Remember history class? Remember how boring history seemed? Especially if you had a boring teacher, history could be a real drag. Who cares if Magellan sailed around the world in 1592? Who cares if more than a million people were killed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution? Who cares if humans first walked on the moon in 1969?

These are just a few of the many momentous events that have shaped our world. Contrary to popular opinion, history is important. We need to know our history, and we need to understand how the past has shaped the present. If we fail to understand our past, we will fail to understand who we are today.

The Bible tells us about events that happened in the ancient past. Believe it or not, those events continue to shape our lives today. The people and events recorded in the Old Testament are not simply relics of a distant past. Their stories continue to speak to us, and the consequences of what people did—or failed to do—continue to affect our lives today. If we want to understand who we are as God’s people, we need to understand the people of the Old Testament and how their experiences relate to our lives today.

One way to understand the Old Testament is to examine how Jesus used it in his teaching. Sometimes Jesus showed how he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. At other times, he used Old Testament events to illustrate spiritual truths. And sometimes, he explained the deeper implications of the Old Testament law, showing how his teaching brought its demands into sharper focus.

One Old Testament book Jesus frequently drew upon was Exodus.

Today, I want us to consider three ways Jesus used the book of Exodus in his teaching: Jesus quotes from Exodus to explain God’s power to raise the dead. Jesus draws upon Exodus to describe his ministry of bringing eternal life, and Jesus draws upon the Law of Moses to show how his teaching fulfills and deepens its demands. Let’s begin with the resurrection. Jesus Quotes from Exodus to Explain God’s Power to Raise the Dead

In Mark 12, Jesus confronts a group of Sadducees who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Jesus challenges their understanding of Scripture and their understanding of God’s power. Jesus says:

Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong. (Mark 12:24–27)

Jesus refers to an event recorded in Exodus 3:1–6. This is the account of Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush.

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:1–6)

When God speaks to Moses from the burning bush, he identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These men had died long before Moses encountered God. Yet Jesus points out that God identifies himself as their God. Jesus concludes that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. He uses this passage to demonstrate that death does not place people beyond God’s power. God is able to raise the dead to life.

Notice that Jesus does more than correct the Sadducees’ misunderstanding about the resurrection. He also criticizes their failure to understand Scripture and appreciate God’s power. On another occasion, Jesus made the same point when he told the Sadducees, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). Their misunderstanding of God’s Word had led them to false conclusions about what God could do.

Jesus frequently challenged people who lacked spiritual understanding. Sometimes he even rebuked his own disciples because they failed to understand what he was teaching. If Jesus were here with us today, I wonder what he might say to us. Would he tell us that we, too, sometimes fail to understand the Scriptures?

The older I get, the less certain I am about some things I once believed without question. Why? Because I’ve had more time to read, study, and think.

Don’t ever stop learning. Don’t assume you already know everything there is to know about the Bible. We would be naive to think that everything we believe is one hundred percent correct. If we study the Bible carefully and remain willing to reconsider our assumptions, we may discover that some things we’ve believed for years need a better explanation. The Sadducees were wrong because they misunderstood Scripture and underestimated God’s power. Their mistake reminds us that we must never limit God to what we consider possible.

When we read the Bible, we begin with certain foundational beliefs. We believe that God exists and that he possesses the power to do what is impossible for human beings. If God is truly all-powerful, then miracles are not beyond his ability.

Think about the resurrection of Jesus. Skeptics and atheists challenge the resurrection because they have never seen a dead person come back to life. From a purely human perspective, that objection might seem reasonable. We know that people die, and we know that death is irreversible under ordinary circumstances.

But the resurrection is not an ordinary event. It is an act of God. If God has the power to create life, why should we conclude that he lacks the power to restore life? If God raised Jesus from the dead, we can trust his promise that he will raise us, too. Jesus quotes from Exodus to demonstrate that death does not defeat God’s power. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of the living. He has the power to raise the dead and give his people life beyond the grave.

But Jesus uses the book of Exodus for another purpose as well. He draws upon an event from Israel’s history to explain the kind of life he came to give.

In John 6, Jesus has a conversation with people who want him to perform a sign that will convince them to believe in him. They remind Jesus that their ancestors ate manna in the wilderness. They refer to the miraculous provision of bread that God gave the Israelites during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:30–35)

Jesus is referring to an event recorded in Exodus 16:4:

Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.’

God provided manna to sustain the Israelites in the wilderness. Without food, they would have been unable to survive their journey. God met their physical needs by providing bread from heaven.

But Jesus takes this familiar story and uses it to explain something much greater. He tells the people that Moses did not give them the true bread from heaven. God was the one who provided the manna. And now God has sent something greater than manna.

Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life.”

The manna sustained the Israelites physically, but it could not give them eternal life. Those who ate it eventually grew hungry again, and eventually they died. Jesus, however, offers something that ordinary bread cannot provide. He offers spiritual life—eternal life—to those who come to him in faith.

Jesus says that whoever comes to him will never hunger and whoever believes in him will never thirst. Jesus is telling the people that he is God’s provision for their deepest spiritual need. Just as God provided bread to sustain Israel in the wilderness, he has sent Jesus to give life to the world.

There is another important connection between Moses and Jesus. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses tells the Israelites that God will raise up a prophet like him and commands the people to listen to that prophet. Jesus is that prophet, but he is greater than Moses.

God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. In a far greater act of deliverance, God sent Jesus to redeem us from slavery to sin. God provided manna to sustain his people during their wilderness journey. Jesus is the bread of life who offers eternal life to everyone who believes in him. The author of Hebrews makes the superiority of Jesus clear when he writes that Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses (Hebrews 3:3).

Moses was God’s servant, but Jesus is greater than Moses. Moses helped lead God’s people toward the Promised Land, but Jesus leads his people into the eternal life God has promised. The manna was a gift from God that met a temporary physical need. Jesus is God’s gift to meet our deepest spiritual need. The people who ate the manna eventually died. Those who trust in Jesus have the promise of eternal life.

Jesus draws upon the book of Exodus to explain that he is the bread of life. He came to do more than meet our physical needs. He came to reconcile us to God and give us eternal life. But there is a third way Jesus uses the Old Testament. He draws upon the Law of Moses to explain the deeper demands of God’s will and the kind of righteousness God expects from his people.

One place where we see this is in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon, Jesus refers to commandments and principles found in the Law of Moses. He explains how God’s law reaches beyond outward behavior to address our thoughts, attitudes, and intentions.

Let’s begin by reading Exodus 20:1–19 and Exodus 21:22–25.

Now let’s look at how Jesus addresses some of these laws in his Sermon on the Mount.

In Matthew 5:17, he explicitly says: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Jesus is not simply discarding the Law of Moses and replacing it with something unrelated. Instead, he reveals the deeper moral demands of God’s will. He shows that righteousness involves more than outward compliance with a commandment.

Let’s consider three examples. In Matthew 5:21–22, Jesus says:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

The Law of Moses prohibited murder. Jesus takes that commandment and directs our attention to the attitudes that can lie behind such behavior.

Jesus teaches that we cannot measure our righteousness simply by asking whether we have physically harmed or killed someone. We must also examine what is happening in our hearts. Hatred, contempt, and malicious anger are serious spiritual problems. They reveal something wrong within us, even when we have never committed a violent act. The apostle John understood this connection. In 1 John 3:15, he writes that anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

You may pride yourself on being a good person because you’ve never killed anyone. You may think that you’re a law-abiding citizen who has never committed a serious crime. But have you ever hated someone? Have you ever wanted to hurt someone because of something they said or did? Have you ever tried to destroy someone’s reputation because you were angry with them?

We may never stab someone with a physical knife, but we can stab people in the back with our words. We can wound them with insults, ridicule, and contempt. Jesus wants us to look beneath our outward behavior and examine our hearts. Perhaps you’re a polite person who would never call someone a fool to their face. But have you ever thought such things about another person? Have you ever looked down on someone and treated them as though they were beneath you?

Jesus wants us to recognize these attitudes so that we can confront them honestly. He wants us to allow God to heal our brokenness and transform the way we think about other people. The commandment against murder is not merely about preventing the physical act of killing. Jesus challenges us to reject the hatred and contempt that can poison our relationships.

God wants more than outward obedience. He wants hearts transformed by his love. Jesus next addresses the commandment against adultery. In Matthew 5:27, he says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ” He then explains that the commandment reaches beyond the physical act of adultery to include lustful intent. Once again, Jesus is not abolishing the commandment. He is exposing the deeper moral issue behind it. The sins we commit often begin in our hearts and minds. Our outward behavior frequently reflects what has been developing within us.

Lust can become a powerful force in a person’s life. It can take hold unexpectedly, dominate a person’s thoughts, and eventually lead to behavior that causes deep regret. Many married men would never consider being unfaithful to their wives. They love their wives and want to remain faithful to them, yet they may still struggle with lustful thoughts. Jesus wants us to understand that faithfulness is about more than avoiding the physical act of adultery. It also involves how we look at other people and what we allow ourselves to desire.

Jesus brings the issue into the open because he wants us to confront it rather than pretend it isn’t a problem. If you struggle with lust, don’t ignore it or assume it will take care of itself. Recognize the problem and take steps to address it before it causes greater harm. Jesus teaches us that God cares not only about what we do but also about the desires and intentions of our hearts.

Finally, Jesus addresses the principle of retribution. In Matthew 5:38–39, he says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

What does Jesus mean?

Retribution is the idea of imposing a punishment in response to a wrong. The principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth established a standard of proportionate justice. Punishment was not to exceed the offense. The Law of Moses placed limits on punishment. It called for justice rather than excessive retaliation. Jesus is not saying that judges and magistrates should abandon justice or that governments should stop holding criminals accountable for their actions. He is addressing how we, as individuals, should respond when someone wrongs, insults, or provokes us.

Our natural instinct is often to fight back. Someone insults us, and we insult them in return. Someone embarrasses us, and we look for an opportunity to embarrass them. Someone hurts us, and we want to make them hurt, too. We want to get even. But Jesus calls us to a different way of living. He says that when someone slaps us on the right cheek, we should turn the other cheek. Rather than retaliating, we should refuse to let another person’s hostility dictate our response.

A slap on the right cheek could have been delivered with the back of the right hand, making it an act of insult as well as an act of aggression. Jesus’ example emphasizes the challenge of responding to humiliation without seeking revenge.

How should we respond when someone tries to provoke us?

When I was growing up, my dad gave me advice that often encouraged me to stand my ground. As a kid, I got into plenty of fights. I wasn’t about to let anyone call me a coward. It wasn’t until I began seeing people use guns and knives that I realized how dangerous fighting could be. I eventually learned that some confrontations simply aren’t worth having. My father-in-law had a different approach to raising his boys. He discouraged them from fighting. He taught them that a fight could end with someone in jail or in the hospital. Rather than encouraging them to fight back, he encouraged them to walk away.

That advice is much closer to what Jesus teaches. When someone insults you or tries to provoke you into a fight, you don’t have to accept the challenge. You can refuse to retaliate. You can choose to de-escalate the situation rather than make it worse. Someone calls you a name. You don’t have to call them a name in return. Someone ridicules you or puts you down. You don’t have to retaliate with insults of your own.

Someone tries to provoke you. You don’t have to prove that you’re tougher than they are. Of course, refusing to retaliate does not mean that we must remain in dangerous situations or allow others to abuse us. It means that we should not make revenge our goal or respond to hostility with hostility. Jesus calls us to a better way—a way of peace, self-control, and love for others.

Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). We cannot be peacemakers if our first instinct is always to fight back. We cannot overcome evil by allowing anger and revenge to control us. Jesus wants us to break the cycle of retaliation. Instead of asking how we can get even, we should ask how we can respond in a way that honors God.

The Law of Moses established a principle of justice: punishment should be proportionate to the offense. Jesus teaches his followers not to turn that principle into a personal license for revenge. He calls us to look beyond our desire to get even and to seek peace wherever possible.

We can learn a great deal about God, ourselves, and our faith by examining how Jesus used the Old Testament. Today, we’ve considered three ways Jesus drew upon the book of Exodus and the Law of Moses.

First, Jesus quoted from Exodus to explain God’s power to raise the dead. By referring to God’s encounter with Moses at the burning bush, Jesus demonstrated that death does not place anyone beyond God’s power. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of the living.

Second, Jesus drew upon the story of manna in the wilderness to explain his ministry of bringing eternal life. Just as God provided bread to sustain the Israelites, he sent Jesus to meet our deepest spiritual need. Jesus is the bread of life, and those who believe in him have the promise of eternal life.

Third, Jesus drew upon the Law of Moses to reveal the deeper demands of God’s will. He taught that righteousness involves more than avoiding murder, adultery, or unjust retaliation. God wants us to examine our hearts, reject hatred and lust, and respond to others with peace rather than revenge. These lessons remind us that we cannot fully understand Jesus without understanding the Scriptures he used in his teaching.

So let me leave you with a suggestion. Before we rush into the New Testament, we need to become familiar with the Old Testament. Reading the Bible is a little like learning to swim. Before you jump into deep water, you need to learn the basics. The Old Testament provides an essential foundation for understanding the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus. The apostle Paul reminds us that the events recorded in Israel’s history serve as examples and warnings for us (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11).

Those events happened long ago, but they continue to teach us important lessons about God, human nature, faith, and obedience. If we want to understand Jesus, we need to understand the Bible he read and taught. We need to know the Old Testament. The more we understand the Scriptures Jesus used, the more clearly we will see who he is, what he came to do, and how he calls us to live.

Jesus used the Old Testament to teach us about God’s power, his gift of eternal life, and the deeper righteousness God desires from his people. If we want to understand Jesus, we must first learn to understand his Bible.