Joel M Bradshaw

15“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.–Deuteronomy 18

 There would be many prophets raised up by God. The rest of the Old Testament contains their ministries. Famous names like Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, even Jonah. But our text today had a tension. And that tension was uniqueness. Was Moses speaking of category, as in he was a prophet raised by God and God would raise others? Or was he speaking of an individual. A PROPHET LIKE MOSES. Moses is one of the most unique characters in the entire Bible. So the argument was that Moses was prophesying about one to come who would be in his own category. So not just a prophet, but more like THE Prophet?

It’s hard to take this further without delving into further study. There’s much about this subject that I just don’t know or simply cannot recall. I’m sure rabbinical works and commentaries have explored this much further. Who was Moses talking about? If you like, this might make some interesting internet research or asking your pastor about it. Tell them Big Rev sent you. 🙂

But here’s what I do know. By the time of Jesus, this had grown into something profound. People were looking for the Messiah (Mark 14:61) and people were looking for the Prophet. They brought it up to John the Baptist in John 1…

19Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders  in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

Even to Jesus in John 6 after the feeding of the 5000…

14After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

The person and work of Jesus fulfilled or will one day fulfill all three Old Testament offices: Prophet, Priest, and King.

It all comes back to Deuteronomy 18. If you read the Gospels with the understanding that God put His words into Jesus’ mouth to speak and that God expected and still expects people to hear, believe, and obey those words, then you will have a saving faith. You will trust Jesus alone for your salvation.–JMB