In Exodus 33:19 God declares to Moses that He will cause His goodness to pass before him and that He will be gracious and show mercy according to His sovereign will. The verse belongs to the aftermath of Israel's sin with the golden calf and reveals that the continued existence of the covenant people depends upon God's gracious and merciful character.

Luke 1:72 celebrates God's action in the coming of the Messiah as the fulfillment of His covenant mercy. Zechariah praises God for remembering His holy covenant and showing the mercy promised to Israel's fathers. Exodus 33:19 is therefore not a direct prediction of a particular act of Jesus, but it reveals a divine attribute that becomes central to the New Testament account of salvation. Christians understand the coming of Christ as the supreme historical expression of the same mercy by which God preserves, forgives, and redeems His people.