Editor’s Note: This material was first published in book form in
1989 by the John Ankerberg Evangelistic Association (now known as
the Ankerberg Theological Research Institute).
The Biblical
Text
[Moses is speaking] The
Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your own
people, like myself; him you shall heed….
[God is speaking] I will
raise up a prophet for them from among their own people, like yourself;
I will put My words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I
command him; and if anybody fails to heed the words he speaks in My
name, I Myself will call him to account. (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18,
19)—The Torah27
The Context of
the Passage
God, through
Moses, is warning Israel to remain separate from the evil practices of the
surrounding nations (Deut. 18:9-12). Included in His warning, God
instructs Israel how to tell the difference between a "true prophet" and a
"false prophet." Any prophet who speaks in the name of the Lord and his
words do not come true is a "false prophet." God has not spoken through
him. In the same context God tells Israel He will send prophets who will
truthfully speak for Him. What’s more, Israel can someday expect a prophet
who will be "like Moses," that God will specially raise up.
The Explanation
of the Text
Think for a
moment. Would a "prophet like Moses" be a unique personage in Israel? Why
would this "prophet like Moses" be considered a reference to the coming
Messiah?
1. It is a
fact that throughout its history, the nation of Israel did not
apply to any prophet these particular words. That is not to say
that one or two individual rabbis did not try to make the application to
a favored prophet. But it cannot be denied that the nation of Israel as
a whole never acknowledged any other prophet to be "like Moses."28
2. This was
not a reference to Joshua because (1) as we shall see there is no
resemblance between Moses and Joshua; (2) Joshua is never said to be a
prophet nor does he fulfill the office of a prophet; (3) it was
specifically stated in Joshua’s own time "no prophet has risen in
Israel like Moses" (Deut. 34:10).
3. The word
"prophet" is in the singular, so it must refer to some individual
prophet in the future.
4. Until
Jesus came, no one was superior to Moses, for it was only said of Moses
and Jesus that they knew the Lord and spoke to Him "face to face"
(Deut. 34:10; cf. Num. 12:8; Mt. 3:17; Mk. 9:7; Jn. 11:41,42; 17:1-5,
NIV).
5. Up to the
time of Christ, it can be documented that the Jews had not believed that
"the prophet" had yet arrived. Thus the leaders of Israel asked John the
Baptist, "Are you the prophet?" (Jn. 1:21), which John denied.
But, when the people saw Jesus’ miracles, they said, "Surely this is
the Prophet who is to come into the world" (Jn. 6:14).
What was the
evidence that persuaded the people in Jesus’ own time that He was the
unique prophet God said was "like unto Moses"? Could anyone but the
Messiah be worthy of being considered the One who is "like Moses"? The
following parallels and contrasts will show that only Jesus completely
fulfilled and went beyond Moses’ prophetic office and is the unique One
God promised would come.
A.
A great founder of religion
Moses gave God’s
revelation of the law and founded the religion of Israel. Jesus gave God’s
complete revelation of grace and truth, fulfilled all the law and became
the founder and Savior of the Christian religion (Jn. 1:17; Mt. 5:17; 1
Tim. 2:5-6).
B.
A great revealer of God
Moses revealed
God in writing the Torah. Moses did not point people to himself, but
faithfully wrote about God and about the One in the future whom God told
him about. Jesus claimed, "For if you believed Moses, you would believe
Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe His writings, how
will you believe My words?" (Jn. 5:46,47, NAS, emphasis
added).
Jesus just
didn’t speak about God, but was God. He said, "He who has seen Me has
seen the Father…" (Jn. 14:9) and John said, "No man has ever seen
God [except]… the only unique Son,… He has revealed Him… (Jn. 1:18,
Amplified).
C.
A great Law-giver
Moses was the
only one authorized by God to give laws to Israel. It was Jesus who gave
God’s full understanding of the law and gave "new" laws to Israel. Jesus
quoted the law when He said, "You have heard that it was said…,"
but added what no other prophet had ever dared speak: "but I say unto
you…" (Mt. 5:21, 22). That’s why "when Jesus had finished saying
these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as
one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law." (Mt.
7:28, 29, NIV)
D.
A great worker of miracles
Moses was a
great worker of miracles (the ten plagues on Egypt; the parting of the Red
Sea, etc.) (Ex. 7-14; Deut. 34:10-12). But Jesus did greater works than
Moses. He said, "If I had not done among them [the miracles] what no
one else did, they would not be guilty of sin;…" (Jn. 15:24, NIV).
In Acts we read,
"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man
attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God
performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourself know…" (Acts
2:22, NAS). Jesus commanded the elements, the wind and the water, raised
the dead, gave sight to the blind, expelled the demons, and conquered
death when He was resurrected from the dead (Mt. 8:23-27; 14:25; Lk.
7:11-15; 8:41, 42; Jn. 9:1-7; Lk. 4:33-35; Jn. 2:19-22).
E.
A great Redeemer
Moses rescued
Israel from the bondage and slavery of Egypt (Ex. 3-4; Acts 7:20-39).
Christ rescued the world from the bondage and slavery of sin (Eph. 2:1-8;
Rom. 3:28-4:6).
F.
A great mediator
Moses was the
mediator between God and Israel. Jesus is the Mediator now between God and
all humanity. First Timothy 2:5, 6 says, "For
there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men."
G.
A great intercessor
Moses was the
great intercessor for Israel, preventing God from utterly destroying them
when they worshipped the golden calf (Ex. 32:7-14; Num. 14:11-22). Jesus
is a greater intercessor. He now intercedes on behalf of all mankind (Jn.
3:16: Heb. 7:25; note Num. 21:4-9 and Jn. 3:14).
H.
A great prophet, judge and king
Moses was a
great prophet, judge and king (Ex. 18:13; Deut. 33:5). Jesus was a greater
prophet, judge and king (Jn. 1:19-21, 29-34, 45; Mt. 2:2; Jn. 5:26-29;
Heb. 7:17).
I. Moses was
like the Messiah; Jesus was
the Messiah.
The woman said, "I know that
Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain
everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am He"
(Jn. 4:25, 26, emphasis added).
Jesus said, "If you
believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me" (Jn.
5:46, NIV).
Was Deuteronomy
18:15 Recognized by the Jews as Messianic?
The Mishna,
"Sefer ha-Mitzvot" in the Negative Commandments (13) states, "The
prophet whom God will raise up must be ‘from among your own people’
(Deut. 18:15). This means also that He must arise in the land of
Israel."29
"The Talmud
asserts ‘that Messiah must be the greatest of future prophets, as being
nearest in Spirit to our master Moses.’… This prediction, then, could only
receive its accomplishment in the Messiah. It was so understood by the
Jews in the days of our Lord."30
Clues to
Identify the Messiah
Whoever the
Messiah is, He must fit the following descriptions:
Clue #1—He,
a male child (the Hebrew text specifically uses a 3rd person, singular,
masculine pronoun—"he"), will be born of the seed of the woman.
Clue #2—He
will come from the race of the Jews, and specifically from the seed of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Clue
#3—He will be a great prophet, with the authority to
teach like Moses. |
