What Was Moses' Role as a Type of Christ According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Acts 7:17-29, Moses serves as one of the most important types or prefigurations of Christ in the Bible. Here's how Lloyd-Jones explains this significant theological concept:

What is a "type" in biblical interpretation?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains: "A type is that which foreshadows or forecasts or represents beforehand something that is going to happen later. And what happens later is the anti-type." He emphasizes that "we can't understand the Bible truly unless we understand this teaching concerning types."

Why is Moses considered such an important type of Christ?

Lloyd-Jones points out that "Moses is, I think it's generally agreed, not only one of the types of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, but possibly the greatest type of all." He bases this on Moses' own prophecy: "Moses himself said that just towards the end of his life, he said that God, he said, will raise up a prophet unto you, like unto me."

What specific parallels does Lloyd-Jones draw between Moses and Christ?

1. Divine appointment: "Moses was a man who was raised up by God to deliver the children of Israel... Here, of course, is the very essence of the gospel. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son."

2. Divine timing: "In which time Moses was Born... When the time of the promise drew near." Lloyd-Jones connects this to Christ: "When the fullness of the times has come, God sends forth his son."

3. Attempts to kill as infants: "Notice the attempt that was made to kill Moses even when he was a baby... And when you go over to the Gospels... King Herod... commanded that all the male children should be put to death."

4. Personal growth and development: "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. We read exactly the same about our Lord. He grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man."

5. Visitation of the people: "It came into the heart of Moses to visit his brethren... God hath visited and redeemed his people."

6. Willing sacrifice of privilege: "Moses, who might have enjoyed the life of the palace and the glory and the pomp... lays it all aside, joins these persecuted slaves to whom he belongs." This prefigures Christ who "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation."

7. Rejection by their own people: "His own people, they not only misunderstood him, they rejected him... And again, you see what a pale type this is of the glorious antitype, of whom we are told that he came unto his own, and his own received him not."

8. Ultimate deliverance despite rejection: "In spite of their rejection and their scorn and their misunderstanding, Moses was God's appointed deliverer for them, and he did deliver them... And thank God, in spite of our blindness and following, God delivers in and through our Lord and savior Jesus Christ."

Why does this typology matter to Christians today?

Lloyd-Jones explains that understanding types:

1. Shows "the divine inspiration of the Bible" - demonstrating its unity despite being written across centuries
2. Reveals "God obviously has a great plan and a great purpose"
3. Demonstrates that God "always acts in the same essential manner" throughout history
4. Highlights the central message of Christianity: "God hath visited and redeemed his people"

The sermon concludes with a personal appeal: "Have you seen the marvel, the wonder of this amazing thing? Jesus made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, that he might taste death for every man."