Jesus Is…The FulfillmentSample

Day 2 – Jesus is…the new Moses.

Matthew 4:1-17 (ESV)

Devotional: The Gospel of Matthew shows many intentional parallels to the book of Exodus, presenting Jesus as a new and greater Moses. The Gospel writers use the deep respect Jewish readers had for Moses to highlight the greatness of Jesus. Just as Moses led God's people out of slavery in Egypt, Jesus leads His people out of slavery to sin. Moses gave the Law to point people to God; Jesus is the fulfillment of that Law and the One to whom the Law was always pointing. All of Scripture finds its fulfillment in Him. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, where He was tempted by Satan, which can be compared to Israel's 40 years of testing in the wilderness after the exodus. Yet, where Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. He perfectly obeyed the Father, never giving in to temptation. Jesus did what we could never do: He lived a life of perfect obedience, died a sacrificial death, and rose again to bring us salvation. As Moses lifted the bronze serpent in the wilderness so that the Israelites might be saved, so Jesus calls us to look to Him for eternal life.

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for being the new Moses. You did what Moses could not: You brought us back to You. We look to You for eternal Life. Thank you for what You did on the cross!