Jesus as the new Moses

Today's reading from the OT is from Number 11:24 to 13:33. And even though I've read this many times, I never noticed something profound from today's reading.

If you listen to Robert Barron or Scott Hahn (whom you can find on YouTube), you will learn that there are many ways in which Jesus is the new Moses. So much of what Moses did in the OT, Jesus does in fulfillment in the NT. But I never noticed the similarity in today's reading before.

Moses calls 70 elders. And he entrusts them with helping him to do his work. But what I never noticed was that God then gave these 70 elders "the same Spirit that was upon Moses." Which is exactly what Jesus did with the 70 that He sent out to proclaim the Kingdom of God, driving out evil spirits and healing people.

Scott Hahn is big on the fact that the NT is contained in the OT, and the OT is explained in the NT. And we can see here a great example of how Jesus fulfilled something that was exemplified by Moses in the OT. So many of the tests that the children of Israel failed in the OT were passed by Jesus in the NT.

And that brings us to our take home message today. Do we have that Spirit? As followers of Jesus, we can ask for that Holy Spirit to be present in our lives, enabling us to spread the Kingdom of God like Jesus's disciples did. All we have to do is ask... and then when God shows us what sins to repent of, we turn away from them. When He shows us where to go, we follow Him. And He begins to do great works through us.

God, thank You for teaching us through both the Old and New Testaments. Please help us follow you in Your spirit.