Ok, this will again be difficult. I just scrolled through (on the Bible Hub website) the New Testament references to Moses, and I will definitely need to condense. If the following seems long, well, I still did condense.
"Whom Shall I Fear" by Chris Tomlin
New Testament references to Moses and Aaron:
- Mark 9:2-8, "Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, 'This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!' All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone."
- Moses - portrayed as a historical man.
- How could Jesus speak to imaginary men?
- Why would Jesus associate with imaginary characters before his disciples? How would that help His credibility?
- Why would Peter suggest building a real tabernacle/tent/dwelling for an imaginary Moses?
- Why would Peter, James, and John be terrified, at the same time, unless they really observed something extraordinary (i.e. the transfiguration of Christ and the appearance of ancestors)?
- Why would Peter identify an imaginary Moses?
- Luke 1:1-7, "Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters [descendents] of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years." - Aaron - portrayed as a historical man.
- Why would an eyewitness account of Christ begin with reference to descendents (Zacharias and Elizabeth) of an imaginary person Aaron?
- Why would the author profess to teach the "exact truth" and then reference an imaginary Aaron?
- Why retain the priesthood of Aaron from the conquest/settlement of Canaan through to Roman rule, if Aaron was an imaginary figure?
- Why bother with writing out an acount of Christ "in consecutive order" if you're starting with imaginary ancestry which has no place in human history?
- Why note details such as the priestly division of Abijah, when the whole priesthood had fictitious origins in an imaginary Aaron?
- John 5:39-47, "[Jesus speaking to the Jews seeking to kill Him] 'You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?'"
- Moses - portrayed as a historical man.
- How could an imaginary man Moses accuse the Jews seeking to kill Christ?
- Why would the Jews set their hope in an imaginary man?
- How could the Jews possibly "believe" the words/writings of an imaginary man? Yet, Jesus implied that they should.
- Why would Jesus inseverably tie belief in the testimony of an imaginary man Moses to belief in His own real testimony? Wouldn't this be self-defeating?
- Why would Jesus attribute "writings" to Moses, if Moses never lived?
- Acts 7:2-53, "And he said [Stephen speaking before the Jewish Council and the high priest], 'Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran . . . But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT JOSEPH. It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive. It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home. And after he had been set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds . . . MOSES FLED AND BECAME AN ALIEN IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN, where he became the father of two sons. After forty years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT Sinai . . . THE LORD SAID TO HIM, "TAKE OFF THE SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE ON WHICH YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND. I HAVE CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANS, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM; COME NOW, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT." . . . This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, "GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN." [see also Acts 3:17-24] This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, SAYING TO AARON, "MAKE FOR US GODS WHO WILL GO BEFORE US; FOR THIS MOSES WHO LED US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT—WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM." At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol . . . Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen . . . You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.'"
- Moses and Aaron - portrayed as historical men.
- Why would Stephen speak of the enslavement of real Jewish forefathers ("our fathers") and then describe their deliverance through an imaginary man Moses?
- How could the birth of an imaginary man Moses answer the "time of promise"?
- Why describe the details of Moses' birth and education, if Moses was merely an imaginary figure, when he wasn't doing anything to save Israel from bondage at that point?
- How could an imaginary man Moses be a "prophet"?
- Why would a real, coming Messiah be likened to an imaginary man? If deliverance through Moses was imaginary, would that not imply imaginary salvation through a coming Messiah?
- How could real Jewish forefathers ("Our fathers") speak to an imaginary Aaron?
- How could an imaginary Aaron lead Israel into real idolatry by fashioning idols?
- What meaning would there be for Stephen to say that his listeners were rebelling in the same manner as imaginary forefathers, such as Aaron?
- How could Israel receive the law and pattern for the tabernacle directly from God, if Moses wasn't there in person to receive God's instructions?
- Hebrews 7:11-14, "Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests."
- Moses and Aaron - portrayed as historical men.
- How could you have the real "order of Aaron", if Aaron, the originator of that order, never lived?
- How could the Levitical priesthood be tied to the real law at the same time as it was tied to an imaginary Aaron?
- If the Jewish genealogies are historically accurate in describing how Jesus was descended from Judah, why would they be merely imaginative in saying that Aaron was descended from Judah's brother Levi?
- How could an imaginary Moses' be the religious authority regarding the real priesthood?
- Why would anyone refer to the speech/writings of an imaginary man Moses?
- Hebrews 11:22-40, "By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned . . . And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect."
- Moses - portrayed as a historical man.
- How could an imaginary Moses exemplify faith?
- Why such detailed consistency on how Moses was hidden "three months" if the story about Moses is imaginative? Moses was a baby at that point and was doing nothing to save the Israelites.
- Why mention the real Egyptian Pharaohs and speak at the same time of an imaginary Moses?
- How could an imaginary Moses keep the first real Jewish Passover and motivate succeeding generations to do so also?
- How could an imaginary Moses "gain approval" through his faith?
- How could an imaginary Moses be linked to New Testament Christians ("apart from us they would not be made perfect")?
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