How Luke’s Gospel Portrays Jesus as the Exodus or Way of the Temple

Presented at

The 2022 Temple on Mount Zion Conference

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Sponsored by The Interpreter Foundation, BYU College of Humanities, and BYU Religious Education

Jesus’s declaration that he is “the way” (John 14:6) is an invitation to view his life as a model of the plan of salvation or, in today’s parlance, the covenant path. Since, arguably, the temple itself is a model of this plan or covenant path, then it should not surprise us to find deep analogues between the life of Christ and the temple’s architectural and ritual program of progression. New Testament scholars have noted that, among the synoptic gospels, Matthew and Mark portray the movement of Savior’s ministry bouncing back and forth between Judea, Galilee, and other locations, whereas Luke’s record appears to portray the ministry of Christ as a singular movement from Galilee to Jerusalem. Luke’s unique portrayal of the Savior’s movement raises questions concerning the literary purposes of his narrative. This presentation will demonstrate that Luke’s narrative follows a sequence of events correlating with those in the Exodus narrative. This comparison provides another opportunity for us to view the life of Christ as a reflection of the temple progression, demonstrating that He is indeed the model of the plan of salvation, the covenant path, and the way we are to follow.

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