The Prophet Who Speaks God's Word

God reveals to Moses how he will save a fallen humanity from sin. It will be through a Prophet yet to come. As we look at the words of God’s promise to Moses, we see how Jesus of Nazareth fits the description of each and every phrase. For example, God says, ‘I will raise up for them a prophet...’ (Deuteronomy 18:18). If we turn over to Luke, chapter 7, we will read there how Jesus brought the dead son of a widow back to life and how, when ‘Jesus gave him back to his mother,’ the people ‘were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people”’ (v. 16).

Again in Deuteronomy, God tells Moses, ‘I will raise up for them a prophet like you...’ (Deuteronomy 18:18). Was Jesus a prophet like Moses? Listen to what the New Testament says. In John 1:17, we read, ‘The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’ And then in Hebrews, chapter 3, we read how Jesus ‘was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus,’ it goes on to say, ‘has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself’ (vv. 2f.).

Back to Deuteronomy: God said to Moses, ‘I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers...’ (Deuteronomy 18:18). That’s Jesus, isn’t it? He was the Son of Abraham; he was the Son of David; he was of the tribe of Judah; and he was born in Bethlehem. He was of the Israelites, according to the flesh, was he not?

In Deuteronomy, we read how God told Moses: ‘I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him’ (Deuteronomy 18:18). Does that match up with what we know of Jesus? Just a sampling from the Gospel of John will confirm that it does. John 7:16 records Jesus saying: ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.’ And John 12, verses 49 and 50, also quote Jesus. ‘I did not speak of my own accord,’ said Jesus, ‘but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.’

One more thing to notice in Deuteronomy 18: In verse 15, God says of this Prophet who is to come, ‘You must listen to him.’ And in verse 19, he says, ‘If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.’ When we turn to the New Testament, we hear God saying the same thing. In Matthew 17:5, we find him saying of Jesus, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’

So, we see that Jesus Christ is the Prophet that God raised up in fulfillment of his promise to Moses. Let’s ask now how it is that Christ executes the office of Prophet.

He does it both inwardly and outwardly. Outwardly, he does it by his Word. Isaiah 8:20 sends us ‘to the law and to the testimony [that is, to the Word of God]! If they do not speak according to this word,’ Isaiah says, ‘they have no light of dawn.’ And Jesus himself was the One in whom ‘was life, and that