Seeing the Easter in the Exodus

Mar 17, 2025

When it comes to the Exodus, have you found the big question almost no one thought to ask in Sunday School?

Accessing world leaders has never been easy. When Moses and Aaron brought admonitions from the Lord, how could they possibly get an audience with Pharaoh? Why would a leader so powerful he received tribute from neighboring kingdoms make time for a fugitive and a slave?

Despite popular misunderstanding, Moses and this Pharaoh were not brothers. It is unlikely they were from the same dynasty. Evidence seems to point to Moses’s adoptive mother as the last pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty. She died without an heir since her adopted son left Egypt. Throughout history, when a new dynasty took control, the first thing the new regime typically did was destroy any potential heirs of the previous monarchy. This understandable but misguided fear caused Johnathan’s son, Mephibosheth to be crippled, 2 Samuel 4:4. Having been raised in the palace would not have offered Moses safety or access. It likely would have increased the danger.

Although it is certain, if God has given you a message, He will ensure that it is delivered, the Bible offers no specifics on how this particular meeting took place. However, there is a story from the Midrash, an ancient Jewish commentary on the Old Testament, which offers an explanation. Detailing the meeting between Moses and Pharoah, the story has been conveyed word for word from rabbi to student for thousands of years. While it does not bear the authority and infallibility of scripture, the saga does present a glimpse of a story common when Jesus walked the earth.

“That day was a day of Pharaoh’s reception of ambassadors, and all kinds of people came to pay him great honor. They brought gifts of crowns with which to crown him, for it was the Day of the Cosmocrator [the lord of the world], and they brought their gods with them. After the ambassadors and kings had crowned him, Moses and Aaron were standing by the door of Pharaoh’s palace.

“His servants entered and said, ‘Two elders are standing at the door.’ He said to them, ‘Let them come up.’ When they came up, he looked at them–perhaps they would crown him, or perhaps they would give him letters–but they did not even greet him. He said to them, ‘Who are you?’ They said to him, ‘We are representatives of the Holy One, praised is He.’ ‘What do you request?’ They said to him, ‘Thus says the God of Israel: Let my people go…‘At that moment Pharaoh got angry and said, ‘Who is the Lord that I should heed Him and let Israel go? He didn’t even know enough to send me a crown; rather with words alone you come to me? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go. ‘ “He said to them, ‘Wait for me until I check my book.’ He immediately entered his palace and looked up each and every nation and its gods. He began to read: the gods of Moab, and the gods of Ammon, and the gods of Sidon. He said to them, ‘I searched for his name in my archives but I could not find it.’” Rabbi Levi asked “To what parable is this similar? To a rabbi who had an idiot servant. The rabbi went outside the province. The servant went to seek his master in a cemetery. He began calling to people standing there, ‘You haven’t seen my master here?’ They said to him, ‘Your master, isn’t he a rabbi?’ He said to them, ‘Yes.’ “They said to him, ‘Idiot! Who ever saw a rabbi in a cemetery?’ So too, Moses and Aaron said to Pharaoh, ‘Idiot! Is it the way of the dead to be sought after among the living, or the living among the dead? Our God is alive; those others you mentioned are dead. But our God is a living God and an eternal King.’” Exodus Rabbah 5,14 (n.d.)

In much the same way “The Chosen”, “Left Behind”, “The Passion”, “The Prayer of Jabez” even “Veggie Tales” are widely known in church circles today, lessons like this one, found in the Midrash, provided a spiritual and cultural framework to a deeply religious society. Ancient rabbinical literature, like pastoral illustrations are not infallible authoritative words of scripture. They are concerned with teaching big ideas in familiar ways. If being asked, “Where is My Hairbrush?” has ever compelled you to sing, you understand the reach and the impact of these types of lessons. The stories become ingrained in us as they provide Biblical truths.

Unlike “Veggie Tales” the Oral Torah, was meticulously transmitted from rabbi to student for countless generations using the exact same wording long before they were written down. These teachings would have been familiar to the disciples following Jesus, religious leaders clamoring for His death, and the women who discovered the empty tomb. If some of words from the ancient tale ring familiar to you, it is likely because they are repeated every Easter in churches all over the world. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” “He is not here.” “He is alive!” You have heard about the Rabbi who could not be contained in a tomb. The settings are different, but the words delivered centuries apart are definitely the same.

Luke 24:1-6 NIV 24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen!”

Why? Why would God choose those words by the tomb that morning? Like all who effectively convey messages, our Creator chose to utilize words and ways of interacting most easily understood by His audience. The Lord applied what was commonly known in the culture to convey His message. Words which may resonate with a surfer in the Pacific may hold no meaning for a farmer in Nebraska. So, God chose expressions and illustrations which his listeners were most likely to understand. In the eyes of ancient Jews, Moses was the greatest man who had ever lived. His words could be trusted. What message would those words delivered beside a first century tomb have embedded in the hearts of the first century listener?

With a few simple sentences in a garden and Luke 24, it was announced: “The one who could not be contained in the ancient books of Egypt could not be held in a Jerusalem tomb.” “Moses was just the beginning!”, “The same God who freed the Hebrew slaves offers freedom to you!” “The God of Israel is not like the gods of this world.” “Jesus is the Messiah. He is our living God and eternal king”, “He cannot be contained. It is a ridiculous thing to look for a rabbi or the God of the living in any cemetery.”

This interaction between Moses and Pharaoh was so critical, when angels appeared at the tomb wanting to convey the immensity of the resurrection in a way everyone could understand, this is the story they referenced. Prophets had raised the dead. Others had per formed miracles. This was different. The God who had The God who had been present in Egypt was suddenly absent from the tomb. been present in Egypt was suddenly absent from the tomb. As always, He was working on behalf of His children. He was working to reach you. That is Worth Remembering.