Wednesday, March 21, 2018

The Prophet We Must Hear



“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.  And every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” -Acts 3:22-23

The book of Galatians tells us that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is better understood when you consult the schoolmaster.  Jesus himself told us to: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)  The Spirit will reveal the Savior; a Savior that would one day come to save us from our sins.  He will reveal the King through the scriptures, a King whose crown was thorns and whose throne was a cross. 

Moses fled Egypt, spent forty years in the wilderness and was called of God to return; to deliver His people.  Moses, reluctantly at first, returned to Egypt and told Pharaoh to let his people go.  A people, who were under hard bondage at the hands of the Egyptians.  At first, they were not at all happy to see him.  Moses’s actions made their life harder, and Pharaohs hand on them, heavier.  By and by, God showed his power through Moses and Pharaoh drove them out of Egypt.  The deliverance was mighty, and complete.  Moses led them out of Egypt and to the promise land.  He was their leader, their lawgiver, their captain, their judge; the personification and conduit through which the power of God saved them.  A savior of the people.  When Jesus asked Peter, whom do you say the Son of Man is?  He was asking a question that would ring out through the ages.  Today as in that day, we hear men say he is many things.  A historical figure, a good person, a prophet.  In that day, as in this day, many could not believe.  They were blinded.  They said he was Elijah, Isaiah, or one of the prophets.  I am sure the Romans just saw him as an instigator, a disturber of the peace.  No doubt, many Jews, like in Moses’s day, just wanted him to go back where he came from, because he was making trouble.  However, to the few, the faithful.  They saw him for what he was, a Savior, the Son of God.  The Prophet that the Lord raised up, to bring the gospel to the people.  To give peace purchased with suffering, and to bring deliverance through destruction.  Jesus had to die, so that we could live.  Jesus gave his life, so that we might live as he lived; holy.

 As Moses led the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt and to the promise land of Canaan.  Christ can lead us out of the bondage of sin and into a life of righteousness.  As Moses gave the book of the law to the people, so Christ became the fulfillment of the law and will bring to us the spirit of the law within our hearts.  Moses was the captain and judge of the people, so Christ is our captain and our judge. Jesus is the Savior, the Prophet, the King, the Deliver, the Victor, Jesus can give victory over sin.  Jesus is the Prophet which we must hear.