Where did Moses write about Jesus?

Question

Jesus said that Moses wrote about Him:

If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.

John 5:46

Where did Moses write about Jesus? My thoughts were:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

Genesis 3:15

and possibly Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

Are there any other places that Moses wrote about Jesus?

Answer 1

Moses wrote many things that foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah.

• Jesus is, indeed, the Passover Lamb, as those who put their faith in His death and the blood He shed are rescued from the judgment that is to come. (John 3:16-18)
• Like the manna in the desert, Jesus is the Bread from Heaven (John 6:51) that satisfies our spiritual hunger and gives us life.
• Like the water that sprung from the rock, Jesus is the living water (John 7:37) that satisfies our spiritual thirst.
• Like the snake in the desert that was lifted up that those who were bitten by deadly snakes could look upon and be saved, Jesus was lifted up so that we who have been bitten by Satan in our sin can look upon Jesus and be saved from spiritual death. (John 3:14-15)
• Like the rock that was struck the first time, but should never be struck again, Jesus suffered once for all. (1 Peter 3:18)
• Jesus is the offspring of the woman spoken of in Genesis 3 that would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15)
• Jesus is the fulfillment of the life of Joseph, which foreshadows Him being the beloved Son, being envied by His own, begin rejected by His own, cast down into the pit, resurrected, sent to a distant country where He became lord of all, and who then provided salvation for His own.
• Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah: cf. Genesis 49:8ff as interpreted by Revelation 5:5
• Moses also said that God would raise up "a prophet like me" (Deuteronomy 18:15), and this is probably the clearest reference to the coming Messiah.

Answer 2

One example is:

Deuteronomy 32:43 (NIV)
⁴³ Rejoice, you nations, with his people,
   for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will take vengeance on his enemies
   and make atonement for his land and people.

Which we know from Hebrews 1:6 is referring to Christ.

However, I suspect that Jesus was referring to the fact that much of Mosaic law was a type, or shadow, of Christ and the new covenant. The book of Hebrews deals with this extensively, and deals with how Christ is the fulfilment of the law.

Hebrews 8:4-5 (NIV)
⁴ If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. ⁵ They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Hebrews 10:1 (NIV)
¹ The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

Some examples are:

• The promised land (God's rest) was a shadow of salvation (Hebrews 4)
• Animal sacrifices were a shadow of Christ's sacrifice (especially the passover Lamb)
• High priests were a shadow of Christ as our High Priest (Hebrews 5)
• The tabernacle was a shadow of the tabernacle in heaven, where Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 8)

Answer 3

As soon as I posted this question, my mind went to the famous story of Jacob's ladder, in Genesis 28:10-22. Two verses in particular stick out for me:

He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Verse 12. This is because Jesus is our bridge to Heaven, and He appeared to confirm this reference in John 1:51:

He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

And, of course, we have the famous prophetic act of Abraham sacrificing Isaac in Genesis 22:1-19, representing God sacrificing His Son Jesus for us.

Answer 4

Jesus a perfect sacrifice (a fulfillment of the law of Moses)

1. the Lamb in the first passover of Exodus 12 had to be kept for four days before the passover for inspection. Jesus fulfulled the law in that way because in the few days leading up to his death, on the passover, he was questioned the most severely by the Jews.(Luke 20:40 - And after that they dared not ask him any question at all)

2. The High Priest and the Jewish leaders went out to seek people who would bring false accusations against Jesus, but they could not find any two people who could agree:--by the testimony off two or more witnesses, a word will be established. (Matthew 26:59-61The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward).

3. Pilate could not find any fault in Jesus and washed his hands so that his blood would not be on him. (Luke 23:22 And he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has this man done? ... I have not found any fault in him that deserves death).