Date
5-20-2026
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Bible Exposition (PhD)
Chair
Jason Kees
Keywords
intertextuality, new Moses, new Exodus, Mosaic typology, Deuteronomic references in Matthew
Disciplines
Christianity | Religion
Recommended Citation
Riggs, Francis, "The Deuteronomic Portrayal of the Messiah: Christ and Mosaic Typology in Matthew" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8495.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8495
Abstract
This dissertation addresses an underemphasized area in the study of Mosaic typology in the NT portrayal of Christ. Matthew’s Jesus is widely viewed in Mosaic terms, and scholars also consider the nature of his new Exodus, but there is little discussion of the character of the new Exodus participants. Yet the matter is quite relevant because the participants in the historical Exodus were disobedient, and, for the most part, they perished in the desert. Accordingly, this study seeks to find out how the new Exodus participants will be different from those of the historical Exodus, and whether they will now be obedient.
Nineteen selected intertextual references linking Matthew with Deuteronomic and Exodus passages are studied in the three exegetical chapters of the study, first in their OT contexts, and then in their NT contexts. A comparative study is also made between Matthew and the other synoptics in cases where they relate to the same OT passages. Findings of the exegetical study confirm a strong and intentional Mosaic typology in Matthew’s portrayal of Jesus. The study also reveals a pervasive theme of obedience in virtually all of the studied passages, with the obedience motif anchored in Jesus’s Great Commandment (Matt 22:37), which speaks of the commandment to love God. The OT understanding of love in this context (Deut 6:5) is characterized by covenantal obedience.
By exegeting and comparing intertextual references, the study demonstrates the pervasiveness of Matthew’s new Moses typology, and the logical link to a new Exodus. Beyond these, the study demonstrates that obedience is the key factor in the historic Exodus led by Moses, and in the new Exodus led by Jesus. Through a fuller understanding of Jesus in his Mosaic role, the Christian is to follow Christ as Israel should have followed Moses: by obedience to God’s will (Matt 7:21).
