“Indeed, if you were believing Mosheh, you would have been believing me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my sayings?”
John 5:46-47, mjlt

The Jews sought to kill their own Messiah. Though the crowd was motivated by Yeshua’s supposed violation of the Shabbat, their rage was not truly founded on a love of God or His words. On the contrary, it was fueled by their disbelief of what God had spoken in the very Scriptures they appeared to defend—the Torah. Moses wrote about Yeshua many times, prophesying with symbolism, allusions, and even with plain speech. By looking at just a few examples, we can see how Moses illuminates some of the most important aspects of Yeshua’s life and work as our Messiah.

In Genesis 28, Moses recounts a vision signifying the intercessory role which Yeshua would assume. Jacob dreamed of “a stairway set upon the earth, and its head was touching the heavens. And look! Messengers of God were going up and coming down by way of it” (v. 12, mjlt). Then, standing on top of the stairway, Adonai established His covenant with Jacob, promising to bless all the families of the earth through his seed (v. 14). Through this glorious spectacle, God was showing Israel the means by which He would bless the nations: by bridging the gap between God and humanity. Yeshua revealed to His disciples that, like the stairway, He would facilitate a two-way connection between heaven and earth (John 1:51). Because Ye­shua serves as the mediator between God and men—the one and only way to reach the Father—we can now directly approach God, and He in turn can draw near to us.

Another event recorded by Moses illustrates a crucial quality of Messiah’s mission—that He gives life to all who look to Him for salvation. Numbers 21 tells of the Israelites rebelling against God such that He sent poisonous snakes to systematically wipe them out. Quickly, the people admitted their wrongdoing, pleading for God to cease from His punishment and send the snakes away. So in His mercy, “Adonai said to Mosheh, ‘Make for yourself a burning [bronze] serpent, and set it on a standard. And it will be: everyone who… has seen it—he will live’” (v. 8, mjlt). Rather than driving away the snakes as the people had asked, God instead chose to deliver them by picturing the salvation of the Master Yeshua. Whenever anyone looked toward the bronze statue—upraised for all to see—God would heal them and give them life. Likewise, Yeshua explained that “as Mosheh lifted up the serpent in the desert, so it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up,” so that all who see and believe in Him will find eternal life (John 3:14-15, mjlt). Just as God gave the serpent to Israel as the way of deliverance from His punishment, so also did He give His Son to provide the path of escape and salvation from His wrath and destruction (v. 16).

And finally, Moses not only alluded to Yeshua’s provision of life and deliverance from punishment, but also revealed how He would accomplish this salvation—by dying on our behalf. In Genesis 22, God tested Abraham, commanding him to sacrifice his beloved son. As the two of them ascended to the place of sacrifice, Abraham hid his true purpose from Isaac, assuring him, “God will see to a lamb for Himself for a burnt-offering” (v. 8, mjlt). Then, by faith, Abraham reached out to slaughter Isaac, but God suddenly stopped him, providing a ram to be offered in Isaac’s place (v. 12-14). As Abraham had said, God did provide the sacrifice—yet Yeshua tells us that there was another Lamb whom Abraham joyfully saw that day (John 8:56). Like Isaac, we too are destined for death. But God, in His loving-kindness, has “redeemed [us] with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and unspotted—Messiah’s!” (1 Peter 1:18-19, mjlt). Yeshua the Messiah—the perfect Lamb of God—has been sacrificed in our place, so that by His death, we might find life.

As he penned the first words of Scripture, Moses bore witness to the coming of the Master Yeshua. In writing about Jacob’s stairway, he prophesied that Yeshua would intercede between God and humanity, giving us direct access to the Father. As he raised the bronze serpent, he signified that Yeshua would give us life when we look to Him, being lifted up as the embodiment of God’s salvation. And when he told of the ram which was provided to redeem Isaac, he foreshadowed that God would offer Yeshua as a sacrifice in our place. Then, having written all these things (and more!) about the Messiah, Moses spoke of Him plainly, giving a command for Israel to follow when He finally arrived.

“Adonai your God will raise up to you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. You will listen to him….”
Deuteronomy 18:15, mjlt

Today, many Jewish people strive to blamelessly observe all the statutes of the Torah of Moses. But as long as they refuse to believe Yeshua’s words, any such obedience is impossible, for one simple reason: Moses commanded that they listen to Him. If Israel ever hopes to truly follow Adonai their God, then they must hear the testimony of the prophet Moses, and believe the greatest Prophet ever sent… the One raised up from among them—Yeshua.

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