Acts 7:35

35 "This Moshe, whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and judge?' is the very one whom God sent as both ruler and ransomer by means of the angel that appeared to him in the thorn bush.

Acts 7:35 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 7:35

This Moses, whom they refused
That is, the Israelites; the Ethiopic version reads, "his kinsmen denied"; those of his own nation, and even of his family: "saying, who made thee a ruler and a judge?" as Dathan, or whoever said the words in ( Acts 7:27 ) .

the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer;
or "a redeemer"; so the Jews often call Moses, saying F26

``as was the first redeemer, so shall be the last Redeemer.''

He was an eminent type of the Messiah; and the redemption of the people of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage, by him, was emblematical of redemption from the bondage of sin, Satan, and the law by Jesus Christ; and as Moses had his mission and commission from God, so had Jesus Christ, as Mediator; and as Moses was despised by his brethren, and yet made the ruler and deliverer of them, so, though Jesus was set at nought by the Jews, yet he was made both Lord and Christ, and exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour. Moses was sent "by the hands of the angel, which appeared to him in the bush"; and who was the second person in the Godhead; the Father sent him by the Son, not as an instrument, but as having the power and authority over him, to govern, direct, and assist him. The Alexandrian copy, and the Vulgate Latin version read, "with the hand of the angel"; he sent Moses along with him to be used by him as an instrument in his hand, to deliver the people of Israel; nor does this at all contradict what the Jews say F1 at the time of the passover:

``and the Lord hath brought us out of Egypt, (Kalm ydy le al) , "not by the hands of an angel", nor by the hands of a seraph, nor by the hands of a messenger, but the holy blessed God, by his own glory, by himself;''

for he did not deliver them by a created angel, but by an uncreated one.


FOOTNOTES:

F26 Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 11. fol. 202. 2. Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2. & Midrash Kohelet, fol. 63. 2.
F1 Haggada Shel Pesach. p. 13. Ed. Rittangel.

Acts 7:35 In-Context

33 ADONAI said to him, 'Take off your sandals, because the place where you are standing is holy ground.
34 I have clearly seen how My people are being oppressed in Egypt, I have heard their cry, and I have come down to rescue them, and now I will send you to Egypt.'
35 "This Moshe, whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and judge?' is the very one whom God sent as both ruler and ransomer by means of the angel that appeared to him in the thorn bush.
36 This man led them out, performing miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.
37 This is the Moshe who said to the people of Isra'el, 'God will raise up a prophet like me from among your brothers'
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.