Day 8 of 10
Jesus' Exodus: Transfiguration and Cross
The ultimate Exodus accomplished in Jerusalem
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Luke 9:28-36 and Luke 22:14-20. On the mountain, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and speak about his "exodus" — his departure at Jerusalem. At the Last Supper, Jesus reinterprets the Passover meal around his own body and blood. The original Exodus finds its ultimate fulfillment.
Reflection
Luke 9:31 contains a detail that is easy to overlook and impossible to overstate. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and speak about "his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." The Greek word for "departure" is exodon — his exodus. Luke is telling us explicitly: the cross is an Exodus. Jesus is about to accomplish in Jerusalem what Moses accomplished at the Red Sea — but on a cosmic scale.
Wright identifies this as the interpretive key to the passion: "Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain and spoke with Jesus about his 'exodus' — his departure — which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. The cross is the new Exodus." Moses, the leader of the first Exodus, and Elijah, the prophet who championed God's covenant, both appear to discuss the ultimate Exodus that Jesus will complete.
Then comes the Last Supper — and the Exodus connections become unmistakable. Jesus chooses the Passover meal as the setting for his final evening with his disciples. The Passover — the night when the lamb was slain and the blood applied, the night when the angel of death passed over, the night when the Exodus began. Jesus takes the bread: "This is my body, which is given for you" (Luke 22:19). He takes the cup: "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (22:20).
Goldsworthy sees the deliberate reinterpretation: "At the Last Supper, Jesus deliberately reinterprets the Passover. The bread is his body. The wine is his blood of the covenant. He is the Passover lamb, and his death is the deliverance that sets the captives free." Jesus is not merely drawing a comparison between his death and the Exodus. He is claiming to be the Passover lamb — the one whose death inaugurates the definitive deliverance.
The Exodus pattern reaches its climax here. The bondage is not to Pharaoh but to sin and death. The Passover lamb is not an animal but the Son of God. The blood is applied not to doorposts but to human hearts. And the deliverance is not from Egypt but from the domain of darkness itself.
Going Deeper
At the original Passover, the lamb's death was the means of deliverance, and the meal was the means of participation. At the Lord's Supper, the same pattern holds. How does regularly sharing in communion keep the Exodus pattern alive in your experience? How does it connect you to Jesus' saving work?
Key Quotes
“Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah appeared on the mountain and spoke with Jesus about his 'exodus' — his departure — which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. The cross is the new Exodus.”
“At the Last Supper, Jesus deliberately reinterprets the Passover. The bread is his body. The wine is his blood of the covenant. He is the Passover lamb, and his death is the deliverance that sets the captives free.”
Prayer Focus
Thank Jesus for accomplishing the true Exodus — delivering you not from Pharaoh but from sin, death, and the powers of darkness.
Meditation
Jesus deliberately chose the Passover as the moment for his death. Why? What does the timing tell you about the meaning of the cross?
Question for Discussion
Luke uses the Greek word 'exodon' to describe what Jesus would accomplish at Jerusalem. If we think of the cross primarily as an Exodus -- liberation from bondage -- rather than only as a payment for sin, how does that expand or challenge the way your community understands salvation?