1. Moses Was Preserved from Death as an Infant
Pharaoh commanded that every Hebrew boy be cast into the Nile. Moses' mother hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she placed him in a basket among the reeds of the river. Pharaoh's daughter found him, had compassion on him, and raised him as her own son. Jesus was also preserved from death as an infant. Herod sought to kill Him by slaughtering all male children in Bethlehem. An angel warned Joseph, who fled with Mary and Jesus to Egypt. Both Moses and Jesus were preserved by God for their divine missions.
2. Moses Chose to Suffer with God's People
Moses was raised as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, enjoying the riches of Egypt. But when he grew up, he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Jesus, though He was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and became obedient to death on a cross. Both chose suffering over worldly glory.
3. Moses Was the Deliverer of Israel from Bondage
The Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush and said, "I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land." He sent Moses to Pharaoh to demand, "Let My people go." Through signs and wonders, Moses led Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and toward the Promised Land. Jesus is the greater Deliverer. He delivers His people not from physical bondage in Egypt but from spiritual bondage to sin, Satan, and death. He leads them out of darkness into His marvelous light.
4. Moses Was a Prophet Like No Other
The Lord said to Moses, "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him." Moses was the greatest prophet of the Old Covenant. He spoke face to face with God. But Jesus is the Prophet like Moses, yet greater. He is the Word made flesh. He spoke not merely the words of God; He is the Word of God. Moses prophesied of Christ, and Christ fulfilled that prophecy.
5. Moses Was the Mediator of the Old Covenant
Moses went up on Mount Sinai and received the law from God. He mediated the covenant between God and Israel. He sprinkled the blood of the covenant on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words." Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant. He did not sprinkle the blood of animals; He shed His own blood. He said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you." The writer of Hebrews calls Jesus the Mediator of a better covenant, established on better promises.
6. Moses Interceded for the People After Their Sin
When Israel sinned by making the golden calf, the Lord threatened to destroy them. Moses interceded on their behalf. He said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin. Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." Jesus intercedes for His people. He ever lives to make intercession for them. He does not merely offer to be blotted out; He was blotted out in their place. He died for their sins. Moses' intercession is a type of Christ's intercession.
7. Moses Lifted Up the Bronze Serpent in the Wilderness
When the people were bitten by fiery serpents, the Lord told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. Whoever looked at the bronze serpent lived. Jesus explicitly identified this as a type of His own crucifixion: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Moses lifted up the serpent; Christ was lifted up on the cross. Both provided salvation to those who looked in faith.
8. Moses Was Faithful as a Servant; Christ as a Son
The writer of Hebrews compares Moses and Christ: "And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, but Christ as a Son over His own house." Moses served God faithfully. He is worthy of honor. But Christ is greater. A servant is not above the son. Moses pointed to Christ; Christ is the fulfillment. The faithfulness of Moses is a type of the perfect faithfulness of Jesus.
9. Moses Did Not Enter the Promised Land; Christ Leads Us In
Because of his sin at Meribah, Moses was not permitted to enter the Promised Land. He saw it from Mount Pisgah but did not enter. Jesus, the greater Moses, not only brings His people to the border of the Promised Land but leads them into the heavenly rest. He has entered heaven itself, and He is the forerunner who opens the way. Moses died and was buried; Christ died, rose, and ascended. The one could not enter; the other has entered and brings His people with Him.
10. Moses Appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration
On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, speaking of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, the prophet, bore witness to Jesus. The law and the prophets point to Christ. Moses' appearance with Jesus confirms that Moses was a type of the coming Messiah. He saw Christ's day and was glad. The transfiguration reveals that Moses' work was not in vain; it was fulfilled in Christ.
Conclusion
Moses was a prophet, deliverer, lawgiver, mediator, and intercessor. He was preserved from death, chose suffering over worldly glory, led Israel out of bondage, mediated the covenant, interceded for sinners, lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, and spoke of a coming Prophet like himself. All of these point to Jesus Christ, the greater Moses. Jesus is the Deliverer from sin, the Mediator of a better covenant, the Intercessor who ever lives, and the Prophet whom we must hear. Let every believer look to Jesus, the greater than Moses.