Narrative Apologetics by Alister E. McGrath

Author:Alister E. McGrath
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Story of the Exodus: The Hope of Deliverance

Our first narrative case study is the exodus from Egypt, widely seen as a pivotal moment in the emergence of the distinct ethnic group known as “the people of Israel.” Parallel accounts of this event are known, originating from non-Jewish sources. For example, Hecataeus of Abdera, writing around 320 BC, refers to a “great plague” afflicting Egypt “in ancient times,” leading to the expulsion of foreigners, many of whom settled in the land known as Judea.8 While the historical details of both the exodus and the subsequent conquest of Canaan remain unclear,9 there is agreement that the cultural memory of the exodus—affirmed and consolidated through the Passover ritual—was of critical importance in the fashioning of Israel’s identity and above all in shaping its understanding of its God. The narrative of the exodus extends, of course, to include the period of “wilderness wandering” and the entry into the promised land.

The exodus narrative functions at several levels in the Old Testament, serving as a reminder of the historical origins of Israel and an affirmation of the activity and benevolence of Israel’s God. Perhaps the most striking feature is the way in which God is named with reference to this narrative. The covenant God of Israel is identified as the one who delivered Israel from captivity in Egypt. “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deut. 5:15).10 Israel’s God is the one who stands at the heart of this narrative of redemption and deliverance.

Some Jewish writers living in Egypt during the intertestamental period tended to reinterpret the exodus narrative in light of the prevailing Hellenistic culture. Philo of Alexandria, for example, understood the exodus as more than a narrative about the escape from Egypt, seeing it primarily as an allegory for the journey of the soul.11 But what did this narrative mean to the first Christians? Most of them were not Jewish, so how did they establish a personal and meaningful connection with this Jewish narrative of the exodus from Egypt? The evidence clearly indicates that early Christian writers quickly appreciated the theological significance of this story and were able to anchor it firmly within the Christian metanarrative using typological exegesis.

“Typology” is the search for correspondence between events, persons, or things within the historical framework of revelation, so that the Old Testament is seen to anticipate the events and ideas of the New Testament.12 Typological exegesis secured the theological connection of the old and the new covenants by proposing a correlation of “type” and “antitype”—the anticipation and fulfillment, the shadow and the reality. Second-century theologian Melito of Sardis thus developed the idea that the Passover is to be seen as a “type” of the death of Christ. The Passover once celebrated in Egypt is to be seen as prefiguring “Christ our Passover” (1 Cor. 5:7 NASB), just as the Passover lamb slain in Egypt anticipates the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev.

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