Joel M Bradshaw

15The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.–Deuteronomy 18

Now this was John’s [the Baptist’s] testimony when the Jewish leaders  in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord. (John 1:19-23, emphasis)

“But do not think I [Jesus] will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (John 5:45-47, emphasis)

For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.(Acts 3:22)

Let’s unpack Moses’ prophecy:

1. YAHWEH YOUR GOD WILL RAISE UP. The people of this prophecy will only be ones who consider Israel’s Yahweh to be God.
2. A PROPHET LIKE ME. The people should expect another like Moses. Moses was unique in that he represented the people, led the people, delivered the people, and worked miracles. God spoke to Moses uniqely. When the people questioned John the Baptist, there was a chance it was him. But he flatly said no.
3. FROM AMONG YOUR BROTHERS. This prophet will come from the Hebrew people. By the New Testament time, these would be the Jewish people. This disqualifies claims from other religions as to be the Prophet.
4. LISTEN TO HIM. Male pronoun, not female.
5. Jesus claimed the title by saying Moses wrote about Him. Jesus is the Prophet, the only one that fulfills all the unique qualities of Moses, but so much more. Jesus is Messiah and God. Peter’s sermon in Acts 3 confirmed this.–JMB