The Messiah will be a Prophet Like Moses

The Messiah will be a prophet like Moses, He will be Jewish, He must be Obeyed.

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear... `I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. `And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.

Jn 6:14 Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Key Points:

- This Messianic prophecy is recognized in both Judaism and Christianity as a clear reference to the Messiah.

- In this prophecy is one of the most specific predictions of Christ mentioned in the Old Testament.

- Jesus understood this passage to refer to Himself (John 5:46).

- Peter preached at Pentecost that this referred to Jesus (Acts 3:22).

- This Verse is important because it clearly states that Judaism would not be the system by which the nation of Israel would bless all nations.

- A "Prophet like me" refers to someone like Moses, who would hear from the Lord "face to face" and perform mighty miracles like the Prophet Moses. Jesus would lead His people out of slavery.

- Num 12:6-8 "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face."

- "from your brethren" speaks of the Messiah being a Jew.

- "Him you shall hear" refers to the fact that the Jews were to hear and obey the voice of the Messiah. The word "hear" is reminiscent of the Hebrew "Shema" � Hear O Israel.

- Whenever Jesus mentioned that He heard the voice of His Father, He was hinting back at this verse I "will put My words in His mouth". The Messiah will be the Word of God. Every word He speaks will be God's word.

- The Lord also pronounces judgment upon anyone who will not obey the word to the Messiah, by saying "I will require it of him" which means he will bear the judgment. God will treat any Jewish brother like an unbeliever if he does not obey the Messiah's words.

A Prophet Like Moses - Deuteronomy 18:15-19 - (MP3 File) (from the Hebrew perspective)

Conclusion

A Prophet Like Moses - Quick Summary

When Jesus began performing miracles in the sight of all who were watching they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." What did they mean, "The Prophet who is to come into the world?" They were referring to the prophet that Moses spoke about, and there was an expectation among the people in Israel that this prophet was about to appear. 

Moses spoke an amazing prophecy about the Messiah in the Book of Deuteronomy where he reminded Israel about all that God had done for them, and encouraged them to be faithful to God. The prophecy goes like this:

Moses said to Israel: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.

and then God spoke to Moses regarding the prophecy:

In Deuteronomy 18:18 God said to Moses - "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. `And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him."

God told Moses that the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses. The LORD had previously said that when he speaks to the prophets he speaks to them in a vision or in a dream, but that's not how He spoke to Moses. The LORD said that He spoke to Moses "face to face as a man speaks to his friend."

If we look more closely at this prophecy:

First, the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses. Second, The Messiah would be from among their brethren. Moses said the Messiah would be a Jew. Third, God said "I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him." The LORD basically said that the words coming out of the Messiah's mouth would be the very word of God. Fourth, whoever will not hear God's words, which the Messiah will speak in God's name, God will judge him and hold him accountable, whomever it may be. And the judgement will be because they chose not to hear the words that came out of the Messiah's mouth.

All this was written way back in the time of Moses

Now if we examine carefully the words of Jesus we will find striking similarities, Jesus said, "For I have not spoken this 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."

Jesus also said: "He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." - John 12:47-50

Sound familiar? This statement corresponds exactly with the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:18

When Jesus was in a discussion with the Pharisees He said to them, "I have come in my Father's name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive." - John 5:43

This also corresponds with the prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:18

The Pharisees made an interesting statement, "we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses." John 9:28-29

Jesus summed it all up for the Pharisees. He said, "Don't think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is already one who accuses you, even Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote about me. But if you don't believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" - John 5:45-47

The ancient prophecies spoke about Jesus. All the events in Jesus's life, His words, the places he went, the people he spoke with, the miracles, and everything about his character, and even his death and resurrection, were all in fulfillment of what was written about him by the prophets.

Watch on YouTube