34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:34–36, ESV)

One danger of the New Testament Christmas story is its familiarity. Many bible passages that promise or depict the birth of Jesus have grooved their way into our souls. We hear them like we hear an old song. The age-old stories of Mary and Gabriel, Joseph and Bethlehem, or the star and the wise men bring us warmth and comfort. The shepherds' joy, the angelic choir, or Simeon and Anna's reception of baby Jesus in the temple remind us that our Savior has come. Just hearing little Linus from the Peanut's gang recite the Christmas story from Luke's gospel can calm the weary Jesus-follower's soul.

For as good as all this familiarity can be, there is a danger that we might not hear the story for what it is. But we must not sentimentalize the Bible's depiction of the great war Yahweh waged against everything that separated us from himself—and we must pay attention to the details as the Holy Spirit in the Holy Scriptures lays them out.

As you know, our church has been studying the book of Exodus together. I hope it has been a refreshment for you. I can only speak for myself, but Exodus is slowly becoming one of my favorite passages of Scripture. One thing I have tried to unpack there is that the original exodus of Israel from their Egyptian slavery into the Promised Land is a type of the great exodus Christ won (and will win) for his people. Just as the Hebrews were set free, so Christ seeks to set you free. Just as the Hebrews were meant to serve God instead of Pharaoh, so you are meant to serve God instead of sin. And just as the Hebrews were introduced to fellowship with God at his tabernacle, so we are introduced to close fellowship with God through the work of the cross.

To put it another way, to experience exodus is to have God set you free so that you can know him. Experiencing exodus today is to experience God's age-old mission to bring humanity—including us as a group and you as an individual—into closer relationship with himself. God sets us free so that we will know him.

And the method God used to introduce this freedom to the world came through the incarnation of his Son, born in that Bethlehem stable so many years ago. The Christmas story is, in other words, a story of exodus—the exodus of which the original exodus foreshadowed.

There are so many clear and obvious parallels between the first exodus and the one Christ wins for us. We need to look past the familiarity of the story so that we might see them. This Christmas, I believe it would be good for us to see the story of Jesus' birth as an exodus story by looking at the characters, details, and images the gospel writers used to describe it. That will be our outline today—first, we will look at the characters found in both Israel's exodus and Jesus' birth story. Second, we will think about the details found in both stories. And third, we will consider the themes that started in the original exodus that extend to the true exodus Jesus came to bring.[^1] In each section, I am going to propose a question of application about experiencing exodus today—questions I hope the Spirit uses to search our hearts.

1. Exodus Characters

First, let's consider the overlapping characters in the Old Testament story of the exodus and the New Testament story of Christmas. Before we jump to the baby in the manger, we must recall how both stories begin with a background genealogy. Matthew began his gospel by recounting generations of God's people all the way back to Abraham, while Exodus began by recounting generations of God's people all the way back to Abraham's grandson, Israel (Matt. 1:1-17, Ex. 1:1-7).

Both stories begin under the shadow of a world power and its sovereign. In Exodus, Pharaoh sits on the throne of Egypt and holds sway over the entire region. The Hebrew people toiled under his tyrannical hand. In the New Testament, it is the Roman Empire that dominated the world, and Israel trudged along as an occupied people living in subservience to this foreign power. And when Caesar Augustus gave the command that "all the world should be registered" at their family town of origin, Joseph and Mary were at his mercy (Luke 2:1-3).

And both stories depict the tyranny in the same way. In Exodus, Pharaoh feared the Hebrew multitude and decided to curb their growth with an edict that all their baby boys should be killed (Ex. 1:16). In the New Testament, the local king, a man named Herod, grew fearful when the wise men told him the king of the Jews was born in Bethlehem, and commanded that all the baby boys there be killed (Matt. 2:16).

Both stories include brave women. In Exodus, the midwives are the first heroes. Then Moses' older sister Miriam is used to bring baby Moses back to his mother. In her older years, she became a recognized leader among God's people, teaching them to worship God for his great acts of deliverance. Her brother Aaron became the first high priest in Exodus, and he was married to a woman named Elisheba (Ex. 6:23). In the New Testament, the Christmas story begins with a priest who is married to a barren woman named Elizabeth and an angel speaking to a young woman named Mary. The new Elisheba and Miriam take center stage as the mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth.

Both stories depict their events as initiated by God's loving heart for his people. In Exodus, Yahweh is said to have "remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Ex. 2:24). And when the cry of his people arose, "God heard their groaning" (Ex. 2:23-24). In the New Testament, John the Baptist's dad, the priest, was named Zechariah—his name means "the Lord remembers." After Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph dedicated him to God in the temple. While there, an old man named Simeon rejoiced that his eyes had seen God's salvation—his name means "heard" (Luke 2:25-32). Just as God had in the original exodus when God heard the cry of humanity and remembered his long-range promise to deliver us, he sent his only begotten Son that first Christmas.

One last character that appears in both stories is the savior baby. In Exodus, Moses is born during a time of peril. One day, he would deliver God's people. In the New Testament, Jesus is also born during a dark time. We will focus on him throughout this study, but it is fascinating that he is named Jesus. This is the Greek version of the name Joshua. In the Old Testament story, Moses took the people out of Egypt but couldn't take them into the Promised Land. For that, Joshua was installed as leader. But in the New Testament, Jesus is better than Moses, fulfills the law for us, and becomes our Joshua, who brings us into the Promised Land.

My intention here is not to bombard you with a name after overlapping name just so we can geek out on some obvious foreshadowing found in writings separated by well over a thousand years. I mean, it is amazing, and it helps us understand God was actively involved in a long-range rescue project. But I have told you about these characters so that I can ask a question: What role might you play in someone else's exodus?

What I mean is that God is at work producing exoduses in the lives of his people. He wants to rescue us from sin and its impact so that we can know him better. And, just as he used people like Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to produce the first exodus, so he uses his people today. At times, we are meant to be a source of rescue for others—even people we know well.

This highlights the importance of getting around the right people. The Proverbs tells us that when we walk with the wise, we become wise, but that the companion of fools suffers harm (Prov. 13:20). It also tells us that "as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another"—and this sharpening effect is often a miniature exodus (Prov. 27:17). So many of us have found what we've needed to change or transform because of the presence of good people and their example. Paul agreed with this sentiment when he said, "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good character'" (1 Cor. 15:33, NLT).

And what role might you play in someone else's miniature exodus? You might be the one to tell them about Christ in the first place. You might help someone overcome an addiction. You might be the encouragement another parent needs to raise their children well. You might help show the way for a classmate to be honest and hardworking. You might be the one to show a coworker what it looks like to be free of anger, laziness, or a host of other workplace cancers. You might be the coach who serves to help someone rise above their couch potato status and start working out again. If you are open, God will give you thousands of opportunities to be a shepherd who guides a wayward sheep, a lighthouse that shows the way through treacherous waters, or a firefighter who rescues someone from the flames that are consuming them. In ways large and small, we must be ready for the role God has for us.

2. Exodus Details

Second, let's consider the overlapping details in the Old Testament story of the exodus and the New Testament story of Christmas. It is in these details that the Christmas story overlaps most obviously with Exodus. I have already mentioned that both begin under the thumb of a massive and dominating foreign power. I have also already mentioned that brave women are found at the outset of both stories, leading to the birth of a baby who will grow up to be the savior. But I have not yet mentioned the wailing mothers that dominate the scene at the outset of both stories. In Exodus, mothers feared the death of their baby boys, but in Matthew, the mothers of Bethlehem wept with loud lamentation for their children, refusing to be comforted (Matt. 1:16-18). The New Testament's Herod became the new Pharaoh, out to destroy God's people lest he lose his grip on the throne.

There are many other details that overlap. In Exodus, God delivers his people by appearing to a shepherd in the burning bush and as the angel of the Lord (Ex. 3:1-4). In the New Testament, the angelic choirs appeared to a group of shepherds watching their flocks at night, telling them the deliverer was a newborn baby lying in a manger in Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-14).

In Exodus, the Israelites received gifts of gold and the like after the night of Passover (Ex. 12:35-36). And after they were out in the wilderness, they received wisdom from Moses' father-in-law, a non-Israelite man from the East (Ex. 18:17-27). In the New Testament, baby Jesus became the new Israel of God when he received gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh from wise men of the East (Matt. 2:11).

In Exodus, Yahweh led the people away from a dangerous king, only to wait in the wilderness for a time before going into the Promised Land (Ex. 12-14, Deut. 34). In the New Testament, God led Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to escape the doom of Herod's threats, where they waited for a time before heading back into Nazareth in Israel. The major difference in the two stories is that in Exodus they fled Egypt, but in Jesus' story his family ran down to Egypt, staying there for a time, which fulfilled Hosea's prophecy that out of Egypt God would call his Son (Matt. 2:13-15, 19-21, Hos. 11:1). In one sense, this was a redemption of Egypt. The place where Israel was enslaved became the place of refuge for the holy family.

These Christmastime parallels with Exodus are only the beginning. The angel told Joseph to name Mary's baby Jesus; this is the Greek version of the Old Testament name Joshua. The original Joshua was the one who finally took Israel into the Promised Land forty years after their original departure from Egypt. Moses served as a forerunner for Joshua, just as John served as a forerunner for the new Joshua, Jesus. John—the last of the law and prophets—could not take us into the Promised Land of God's favor. Only Jesus could.

The Exodus told the story of Israel passing through the baptismal waters of the Red Sea—their story really got going once they survived the sea (Ex. 14-15, 1 Cor. 10:1-2). The New Testament story of Jesus really got going once he was baptized in the waters of the Jordan River (Matt. 3:13-17).

The exodus story led to forty years of testing through wilderness wandering for Israel, and Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness dealing with temptation and testing (Matt. 4:1-2).

The Exodus included the performing of many miracles, most of which were destructive in nature—death, chaos, de-creation. But when Jesus came along, he healed sicknesses, raised the dead, and did not need to part the waters because he could walk on them.

Exodus tells us that after they became a multitude wandering in the wilderness, Moses organized the Israelite community with elders who could help him communicate God's law to the people (Ex. 18:13-26). The New Testament tells us that Jesus went up to the mountain and chose twelve disciples to help form the new community of the church (Mark 3:13-19).

Exodus tells us that the multitudes followed the cloud, eating manna that God provided. The New Testament tells us that the multitudes followed Jesus into the wilderness, eating the bread he miraculously provided.

Exodus tells us that Moses taught everyone the law he'd received on the mountain (Ex. 19:20, 20:1-17). The New Testament gives us Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, describing the newness of life available in him by his power (Matt. 5-7).

The exodus event led Israel to war—to defend their existence and to gain the land—and Jesus said he did not come to bring peace on earth, but to bring the sword (Matt. 10:34).

Israel started to receive the Promised Land when Jericho's walls fell down; Jesus predicted Jerusalem itself would be destroyed, and that the wall that separated Jew and Gentile from each other, not to mention God, would be destroyed (Matt. 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Eph. 2:14-16).

And the conquest of the Promised Land began with God telling Joshua that everywhere Israel placed their feet was theirs; Jesus told his disciples that he would be with us to the very ends of the earth as we make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20).

All these details help us make the connection: Just as the Old Testament saints went through their exodus, we are to go through ours. And so many of the details of their story might be found in ours, which leads me to ask you my second question: What details of your life and world make you long for exodus?

Again, I am not asking about departure from a difficult housing, work, or family situation. Nor am I asking what in this world makes you long to leave it. I am asking, what details of your life and world make you long to be closer to God right now? Exodus is about knowing God more. Israel became disillusioned with Egypt before they learned more about the Great I AM. And it was when the darkness of Roman dominance cast its pall upon first-century Israel that Christ came. What elements of your life drive you to want to know God more? What relational pressures could drive you to him? What unreasonable expectations have led you to become disillusioned and in need of hope? What political frustrations and atrocities could throw you into deeper fellowship with God? What physical ailments could cause you to cry out to the living God? So much of this exodus stuff is in the realm of the mind: What grooves, habits, and beliefs does God want to pull you out of so that you might know him more? What elements of your life and world could make you long to experience exodus so that you could know God?

3. Exodus Themes

Third, let's consider the overlapping themes in the Old Testament story of the exodus and the New Testament story of Christmas. The book of Exodus is found in image form all throughout the life of Jesus, especially in the gospel of John.

Jesus' first miracle was to turn water to wine, just as the first plague was to turn the Nile's water to blood (John 2:1-11, Ex. 7:20). It's like Jesus was signaling the very different nature of his exodus.

Just as Moses left Jethro's flock to shepherd Israel out of Egypt, Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his flock (John 10:11).

Jesus said people needed to be born not only of the water of their mother's womb, but through the waters of the Spirit, just as Israel was born through the waters of the Red Sea (John 3:1-16, 1 Cor. 10:1-2).

Jesus declared that he is the true light of the world, making himself out to be like the pillar of fire that lit Israel's night, the light they were reminded of in the massive menorah of the Tabernacle (John 8:12).

Jesus said he provides living water. Moses could only quench their physical thirst out there in the wilderness, but our spiritual thirst is solved by Jesus (John 4:10-14). Jesus said he was the true bread from heaven; the real manna humanity needs to be right with God (John 6:31-35).

Moses went up to the mountaintop to receive the law, but John presents Jesus as the greater-than-Moses through whom we receive grace and truth (John 1:17).

And when Moses went up to that mountain, residual glory from God radiated from his face, but when Jesus went to the mountaintop with Peter, James, and John, the glory of God radiated from within him, for he is God in the flesh (Matt. 17:1-8).

Moses gave Israel God's directions to build a tabernacle where he would fellowship with them through the sacrificial system, but John tells us that the Son, the one who was in the beginning as God and with God, making all things and eradicating darkness, has now come and "tabernacled" among us (John 1:1-5, 14).

And, in the ultimate theme shared by Exodus and the New Testament, Jesus arrived as the true Passover Lamb who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

This is who the baby Jesus born in Bethlehem is—the very Son of God who has offered himself up for our sins, making the way for him to become our light, our shepherd, our glory, our change agent, our true vine from whom we derive all that is needed to bear much fruit (John 15:1-11). And, during this Christmas season, a good question to ask is this: What aspects of Christ must I seek for further exodus? Or, put another way, how can Jesus bring me further into a relationship with God?

Do you need his light to illuminate some aspects of your shadow self? Do you need his living water to deliver you into true joy—one that isn't based on circumstances or doing a bit better than the people around you? Do you need his glory to shine forth from you for real transformation? Do you need him to rekindle friendship and fellowship with Father God? Do you need his shepherding expertise to guide you to the pastures he's prepared for you? Do you need him to take the dullness of every day and turn it into the good wine of fellowship with him throughout the day? Do you need him to deliver you from law and into grace and truth?

Whatever you need, Jesus is the answer. That baby, held by Mary, admired by wise men, and celebrated by shepherds, is the one we need this Christmastime. He did not come to provide us fodder for church plays and Christmas carols. He did not come to give us warm feelings—like a hot eggnog latte for the soul. Jesus came to deliver us, to liberate us, to obliterate all that stood between us and knowing God in a meaningful and tangible way. Jesus came to give us exodus. Merry Christmas.

Study Questions

Head:

How are the characters in the Exodus story similar to characters in the Christmas story?
What details from the Exodus story parallel details from the Christmas story?
What Exodus themes or images show up in the life and ministry of Jesus?

Heart:

When have you experienced being part of someone else's "exodus" from sin or hardship? How did that impact you?
What feelings or emotions are evoked in you when you consider the concept of exodus in the context of the Christmas story?
What aspects of Christ do you most need to seek this Christmas for that "further exodus" into knowing God better?

Hands:

What role can you play in helping to bring aspects of "exodus" into someone else's life this Christmas season?
How can you make time amidst the busyness of Christmas to reflect on the exodus parallels in Scripture?
What specific step can you take to seek Christ this Christmas for that "further exodus" you need most right now?

[^1]: There are many good books out there that talk up Exodus as a (or even the) major theme of the Bible. But, for this Christmas teaching, I am greatly indebted to one in particular: Echoes of Exodus by Alastair Roberts and Andrew Wilson. I have to give them major props for this one. I read it before preaching through Exodus and recently took some of my staff through it. For an overview of how the entire Bible tells a story of exodus, I would highly recommend it. Chapter 8 (The Crescendo) gives a quick overview of many of the details I have drawn out in this teaching. If you are the kind of person who reads footnotes, and apparently you are, I am sure you would appreciate it. Roberts, Alastair J., and Andrew Wilson. 2018. Echoes of Exodus: Tracing Themes of Redemption through Scripture. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.