Part Four: Jesus the Prophet
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples
came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said
to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say
to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall
not be thrown down." Matthew 24:1 - 2
The Old Testament defines prophet as a spokesperson, or a speaker.
The New Testament defines a prophet as: “one who, moved by
the Spirit of God and hence his organ or spokesman, solemnly declares
to men what he has received by inspiration, especially concerning
future events, and in particular such as relate to the cause and
kingdom of God and to human salvation”.
The next office of Jesus that we will examine is His Messianic office
of Prophet. In order to understand the significance of this office,
we must understand how that God used prophets through the days to
communicate His will to the people. As you can see, a prophet is
a representative or spokesperson for very God. In the Old Testament,
the only way that the people could hear from God was through the
prophet. The prophets that God had ordained were rejected and slain
by the people because they did not like what the prophets prophesied.
Many times because of the disobedience of the people
to God, the prophets would foretell of the coming judgment that
the people would face. The people wanted the prophets to prophesy
and promise good things, but the prophets could only prophesy that
which they heard from God. It was significant because the prophet,
being God’s representative, could bless or curse the people
(according to God’s will). The word of the true prophet had
authority that was from God.
Sure, there were false prophets amongst the people in those days,
but there are false prophets amongst us today. This is something
that will always be the case because the Bible says so. The Bible
gives us a clear indication of how to detect a false prophet: the
moment that a prophesy fails, that person was not speaking on behalf
of God, they are no prophet, and the Bible says are not to be feared.
There are popular “Christian” self-proclaimed prophets
running around the body of Christ today “prophesying”
(I like to say prophe-lying) to people all of the things that God
never said. These are not true prophets indeed. There are even some
of these false prophets on television who has made these bold “prophesies”
that never happened. However, there are still many people who will
follow these people as the men and women of God? I hear of these
people coming into town and people flock to them as if Jesus Himself
was in town. People are oblivious; they just do not get it.
The reason I brought this up, is that a prophet had a great responsibility
being called by God to communicate the message of God. When God
spoke through the prophet, the words the prophet spoke were the
words of God. The people were to recognize the prophet’s authority
as coming directly from God. Therefore, it is important to hear
the words of the prophets because they are responsible to communicate
the will of God. Do you know what it means to prophesy? There are
several definitions of what it means to prophesy. It means, “To
speak forth by divine inspirations, to predict with the idea of
foretelling future events pertaining especially to the kingdom of
God, to utter forth, and to declare a thing which can only be known
by divine revelation.” A prophet brings to the hearers that
which can only be known by divine revelation. The first real major
of these types of prophets was Moses.
God spoke through Moses, and no one could deny it. God validated
Moses’ ministry through the signs and wonders that he performed
through the hands of Moses. Even when others doubted Moses’
authority, God proved that He had selected Moses to be this leader
of the children of Israel. The people received the law by Moses,
and they would have no reason to doubt that God was working through
Moses. Therefore, when Moses spoke, they knew that He was speaking
on behalf of God. This is why Moses got into so much trouble when
he smote the rock which God did not command him to do. Moses was
misrepresenting the Lord to the people at that time and God told
Moses that he would not enter into the Promised Land as a result.
It is obvious of the influence and authority that Moses had for
the people. Moses gave one of the earliest Messianic prophesies
in Deuteronomy 18.
15 "The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like
me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according
to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the
assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my
God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.' 17 And
the Lord said to me: 'What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise
up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will
put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I
command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words,
which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. Deuteronomy
18:15 – 19
Moses prophesied that the Lord would raise up for them a Prophet
that was like him from their midst. Moses was a giver of the Law,
he performed many miracles, he interceded for the people, he was
a judge, and he spoke with authority. Jesus did all of these things.
However, in all that Jesus did, it was far greater than Moses was.
Moses commanded the people that they should hear what this Prophet
would say. The words from this Prophet would be even better and
greater than the words in which Moses spoke. He is the Prophet of
what they desired in back at Mount Sinai. When God gave the Ten
Commandments to the people, Mount Sinai quaked, thundered, and had
much lightning. The people beheld this sight and said that they
did not want to hear the voice of the Lord in this manner again;
it was fearful and a terror. They asked that Moses would speak to
them instead.
God said that what they spoke was good. Why was it
good? It was good because the people desired a mediator come between
them and God and that he would speak on God’s behalf to them.
The Lord said that He would raise a Prophet who oblige this request;
this was apart of God’s plan all along. The Prophet that God
would raise up would be a Mediator for them.
…to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood
of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel Hebrews
12:24
The Lord said that He would put His words in this Prophet’s
mouth. He would have the very words of God. Moses commanded the
people to hear this Prophet. We know that Moses has to be referring
to Jesus because of what is written in chapter 34 of this same book:
9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for
Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded
him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 But since then
there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord
knew face to face, 11 in all the signs and wonders which the Lord
sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all
his servants, and in all his land, 12 and by all that mighty power
and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all
Israel. Deuteronomy 34:9 -12
Through this verse, we can see that no one ever rose up as Moses
did and was approved by God the way that Moses was; save Jesus.
In spite of all this, someone may say, so what is the point? Perhaps
this person still does not understand the blessedness and significance
of Jesus being our Prophet. I believe if a person is saying this,
then they may have missed what was just said: the words that Jesus
spoke were the words of God. I mean, I think we lose the significance
and magnificence of the Lord actually condescending Himself down
to communicate to us: the creation. We can lose gratefulness if
we fail to always keep in mind the splendor of how we can know,
hear, and understand the words of God. Jesus had the very words
of God; this is what we read whenever we open the Bible: the words
that God spoke. However, how is it that we look at the Bible as
something that is no big deal? The words that were spoken were the
words of life. God raised up a Prophet who would be a mediator.
Do you understand what a mediator is? The New Testament defines
a mediator as “one who intervenes between two, either in order
to make or restore peace and friendship, or form a compact, or for
ratifying a covenant”. Christ intervened for us between the
enmity that we had between God and us. Through what Christ did,
we have been restored to peace and friendship. Moses was a mediator,
but he still was not able to restore the peace that God intended
to be restored to the people. Christ is our Mediator!
A prophet has three main responsibilities: to teach, to foretell
future events, and to judge. The prophet is authorized to declare
the word of God with authority. The prophet communicates the will
of God. He speaks for God. However, when the prophet reveals something
divine that God has spoken, the prophet must also teach the people
how to operate in it. Jesus taught the people:
Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples,
that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.
Matthew 11:1
And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God
in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the
person of men. Matthew 22:16
And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was
gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the
sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Mark
4:1
And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved
with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having
a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. Mark 6:34
The next thing that a prophet does is foretell future events. There
are two things that Jesus predicted that proves His authority with
utter immutability; the latter of the two even more so:
18 So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You
show to us, since You do these things?" 19 Jesus answered and
said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will
raise it up." John 2:18 – 19
This is just one of the places that Jesus predicts His death and
resurrection. The Jews wanted to know what gave Him the authority
to cleanse the temple in the manner that He did. Who gave Him the
right and authority to kick people out of the temple? Jesus answers
them and says that He will prove His authority by demonstrating
that not even death has authority over Him. The resurrection of
Christ proves His authority!
Secondly, there is this amazing prophesy in Matthew 24:
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples
came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said
to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say
to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall
not be thrown down." Matthew 24:1 – 2
Jesus showed them the temple; this amazing structure and edifice
and told them that not one stone would be left upon another. He
was saying that the temple would be utterly destroyed. This prophecy
was fulfilled well after Jesus’ death in 70 A.D. The temple
in Jerusalem was destroyed completely to the point that it was even
dug up; no stone was even left. The precision in which this was
fulfilled was nothing short of amazing!
Lastly, the prophet was to be a judge. We know that Jesus was this
just by one passage:
26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the
Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute
judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 30 I can of Myself
do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because
I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
John 5:26 – 27, 30
We have demonstrated that Jesus is clearly a prophet through all
of these things. Why is this blessedness to us? Well, do you remember
when Moses said that the Prophet would have the words from the Lord?
This means that everything Jesus said was directly from God and
according to God’s will with no error. That means when Jesus
said,
“…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.” (Matthew 28:20), that means that this is true. It is
something that Jesus spoke and since His words have authority, it
will happen. No matter what, Jesus is with us always. No matter
how much we are feeling overwhelmed, Jesus is with us always. How
about when Jesus said this:
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I
have overcome the world." John 16:33
When Jesus said that He overcame the world, then He has overcome
the world. He promised that we would have tribulation while here
on this earth, but we can still be of good cheer.
11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in
you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that
you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no
one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 14 You
are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do
I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master
is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard
from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:11 – 15
Jesus wants our joy to be full. The joy of the Lord is our strength!
Jesus calls us His frie
nds. You can talk to your friend, confide in your friend,
and trust your friend. In many cases, friends are closer to us than
our family. There are a lot more things that Jesus said. You can
see these things throughout the Gospels. It is so great knowing
that when Jesus speaks a thing, it will certainly happen. When Jesus
said that peace is what He left with us, then peace is what we have.
We do not have to doubt it. What has Jesus said? What has He promised?
Because Jesus is our Prophet, we should have comfort in that the
words He has spoken concerning His church will happen. Thank you
Jesus for that!
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