Christ in the Old Testament

Deuteronomy 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. (NIV)

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-22 and Acts 3:17-23

Moses tells the Israelites of the prophet that is to come. I see the following descriptions about this prophet:

• He will be like Moses
• He will be Jewish (from their midst, from their brethren)
• He will speak the words of God
• Anyone that doesn’t listen to him will be judged
• Everything he says will come true

Some think this prophet was Joshua and some think it was Muhammad. Some think it was multiple prophets that can fit this description. But Jesus is the best fit for this prophet of God. Here are my reasons why it’s Jesus.

1. The Hebrew word Moses used for prophet is nābî’. This usage is singular which would point to a specific individual prophet. So there is one person Moses is describing as opposed to multiple prophets that might fit the description.
2. Moses says this prophet will be like him. Again this would indicate a specific person. As we’ve studied for the last month or so, Jesus is the greater Moses (Heb 3:3).
3. God tells us at the death of Moses that no prophet since has risen in Israel (Deut 34:10-12). So in essence, the prophet that Moses speaks of isn’t just a prophet because no prophet has ever been greater than Moses.
4. Finally, Luke tells us in the book of Acts that this prophet is Jesus. So we could’ve just jumped right to this point but that would take all the fun out of it. Acts 3:20-23 and Acts 7:38-39 both tell us that this prophet Moses spoke about was Jesus.

So much like Philip when Jesus called him to be his disciple, we have found the one Moses spoke about. “Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’ (John 1:45).

And lastly, Jesus himself tells us that he is the one Moses wrote about, “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me” (John 5:46).

Everything and everyone that God spoke through, including Moses, pointed to Jesus. Always keep the beginning of the gospel of John in the front of your mind as we continue through the Old Testament. Jesus is the Word of God. All things that exist were made through Jesus. He is the life of all mankind. Everything points to Jesus because he holds everything together.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

Today’s Prayer: I praise you Jesus because you are worthy!