EPIPHANY 4 – Jan. 31, 2021 – Deut. 18:15-20
“THAT PROPHET”
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament lesson just read, from Deut. 18. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- People generally do not think of Jesus as a scholar, an intellectual. He is seen more as the common man, unpretentious. Likewise, people generally do not think of Jesus as a great preacher, but rather One Who taught aptly and ably.
- Yet no one who knows Jesus would ever doubt His Divine intelligence, or that whenever He spoke it was indeed the very Word of God. The people Jesus spoke to and taught were “astonished at His teaching,” and astonished at His authority!
- And what is truly astonishing today is when some inventive theologians or skeptical Christians, think that they need to correct the Words that Jesus spoke – especially, for example, regarding the Sacrament of His body and blood, or His insistence that not one jot or tittle of the Law will ever change. [Matt. 26:26-28; Matt. 5:18; Lk. 16:17]
- The reason for Jesus’ superior intelligence, His perfect preaching and teaching, and His authority, was not His human genetics, nor the prestigious seminary that He attended. Rather, the reason is demonstrated in our text, the description regarding “the Prophet.”
- To begin with, we must be quite sure and certain Who fulfills this prophecy, this prediction of Moses. For this we must consult other Scripture passages.
Luke 7:16 [After Jesus raised a dead man] “Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!’ and ‘God has visited His people!’”
Luke 24:19 [The Emmaus disciples said to Jesus, regarding Jesus] “And they said to Him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people.’”
John 1:20,21 [When John the Baptist was questioned as to who he was] “He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ “Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’”
John 6:14 [After Jesus had fed the 5,000 men plus women and children] “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!’”
John 7:40 [After a stirring sermon of Jesus] “When they heard these words, some of the people said, ‘This really is the Prophet.’”
Acts 3:22 [Peter’s Pentecost sermon, preaching about Jesus] “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to Him in whatever He tells you.’”
- So there is no question that Moses, in our text, was writing about the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we see in our text:
I. God Speaks To Us Through Jesus, The Prophet
Text: “The Lord will raise up for you a Prophet from among you, from your brothers – it is to Him you shall listen.”
Heb. 1:1,2 “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.”
Statement: We can be sure that when God speaks to us we should listen! After all, He Who created us and this wonderful world we live in, He Who loved us and provided us with redemption for our sins, He Who loves us to this very day and for all of eternity, watching over us to protect us, and renewing us in His love, restoring His image within us, surely His Word to us will be wonderfully blessed for us!
Application: And so we do God’s bidding, we obey Him, when we listen to the gracious and wise and authoritative Words of Jesus. And we are richly blessed as we do so – with the comfort of God’s salvation, with the courage of knowing God is with us and for us always, and with the great wisdom for life that Jesus gives through His teaching! Moses makes clear that:
II. Jesus Speaks God’s Own Word – Only Truth
Text: “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put My Words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And whoever will not listen to My Words that He shall speak in My Name, I myself will require it of him.”
John 14:10 “The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father Who dwells in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.”
John 8:28 “So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority, but speak just as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me.”
John 12:48-50 “The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words has a judge; the Word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father Who sent Me has Himself given Me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told Me.”
Statement: Again, there is no question that God’s Word is true. Were it not true He would not deserve to be considered God. He assures us that His Word is always true and faithful – therefore it is to be “listened” to, internalized, embraced, and obeyed! Likewise, there is no question that Jesus spoke this Word of God always! And what is God’s commandment, His Word, according to Jesus? “His commandment is eternal life.” As I said, the Word of our loving God must be good for us.
Application: So, again, let us receive this Word from God, the Word of Jesus! Let us listen, and understand, and internalize, and keep this Word! And we remember that:
III. Jesus Provides Us With Pastors Today To Do The Same – To Speak God’s Word, Jesus’ Own Word To Us
Text: “[The people said] ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.” And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put My Words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”
Eph. 4:11,12 “And Jesus gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
John 20:21 “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.’”
A. True Ministers Of God’s Word Dare Not Be Despised
Text: “Whoever will not listen to My Words that he shall speak in My Name, I Myself will require it of him.”
Luke 10:16 “The one who hears you hears Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me, and the one who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”
1 Thess. 4:8 [Paul says of his own teaching] “Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you.”
B. Even More Emphatically, All Preachers Must Remember What Speaking Falsely About God And Perverting His Word Warrants – Death
Text: “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My Name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.”
Statement: These warnings are dire because as Jesus stated: “His commandment is eternal life.” This is God’s will for you. This is what He sends His spokesmen to preach and teach today!
Application: Let us then by all means receive the good news that God is merciful and kind, forgiving trespasses and sins, and loving us with an everlasting love! And let us not despise the Word of God even though it is spoken by a brother just like you. After all, it is Jesus Who sent Him to us.
And as for those who are preachers – let us take even greater care and caution. If we speak in God’s Name it better be His Word. And we are to speak in no other name at all. This means we do not correct God’s Word, soften God’s Word, take away from God’s Word, or add to God’s Word – our own inventive and creative ideas. The penalty worthy for doing so is death!
And you who listen to the preachers take care! You are not to reject of despise God’s Word, but neither are you to tolerate false preachers!
Conclusion: May we rejoice in the Great Prophet of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Word of God He provides to us, the Word of eternal life. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which in in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.