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Jesus – the prophet like Moses

17 The LORD said to me: ‘What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.
(Deuteronomy 18:17-18)

Jewish expectations about the Messiah – God’s end-time redeemer

A Messiah like David (Isaiah 9:2-7) – the most popular expectation

A figure like Elijah (from Ecclesiasticus)

God’s Servant (Isaiah 42:1-7)

Melchizedek (Qumran community)

A prophet like Moses
(The Eschatological Prophet)

Deuteronomy 18:15-18
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire any more, or we will die.’
17 The LORD said to me: ‘What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.

Jews were expecting God to send
“a Prophet”
John 1:20 He (John the Baptist) did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah.’
21 They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’
‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ …..
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptise if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’
26 ‘I baptise with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’

In what ways did Jesus fit the pattern of an Old Testament prophet?
• Prophetic words – messages demonstrating divine knowledge
• Warnings of impending judgment
• Calls for justice and righteousness
• Calls to repentance
• Parables and especially allegories were in “the prophetic tradition”
e.g. Parables of the Tenants in the Vineyard (Matthew 21:33ff) like Isaiah 5 parable of the vineyard.
Jeremiah, the potter and the clay
Nathan’s parable to David of the little lamb.
• Miracles revealing God’s love and power c.f. Elijah and Elisha
• Rejected as all the prophets were

How Jesus described himself

Mark 6:4, Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’

Luke 13:33 “In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!”

What other people said about Jesus

John 4:19 ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet.

Luke 7:14 He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people.’

Luke 7:19 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.’

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’
14 They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

Matthew 21:10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’
11 The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’

Matthew 21:46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Luke 22:63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, ‘Prophesy! Who hit you?

The disciples on the road to Emmaeus

Luke 24:19 ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.

The preaching of the Early Church

Acts 3:21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 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. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.”

So the Jews were expecting the Messiah to be a great warrior king like David. But the Messiah God sent turned out to be more like “a Prophet like Moses”.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:10-11)

SEE N.T.Wright
Jesus and the Victory of God (1996)

The promise also carries a warning
18 …. I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.
(Deuteronomy 18:17-19)