Jesus: the Prophet

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Today, we look at Jesus, the prophet. Remember last month when we looked at what a prophet is? A prophet is a messenger of God that preaches God’s truth to people, especially when it’s needed most. A prophet is God’s spokesperson to a hurting world.

To begin our look, let’s turn all the way back to the beginning of the Bible. Deuteronomy 15.

The context here is Moses is continuing to lay down the law of God. Most of the book of Deuteronomy is that, the process of God giving the law directly to Moses who then passes it on to the people of Israel. This process began back in Exodus.

In Exodus 19, God summons the people to the foot of Mount Sinai, where thunder and lightning and trumpets sounds, indicating God’s presence. This cacophony scares the bejeebus out of the people. God then calls Moses up to the peak of the mountain where God gives the 10 Commandments. The 10 Commandments begin the process of God giving the law to the people through Moses, who functions as God’s spokesperson, a prophet.

In Deuteronomy, this process of lawgiving is still happening. Something rather curious occurs in chapter 18, verse 15. Moses speaks of a prophet to come, a prophet like himself, a new Moses.

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet…  I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.”

A story the gospels tell is how Jesus is that new Moses, a fulfilment of that prophecy from Deuteronomy 18. Like Moses, he will for God as a prophet. And like Moses, he will hand down a new law, the law of love.

Let’s turn to John 7 to see the story of Jesus as the New Moses, prophet and lawgiver.

The context of John 7 is that Jesus is at a Jewish festival in Jerusalem and is causing a stir, preaching hard truths as a prophet tends to do.

-   Verse 19: “Did not Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why are you looking for an opportunity to kill me?

-   Verse 23: “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath in order that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I healed a man’s whole body on the Sabbath?”

-   Verse 37: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.”

The religious authorities are so disturbed that they call out the police to have him arrested (verse 32).

This situation all results in a debate occurring. Is Jesus the Prophet or the Messiah?

Verse 40 – “This is really the prophet.”

Why “the” instead of “a”? The people are referring to Deuteronomy 18 and Moses prophecy about a new Moses that will come. Jesus is that new Moses, that prophet everyone’s been waiting for.

Verse 41 – “Others said, ‘This is the Messiah.’”

The Messiah literally means Anointed One, as in, anointed king. Messiah and king are synonymous. And what do kings do? They lay down the law. They declare the law of the land. Sounds like Moses, right?

Jesus as a prophet is preaching God’s words. And Jesus as a messiah is giving a new law, a new covenant, replacing the old law, the old covenant. And what is this new law, this new covenant? It is love.

So, is Jesus a Prophet or Messiah? He’s both.


Two other important figures in the early days of the church confirm that Jesus is the New Moses.

In Acts 3, Peter is preaching his first sermon in Jerusalem, at Solomon’s Porch. In that sermon, he argues that Jesus is the one they’ve been waiting for. To make his argument, he points to the prophets, beginning with Moses. How does Peter invoke Moses? He quotes him from and paraphrases Deuteronomy 18:

Verses 22-23 – “Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you from your own people a prophet like me. You must listen to whatever he tells you. 23 And it will be that everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be utterly rooted out of the people.’”

A few chapters later, in Acts 7, we read about the first Christian martyr. His martyrdom was the result of an answer he gave to the high priest in verse 1, likely with other high-ranking officials looking on. It’s found in a long passage, verses 2-53!

In Stephen’s proclamation, like Peter, he invokes the story of Israel, the fathers and prophets, namely Abraham, Joseph, and of course Moses.

In his discussion of Moses, he like Peter, quotes from Moses in Deuteronomy. Verse 37 – “This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.’”

Stephen ends his sermon with a bang. Remember he’s speaking to the high priest and other high-ranking officials. Verses 51-53:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. You are the ones who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.”

 

Finally, Jesus himself will confirm that he’s the prophet that Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 18.

I turn to John 5.

Jesus is talking about those who testify to his truth.

Witness #1 - John the Baptist (vs. 32-33).

Witness #2 - the Father (v. 36)

Witness #3 - Scripture (v. 39)

And then for the primary witness, the key witness that will rest the case:

Witness #4 - Moses (v. 46)

If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?”

 

To close, I must add this. Yes, Jesus was a prophet. He was the prophet Moses spoke of. But he was more than that.

John 1 – In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God and was God… and the word became flesh and dwelled among us.

Jesus is prophet. Jesus is God’s messenger. But he is messenger and message all rolled into one. He is prophetic wordsmith, and the prophetic Word, rolled into one. Jesus preaches love, and embodies love – is love – at the same is. Jesus points to love and is love.

So, what’s the takeaway for us as we enter the new year?

Jesus is God’s word to us, and that word is love.

At the end of John 5, Jesus connects the words of God and the love of God. In verse 38, Jesus, speaking in the negative to those who've lost so their way so much that they seek to kill him, says, “You do not have God’s word [the Logos/me] abiding in you.”

And then in verse 42, Jesus says, “You do not have the love of God in you.”

The word of God, the love of God that is Christ, is the word of love in your hearts?

Are we listening to the word of Love in our hearts speaking to us?

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