the Purpose of the Law

Paul uses one of the Ten Commandments to explain that the law exists to reveal our sin. As the apostle James says, the law is like a mirror, showing us how sinful we truly are, as it names our sin.

Paul Explains a Warning in Exodus

The apostle Paul explains to the Corinthian church that the golden calf incident in Exodus was recorded to warn us against sexual immorality, idolatry, and rebellion. This story reminds us of how quickly we may succumb to temptation.

Jesus Rebukes the Pharisees for Disobeying the Law

Jesus quotes the law given to Moses in Exodus and calls it “the word of God.” He tells the Pharisees that they have ignored God’s commands in favor of their own traditions. He clearly expects them to still be obedient to the Ten Commandments.  

Paul Remembers an Old Testament Command

Paul rebukes Ananias the High Priest for his hypocrisy but then realizes that despite his correct accusation, God’s law tells him to respect those in positions of authority. Paul humbly acknowledges his mistake, quoting the law in Exodus.

 

Hebrews Explains How the Blood of Jesus Cleanses Us From Our Sins

The Lord Jesus is the new Moses, who leads us into the presence of God. Jesus offered himself as a once-for-all sacrifice for our sins, and we are sprinkled by his blood and cleansed from our sins. Because Christ’s blood has been shed for us, we are forgiven and welcomed to enter the true sanctuary of God—heaven itself.  

Hebrews Explains that Exodus Gave Us a Vision of Heaven

When we open the letter to the Hebrews, we read something remarkable. The instructions for the tabernacle were an earthly model of God’s home in heaven!

Paul Tells Us We Can See the Glory of the Lord Unveiled

The apostle Paul explains that Israel could not see the glory of God in the face of Moses. This reality reflected the people’s hearts—they could not see the glory and goodness of God in the covenant God made with them which Moses brought to them. God has made a new covenant with us in Jesus. When someone turns to Jesus in faith, God removes the veil over our hearts and helps us see God’s glory in the face of Jesus.

The New Testament Calls Us to Keep the Ten Commandments

The New Testament repeats many of the Ten Commandments. It also helps us understand that the foundation for the Ten Commandments is love.

Jesus Establishes a New Covenant

Jesus Christ establishes the New Covenant, which is the fulfillment of all the previous covenants in Scripture (to Abraham, Israel, and David). A covenant is when two people establish a relationship, like in marriage for example. The Old Testament tells of a new covenant between God and his people in Jeremiah 31:31, 33: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jesus Christ’s death on the cross establishes this new relationship (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25). The new covenant provides complete and total forgiveness for sins (Acts 13:38-39).

Through the Old Covenant, God gave Israel a law to govern their people. He instituted a legal system for his people. The Old Covenant—God’s old relationship with his people—regulated Jewish society as well as religion. When Jesus came, he established the New Covenant. Now we live free of many of the Law’s demands and are instead governed by the law of God’s Spirit dwelling with us and directing us. The new law we abide by is one of love and mercy. Matthew gives us an example of how the Old Covenant is replaced with the new—the law of justice is now replaced with a law of mercy.

Thanks for taking the time to consider these ways we see Exodus in the New Testament!

Special thanks to Krisen Marotta at Wednesday in the Word, whose blog provided us with the list of Exodus references, according to the Creative Commons ShareAlike license

—The Bibles.net Team