CHRIST, THE PROPHET

Deut 18:15-18

Morning Meditation 8/16/17

Deuteronomy 18:15-18, "The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him."

First we see Jesus as,

THE POWERFUL PROPHET

Matthew 13:54-58, "And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

God still operates through people on this earth who believe in Him. If you do not believe that God is available and will still do mighty works, He certainly won't for you. "He that cometh to God must believe and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." It is amazing how the first thing people in churches do today when a project is being under taken for Him, grab their pocket books and say that's too much, we can't pay for it. Have you ever read the verse that says, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin?" (Rom. 14:23).

First of all the wording of this suggests that He worked no miracle in His own country while He was growing up. "He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?" Then He said to them "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

This is the town He grew up in. They were well acquainted with Him and His family. They named His brothers and sisters. The key phrase that limited what He could do in their midst is, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." They knew him and did not believe God would call the Messiah from a carpenters shop. And especially from Nazareth.

Luke 4:16 says, "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read."

It was His custom to read from the Word of God when He went there on he Sabbath day. There was power in His reading of the Word of God on this occasion. Jesus has received the Holy Spirit to enter His public ministry. Anything you do in the power of the Spirit will be different. Jesus began to use His authority. I believe He always had it, but now He will use that power because the Father has now given Him the Spirit without measure. Jesus is the same person whom they knew, but He is speaking with an authority they were not used to.

Luke 4:22-30, "And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way," It is amazing that they were ready to kill the Messiah rather than accept His Words. The very works He did proved by their own Scripture that He was their true Messiah.

HE WAS THE ROYAL PROPHET

Isaiah 9:6-7, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

The Genealogies in the gospel of Matthew and of Luke seem a little cumbersome in reading until you know what they are there for. They are there to establish that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of David. Everything tested perfect with all the prophets so far as His qualifications to be the promised one. Is He the promised one? Absolutely. He meets every prophecy and fulfills it so that no one can successfully deny that He is the one who was to come. I am so happy to announce to you that the one who came stood the test of prophecy and lines up all the way back to Genesis 3:15. The Blood line has not been broken. He came as the messiah and gave all the proofs necessary, yet the Jews did not believe. The next thing we look at is

HE IS THE OMNIPOTENT PROPHET

Luke 7:12-16, "Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother." When we think of someone who can raise the dead and he does it simply by speaking the word, we think of omnipotence. Where do you know of a person who can do this?

Jesus did these kinds of miracles to authenticate His claim as Messiah. Hebrews 2:4 says, "God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?" Mark 16:19-20, "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen."

John closes his gospel out by saying in John 21:24-25, "This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."

The miracles wrought by Christ were for the purpose of confirming what He said. He gave miracle working power to the apostles for that same purpose. The verses above prove this claim.

Jesus is the Royal Prophet. No prophet ever came close to Him in word or deed. Next let's notice Him as the,

OMNIPOTENT PROPHET

Luke 7:16-17, "And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. And this rumor of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about."

These words are the people's response to the Lord raising the widows son from the dead. Notice the following conclusions they came to:

1. This miracle brought fear on all. Anytime God draws this near in the working of a miracle, it is time to have fear. This fear is a fear of reverence. It is not a carnal fear. No one who is saved needs fear the Lord. But no matter how much I tell you this we will still have fear anytime God draws near to us.

2. When a real miracle takes place you will not need to debate the issue. It will be real and the episode will speak for itself.

3. When God works a miracle that is undeniable like this one, i.e., raising the dead, you will feel as they did, "and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us . . ."

4. When you are present when a miracle of this sort takes place you will also say, "That God hath visited his people."

5. When a genuine miracle takes place the word will spread. The word "rumor" here translates "logos" and means "the word." In other words, the word spread about Him and the nature of the miracle. It is amazing how quickly the word can spread without radio or television. The word "logos" is the same as in John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word (logos) was with God, and the Word (logos) was God." It means words verbally spoken and therefore means that this miracle became the talk of the whole country.

Jesus is Prophet, Priest, and King. He came as that Prophet that Moses said would come. He did not only prophecy of things to come, like the Temple being destroyed and not one rock left standing on another, but He also explained prophesies. When Jesus rose from the dead, He was raised as a priest. That is what Jesus is today. He is the believers priest. We have an open invitation to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus and we are promised that we will find mercy and grace to help in time of need. Then when He comes again, He will be coming as a King to set up a kingdom, and He will rule and reign 1000 years. Revelation 20:1-10, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Revelation 20:1-10, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

Jesus has done His prophetic work, He is doing His High Priestly work, and praise the Lord He is coming as King to accomplish His Kingly work.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White