Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Jesus the Prophet

Q. 24: How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
Answer: Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation. (WSC)

I think it is safe to say that Moses was the greatest prophet in the Old Testament. The concluding postscript of Deuteronomy says that “there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt…” (Deut. 34:10-11). Yet, Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15-16 that the Lord would raise up a prophet like Moses for his people, to mediate between them and the Lord.

When people began to observe Jesus’ teaching and miracles, they realized that he was this great prophet, the Prophet. The Gospel of John makes this clear by noting that John the Baptist denied that he was the Prophet (John 1:21-27), while the people correctly realized that Jesus was the Prophet (John 6:14, 7:40). Peter himself quoted the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18 in Acts 3:22 as referring to Jesus.

Both John and the writer of Hebrews pointed out that Jesus surpassed the other prophets by being God himself, the eternal Word, the only-begotten Son of the Father (John 1:1-3, 14-18, Hebrew 1:1-3, 3:1-6). Jesus makes his Father known perfectly and completely because he is “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3). And as the Redeemer who accomplished redemption, Jesus proclaimed the final and permanent administration of the covenant of grace. Therefore Jesus is the final word. “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…” (Heb. 1:1-2a). This is why Scripture was completed and revelation ceased once his word given through the apostles was written down (Heb. 2:3-4).

Jesus exercised this prophetic ministry during his time on earth as he preached the gospel, taught his disciples, told parables, pronounced blessings and woes, foretold future events, taught through symbolic actions, and did miracles, signs, and wonders. Yet, his earthly ministry was not the only time he executed the office of a prophet. He also revealed God’s will by his Spirit through the prophets and through his apostles whom he commissioned (1 Peter 1:11, John 14:25-26, 15:26-27). The prophets and apostles are the foundation and he is the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). In addition, Jesus continues to exercise this office as he disciples us through Scripture and enlightens our minds by his Spirit to understand it (1 Cor. 2:12-16).

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