Jesus the New Moses: The Law from the Mountain of Mercy

On the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Church places us on a mountain with Jesus. Matthew tells us: “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them…” (Mt 5:1–2). This simple movement—seeing the crowd, going up the mountain, sitting down to teach—echoes one of the most powerful moments in the Old Testament: Moses ascending Mount Sinai to receive the Law and then instructing the people of Israel. Matthew wants us to notice this connection. Jesus is being presented as the new Moses, but even more than that, as one greater than Moses.
Moses went up the mountain to receive the Law from God. He came down with commandments written on stone. Jesus goes up the mountain not to receive the Law, but to give it. He sits as a teacher with authority and proclaims the Beatitudes. This is not just a repetition of the old Law; it is its fulfillment and deepening. Moses said, “You shall not kill.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.” Moses gave rules for behavior; Jesus forms the heart. The authority of Jesus is different. He does not say, “Thus says the Lord,” as the prophets did. He speaks in his own name: “Blessed are…” The mountain is no longer a place of fear and thunder, but a place of mercy, promise, and joy.
The First Reading from Zephaniah prepares us for this kind of Law. God speaks of a remnant, a people who are humble and lowly, who seek justice and humility, who take refuge in the name of the Lord. These are exactly the people Jesus calls “blessed.” The poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn, those who hunger for righteousness, this is the remnant of Israel, now gathered around Jesus. The new Law is not for the proud or the powerful, but for those who know their need for God.
St. Paul reinforces this in the Second Reading: “Not many of you were wise by human standards… God chose the foolish… the weak… the lowly and despised of the world.” The mountain of Jesus is not reserved for the elite. It is open to the small, the struggling, the overlooked. On Sinai, the people trembled at a distance. On this mountain, the disciples come close. They sit at the feet of Jesus. The Law is no longer something that crushes from above, but a word that draws us into relationship.
The Beatitudes are the heart of this new Law. They do not describe a checklist of achievements but a way of being. Jesus blesses what the world usually ignores: poverty of spirit, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, endurance in suffering. This is not weakness; it is the strength of the Kingdom. Jesus is shaping a people who live not by power or pride, but by trust, compassion, and hope.
So, what does it mean for us today that Jesus is the new Moses? It means we do not just follow rules; we follow a Person. We do not simply obey commandments; we listen to a voice. Jesus goes up the mountain, sits down, and teaches us how to live from the inside out. He shows us that true authority is not about control but about love that transforms.
Like the disciples, we are invited to come close, to leave the crowd mentality and become learners at the feet of Jesus. And like the remnant in Zephaniah, we are called to be humble and lowly, trusting not in ourselves but in the Lord. On this mountain, Jesus gives us the Law of the Kingdom: a law written not on stone, but on hearts.

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