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The Great Prophet of
Deuteronomy 18
In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses announced to the Israelites what
God had told him:
"The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; ... I
will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee,
and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all
that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will
not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will
require it of him" (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19 ).
The "Prophet referred to can not simply be the prophets of Israel in
general. This Prophet is repeatedly spoken of as a single person: "Him
you shall hear", "His mouth", "He shall speak", etc. The Jewish people
of Jesus’ time recognized that this prophecy referred to a unique
individual. This is evident in the New Testament where it is revealed
that they were awaiting "the Prophet". In the book of John we read when
the priests and Levites were sent from Jerusalem to John the Baptist,
they asked Him: "Are you the Prophet?" "And he answered, No"
(John 1:21).
In addition to presenting the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of
God, the Scriptures present Him as the Prophet predicted in the Torah
nearly 1,500 years earlier. This can be seen in a number of passages in
the New Testament:
"Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did
{The multitude fed with the five loaves and two small fish }, said,
This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world"
(John 6:14).
During the Feast of Tabernacles: "Many of the people therefore,
when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet"
(John 7:40).
The book of Luke records the response by a large crowd who witnessed
Jesus raise a widow’s son from the dead in the city of Nain: "And
there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great
prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited
his people" (Luke 7:16). Notice the similar wording used in
Deuteronomy 18:18 "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren."
The book of Luke records that two people walking from Emmaus spoke of
: "...Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people:" (Luke 24:19).
After Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem, people of the city asked
who He was. In response the multitudes said: "This is Jesus the
prophet of Nazareth of Galilee" (Matthew 21:11).
The book of John records a statement by Jesus through which He
reveals Himself as the One spoken of in Deuteronomy 18: " He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I
have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave
me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak
therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak"
(John 12:48-50). In Deuteronomy 18:18 God said that the Prophecy "shall
speak to them all that I command Him."
When Peter spoke to the crowd at the temple after the healing of the
lame man, he referred to this prophecy from Deuteronomy: "For Moses
truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye
hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come
to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be
destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel
and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise
foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the
covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in
thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first
God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless
you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities" (Acts
3:22-26). Previously in Peter’s sermon he testified Jesus was raised
from the dead by God. (Acts 3:15). However, in verse 26, the phrase:
"Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus" is
referring back to the prophecy that God would "raise up [to you]
a
Prophet", showing that the Lord Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. Note that
Peter, having just referred to God’s promise to "bless" all the families
of the earth through Abraham’s seed, was proclaiming through Jesus this
promise was fulfilled, beginning with the people of Israel. ("To you
first God ...sent Him to bless you").
Twice in Deuteronomy 18 prophecy, it is said that the Prophet would
be "like" unto Moses (vs 15,18). There are many similarities between the
life of the Lord Jesus and the life of Moses. Here are a few: they were
both decreed to be killed while they were infants by a cruel ruler (see
Exodus 1:14-16, 2:2, and Matthew 2:16); they both fasted forty days (see
Exodus 34:28 and Matthew 4:2); they were both very meek (Numbers 12:3
and Matthew 11:29); they both performed great miracles (see Deuteronomy
34:10-12 and John 15:24, Acts 2:22); they both established a covenant
between God and His people which was sealed with blood (See Exodus
24:7-8 and Matthew 26:26-28, Hebrews 9:11-15); they were both rejected
by many of the people of Israel for a time (see Exodus 17:1-5, 32:1,
Numbers 14:1-5 and Matthew 27:21-22, Acts 3:14-15). [For a more
comprehensive list of similarities see "3 Messages for Israel", by Derek
Prince (1969, revised 1976).]
It is interesting that after James, John, and Peter saw the Lord
Jesus transfigured before their eyes, they heard the voice of God the
Father declare: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;
hear ye Him" (Matthew 17:5). This last phrase repeats the
exhortation and warning that God gave through Moses in Deuteronomy
18:15, 19: "... unto him ye shall hearken;" and "that whosoever will not
hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name....". It is
interesting to note that in the New Testament , the only audible command
was given to men from God the Father was regarding His Son: "Hear Him!,
hear the Prophet!"
Considering the significance of Deuteronomy 18, it is likely that
Jesus referred to this in Scripture along the road to Emmaus when, "beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).
"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote
of me." (John 5:46 )
~article from a friend of Message to Israel
edited by: mnf
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