The second Exodus
There was an exodus from Egypt. But when Israel failed to keep the law, they went into exile — filled, all the while, with promises of their return. When the return finally came, though, they saw that nothing had really changed. The conclusion the prophets and later Jewish thought drew from this: Israel was still in exile, still waiting for a new exodus. That new exodus is what arrives with Jesus.
The exodus in Mark
The opening lines of Mark’s gospel are dense with Exodus echoes:
- I will send my messenger parallels both the leading angel in the Exodus and the messenger for the Day of the Lord — in both cases, a figure whose arrival warns of judgment for disobedience.
- A voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.” picks up the prophecy of Isaiah, itself a message of restoration.
- “And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” is the fulfillment of Elijah, preparing the new Exodus before the coming of the Day of the Lord.
- “Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.” refers back to Isaiah.
- “And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” echoes the language used for the faithful servant of the Lord in Isaiah.
- “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” is the final announcement of a new king.
Taken together, these allusions show that the structure of Mark’s gospel mirrors the structure of Isaiah 40–66:
| Mark | Isaiah 40-66 | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and beyond (1/16-8/21:26)People are set free from demons.Rejection of Jesus (Beelzebub) results in hardening of hearts. | Israel is set free from slavery by God the Warrior and HealerIsrael is freed from BabylonRejecting God: God becomes their enemy | Deliverance from demons shows the authority of Jesus, presenting God as the warrior who releases people from captivity.People are held captive by demons. |
| Mk.8/22,27-10/15,52: Jesus leads the “blind” disciples on the “way”Healing the blind and deaf, disciples are also blind at first, but see again. | God guides the "blind" on the "way" | Jesus suffering is the way in which the exodus happens (Is.53: servant goes the way through his death (Mk.10/45)) |
| Mk.10/46;11/1-16/8: Jesus eventual arrival in Jerusalem | Israel’s eventual arrival in Jerusalem | Jesus veils the fig tree: reference to beginning: judgment or promise, only if bears fruit |
The new Exodus in Luke
The key to the Gospel of Luke is “As it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.” ’” — the same reference used at the beginning of Mark.
“The way,” in both gospels, is the Exodus: it is God’s way of restoring Israel, and it runs through the church.
When Jesus read from Isaiah, he stated its fulfillment, that was the sign of the second Exodus. Fittingly, then, the Gospel of Luke ends with the fulfillment of the Scripture that refers to the restoration of Israel and the inclusion of the Gentiles in Isaiah.
The new Exodus in Acts
Luke returns to this same language of “the way” six times in the book of Acts:
- during the conversion of Saul,
- in Ephesus, in fact twice,
- in Paul’s speech to the crowd in Jerusalem,
- and in his speech to Felix, also twice.
Alongside that, Acts develops six main messages that carry forward the Exodus theme:
- the restoration of the tribes of Israel by the 12 apostles,
- Pentecost including Jews from all nations, pointing to the restoration of the Jews from exile,
- the coming of the Holy Spirit,
- the restoration of the kingdom of David,
- the inclusion of the excluded among the people of God,
- and Israel’s initial repentance — at Pentecost, in the early church, in the choosing of Stephen, and in the church at Antioch — until, finally, the book ends with the very words where Isaiah begins: Israel’s rejection of the message.
A related theme running through Acts is “the word of God,” which advances after the choosing of Stephen, after the death of Herod, and during Paul’s time in Ephesus. This echoes key passages in Isaiah on the same theme: how can God be compared to anything, he is more reliable than idols, the vanity of idols, and the idols of Babylon.
Taken together, this comparison highlights a real tension between Acts and Isaiah: God is shown to be sovereign over the idols, yet Israel keeps clinging to them anyway. That tension comes to a head especially in Acts 17, where the Jews’ resistance to Paul is likely rooted in this same attachment to idols.
Judgment is announced with particular force whenever these idols, or the people behind them, claim divinity for themselves — as in the cases of Simon, Herod, and Elymas.
Summary
The new Exodus for which Israel had been waiting so long finally happens — and it is tied inseparably to Jesus. What remains open is whether Israel and the Gentiles will choose God, or keep clinging to their idols instead; the book of Acts treats that as no small question.
Read this way, the Gospel and Acts trace a single, ongoing tension: the restoration of the Israel that believes in Christ, running alongside the salvation of the Gentiles who are being drawn in together with them.