Christ, God's Prophet
There is great confusion in our world—even among many
so-called "Bible believers"—regarding the nature and mission of Jesus
Christ. Liberal theologians often argue that Christ was a great example of
devotion to the will of God as he understood God's will, but he was not God
manifest in the flesh, as both John and Paul teach (John 1:1-3, 14; 1 Tim.
3:16). Jesus was a great teacher and a good man, maybe the best man who ever lived, many
liberals claim, but he was not the Son of God. In his outstanding book, Mere
Christianity (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1984), C. S. Lewis shows how utterly foolish
the liberal's view of Christ is. He says concerning Christ: "Either this man was, and is,
the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a
fool, you can spit at him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him
Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a
great human teacher" (p. 56).
The Old Testament includes hundreds of predictions about
the coming of Christ and his kingdom. One of those predictions pertained to
his being God's prophet. Moses informed the Jewish people: "The Lord your
God will raise up unto you a Prophet from among you, of your brethren, like
unto me; unto him you shall listen; according to all that you desired of the
Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let us not hear again the
voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, lest I
die. And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I
will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and put my
words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I command him. And it shall
come to pass, that whosoever will not listen unto my words which he
shall speak in my name, I will require it of him" (Dt. 18:15-19). This
passage will serve as the basis for our study today on the topic, "Christ,
God's Prophet.
The prediction in these verses outlined what God planned
to do for the Israelite people. He promises to establish the prophetic office
among the Jews. The people of God, like all sinful human beings, needed guidance,
comfort and inspiration. They were not to be foolish enough to consult witches or
familiar spirits or astrologers or enchanters. Their pagan neighbors appealed to
these heathen sources, but God forbad the Jews to do so. God would provide
through the prophets he would send all the information and inspiration the Jews
needed. Just think of the great prophets God sent to
The distinguished Jewish rabbi, Dr. Abraham Joshua
Heschel, has provided wonderful insight into the preaching and lives of the
Jewish prophets. In his books, The Prophets (New York: Harper
& Row, Publishers, 1962), Dr. Heschel says concerning the prophets as God's
spokesmen: "The significance of
I shall summarize briefly what the book of Deuteronomy
revealed about the prophets God said he would raise up in the nation of
Since the prophets under the Jewish covenant were truly
God's spokesmen, failing to listen to the preaching of the prophets was the same
as not listening to God. The prophet was to speak whatever God commanded him to
speak. "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not listen unto my
words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him" (Dt. 18:18-19).
May we conclude from this brief study that the Bible is verbally inspired, that is,
that the words of scripture are the very words God wanted the prophets
to use in revealing his will? Although
the term, "verbal inspiration,"
does not appear in the scriptures—either in the Old Testament or in the
New—what did God have in mind in Deuteronomy 18:19? What did Paul mean when he
told the Corinthians: "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world,
but the Spirit which is of God; that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things we
speak, not in the words that man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual
things with spiritual" (1 Cor. 2:12-13)? Charles Williams renders verse 13: "These truths we are setting
forth, not in words that man's wisdom
teaches but in words that the Spirit teaches, in this way fitting spiritual words to spiritual truths."
The ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy in Deuteronomy
18 was Christ's coming into the world as God's prophet. That is precisely how
the apostle Peter interpreted the words of Moses. In his great sermon on
Solomon's porch, the apostle Peter accused the Jews of denying the Holy One and the
Just and desiring a murderer to be granted to them. Peter said the Jews "had
killed the Prince of life, whom God has raised from the dead....But those things,
which God before has shown by the mouth of all the prophets, that Christ should suffer, he has so
fulfilled." Peter then commanded: "Repent...and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when
the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall
send Jesus Christ, who was preached before unto you: whom the heaven must
receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his
holy prophets since the world began." Now please listen carefully. "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 you
hear in all things whatsoever he
shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, who will not
hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who follow
after, have likewise foretold of these days.
You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant that God made with
our fathers, saying unto Abraham,
And in your seed shall all the families 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 3:14-15, 19-26). I plan to return momentarily to this passage from Acts 3.
On one occasion, the Jews sent priests and Levites to
ask John the Baptist, "Who are you?" John knew what they had in
mind. The Jews knew of John's powerful preaching and the wonderful work he was
performing. They wondered if he were the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. He vigorously
denied that he was the Christ. They continued to probe: "Are you
Elijah?" John responded: "I am not." They then asked, "Are
you that prophet?" He answered, "No" (John 1:19-21). According
to Dr. F. F. Bruce's scholarly commentary on The Gospel of John (Grand
Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983), the Samaritans thought of that
prophet in terms of the Messiah (p. 48).
Acts 3, as I have already indicated, identifies the
Prophet of Deuteronomy as Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah and the Savior of
the world. Jesus Christ, God's Prophet, would speak the very words of almighty
God. If anyone failed to obey the words of Christ, they were failing to obey
the one who sent him. Jesus himself said on one occasion: "I have come into the
world as light, that whosoever believes on me should not abide in
darkness. If any man hear my words, and does not believe, I judge him not: for
I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects me, and receives not my
words, has one who judges 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 who sent me, he gave me
a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:46-49).
Since Jesus Christ is God's Prophet, does that not mean
we must believe and do whatever he commands? Peter told the Jews on Solomon's
porch: "And it shall come to pass, that every soul, that will not hear that
prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people" (Acts 3:22-23). I have a
question based on what the apostle Peter said in his sermon about Christ. Does
Christ require believers to do the will of God or is believing sufficient?
Please remember that Christ is God's spokesman—his prophet. If I can show from the
words of Christ that he requires believers to obey him, I have successfully
refuted the Calvinist doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone.
Christ's great Sermon on the Mount contains some of the
most powerful teaching in the entire Bible, although it is no more binding than
the teaching of the apostles. Matthew 5 lists what we commonly call "the
Beatitudes," such as, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see
God" and "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God" (Mt. 5:8-9). The Beatitudes are not framed as commands, but does
anyone doubt the binding nature of these beautiful truths? Do you believe Jesus
offered the Beatitudes as mere suggestions? Are we obligated to make these powerful
teachings a vital part of our lives?
Jesus urged his disciples: "Lay not up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust corrupts, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal" (Mt. 6:19-20). Is laying up treasures in heaven just one option
among many for Christ's disciples? Did not our Lord say, "For where your
treasure is, there will you heart be also" (Mt. 6:21)? Giving to the cause
of Christ, helping widows and orphans, reaching out to the lost with Christ's
message of salvation and growing in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ constitute laying up treasures in heaven. These are
absolute requirements of the gospel of Christ. Who can miss the meaning of these
well-known words: "Not every one who says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven"
(Mt. 7:21)? Was our Lord discouraging men's confessing him as Lord? You know that is not
what he had in mind. Christ told his disciples: "Whosoever therefore shall
confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father who is in heaven. But
whosoever shall deny me before men, him I also will deny before my Father who is in
heaven" (Mt. 10:32-33).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ was speaking of
the absolute necessity of doing the will of God. Believing in Christ and
confessing his name are essential, but not adequate. We must also do the will
of God in order to inherit the
Following these harsh words, Jesus discussed two kinds of
people: Those who keep Christ's teachings and those who do not. Please listen.
"Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto
a wise man, who built his house upon
a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon the house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Mt.
7:24-25). Do you get the impression
from this brief excerpt that Jesus was demanding obedience to his words? I am
aware that Jesus did not mention obedience in this passage. But is there anyway
to escape the conclusion that we must obey the Lord? When churches encourage their children to sing,
"The wise man built his house upon a rock," what do those churches
think they are teaching their children?
Children also sing, "The foolish man build his house
upon the sand." Christ taught: "And everyone who hears these sayings of
mine and does not do them, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his
house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell: and great was the fall of
it" (Mt. 7:26-27). Jesus Christ said to Judas, not Judas Iscariot:
"If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we
will come unto
him, and make our abode with him. He who loves me keeps my sayings; and the word that you hear
is not mine, but the Father's who sent me" (John 14:23-24). The tenses of the verbs
in verse twenty-four are very significant. "He who keeps on loving me will
continue to keep my sayings." Does not this sound to you as if you must
obey the Lord's commands? If you have any doubt, the following passage should
remove that
doubt. "You are my friends, if you do (literally, if you keep on doing) whatsoever
I
command you" (John 15:14).
Does Christ ever even hint that faith alone is
sufficient for our salvation? In the Parable of the Vine and the Branches, Christ
demanded that every branch, that is, every individual disciple, bear fruit.
"Every branch that does not bear fruit he takes away; and every branch
that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.... Abide in
me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in
the vine, no more can you, except you abide in me" (John 15:1-4). Is
bearing fruit
the same as doing the will of God or obeying the gospel?
I read to you a few minutes ago these words from Dr.
Abraham Joshua Heschel: "The significance of
Jesus assured some of his Jewish listeners that they
would know that he was the Son of man when they had lifted him up, that is,
when they had crucified him. He told them: "I do nothing of myself; but as
my Father has taught me, I speak these things." Now please listen carefully. "And he
who sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone: for I do always those
things that please him" (John 8:28-29). Must Christians follow Jesus and
do always those things that please the Father? On another occasion, Jesus said: "For I have given you
an example, that you should do as I have done unto-you" (John 13:15).
The
apostle John records Christ's healing a man who was born blind. He told the blind man and his own disciples: "I must
work the works of him who sent me, while it is day: for the night comes
when no man can work" (John 9:1-4). The word "must" means it is
necessary, it is essential. If it were necessary for Christ to work the works
of him who sent him, do you imagine it is unnecessary for us to work the works
of God?
The
Lord Jesus Christ told the Samaritan woman: "God is Spirit: and they who
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). But
Christ went a step further. He set a wonderful example when he worshipped God
regularly. Luke says: "And he came to
Winford Claiborne
The
International Gospel Hour
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