When I think of utter confusion, I think of the
floor of the stock exchange in New York City.
Have you ever seen pictures of those people?
I wonder how their nerves last a lifetime. Everyone
seems to be yelling and reaching and signaling.
I completely do not understand what is taking
place on the floor of the stock exchange. There
are so many voices to be heard. How does one
know which voice to listen to? But isn't it the
same way in life? There are so many voices to
be heard in our world today. How do we know which
voice to listen to? I hope that we'll come to
something of an answer to that question as we
come to our last in this series of our studies
in the Pentateuch. a series that we've entitled
Christmas in the Pentateuch. And, of course,
today we come to the fifth of the books of Moses,
the book of Deuteronomy. The portrait of the
Messiah in the Old Testament is really that of
filling three significant roles in his relationship
to his people. There is the office, for example,
of prophet and priest and what? King, that's
right. Many of you know that. The Messiah is
predicted to be one who is a prophet, one who
is a priest, and one who is a king, all rolled
into one person. When we think about the Messiah
being a priest, we think of the book of Exodus,
where we saw something of the sacrifice of the
Redeemer. And we think of the book of Leviticus,
where we saw his perfections. One who was a priest
had to be cleansed. He had to stand before God
without any sin on his hands. Thus there were
appropriate sacrifices for him to offer for himself,
and then he was to offer for the people. And
the sacrifices that he offered had to be perfect
sacrifices, without blemish. Do you remember
that? Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Messiah priest.
And as the Messiah priest, he offered himself
as our sacrifice and then was raised from the
dead so that he might continue his priesthood
eternally on our behalf. Last week we talked
about his reign as the Redeemer. In the book
of Numbers, we have the prophecy of the star
scepter, the star that would rise, the scepter
that would rise in Jacob. We said that that tells
us that Messiah would be one who would reign.
Jesus Christ is the Messiah King. And today as
we look at the book of Deuteronomy, we're going
to see that he is also the Messiah prophet. The
Messiah Prophet. This book contains a prophecy
that relates to his work as the prophet of God.
Think for a moment of the meaning of prophet.
Simply, a prophet is someone who speaks on behalf
of someone else. An example of that is Aaron.
who was appointed by God in the book of Exodus,
the seventh chapter, the first verse, to be the
prophet for Moses. God said to Moses, I will
make you as God in the eyes of Pharaoh, and Aaron
will be your prophet, your spokesman. And then
Moses himself is called a prophet of God in Deuteronomy
chapter 34 and verse 10. He is called a prophet.
who spoke on behalf of God. Now, when Moses was
about to pass off the scene, he delivered a series
of discourses or messages to the people of Israel
in which he rehearsed before them the history
of their nation, and he reminded them of the
important details of the covenant. which they
had with God. There were a lot of details that
he covered in those discourses, but among them
he told them what the tests were for prophets.
He was their prophet to this point, but now he
is about to die. How were they to know which
voice to hear when Moses was dead? And so in
chapter 13, we'll not read that, but the first
11 verses of the chapter deal with tests for
false prophets. But we will look at Deuteronomy
chapter 18, where we have the same theme covered.
Only he broadens it now to warn them against
the practices of the peoples in the land of Canaan.
They were a people who worshipped pagan gods,
and as part of their worship, they were involved
in various occultic practices. Diviners, witches,
soothsayers, etc. And he warns them in verses
9 through 14 not to have anything to do with
that sort of spiritist, occultic... kind of activity
and then in verse 15 he gives this significant
statement the lord your god will raise up for
you a prophet like me from among you from your
countrymen you shall listen to him this is according
to all that you asked of the lord your god in
horeb on the day of the assembly saying Let me
not hear again the voice of the Lord my God.
Let me not see this great fire anymore, lest
I die. And the Lord said to me, They have spoken
well. I will raise up a prophet from among their
countrymen like you, and I will put my words
in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all
that I command him. And it shall come about that
whoever will not listen to my words, which he
shall speak in my name. I myself will require
it of him. Here we have a promise that God would
give a prophet in the place of Moses. And in
one sense, it is a prophecy that God would raise
up a line of prophets, people who would speak
on his behalf. But there is in this paragraph
a messianic meaning. In other words, He is talking
about more than a line of prophets or the institution
of the office of prophet. He is talking about
a person who would, in an ultimate and final
sense, be the prophet who would follow him. The
Jews seem to understand it that way. For example,
If you look at the writings in the Qumran community,
where they discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls about
40 years ago now, more than 40 years ago, you
find that those Essenes living down there in
the Dead Sea Valley anticipated the coming of
the prophet. The prophet. And they spoke of him
in terms of the Messiah. That was a general understanding
among the Jewish people in that day. We'll not
take time to look at them, but several times
in the Gospel of John, the Jews, seeking to understand
who Jesus was, asked of John the Baptist or of
him, Are you the prophet? Are you the prophet?
They would also ask, Are you the Christ? So they
seemed to have an understanding that there were
two people coming, the prophet and the Christ.
But they understood that this prophecy in Deuteronomy
chapter 18 was of a particular person of renown
who would come and minister to the Jewish people.
The point that I'm making here in this prophecy
in Deuteronomy is that Moses predicted God spoke
through him to say that there would come after
him a prophet whose words must be heeded or else
there would be judgment from God himself. Indeed,
Christ was speaking through all of the prophets
of the Old Testament. But finally, he came in
flesh himself to the world. And in Acts chapter
3, Peter, in preaching to a large multitude at
the temple, tells them about Jesus Christ, whom
they have crucified, who has been raised from
the dead. And he quotes this passage from Deuteronomy
chapter 18 and refers it to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so let there be no mistake about the fact
that when Deuteronomy was written by Moses and
he recorded these words of a coming prophet,
It was a prophecy of the coming, not just of
a line of prophets, not just of many prophets,
but of the final prophet of God, the Messiah,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in the text you will
notice that there are several lines, several
ideas in this prophecy. In the first place, his
call comes from God. He says the Lord will raise
up this prophet. His call comes from God. It
originates with God himself. Secondly, this prophet
who would come would be of Jewish descent. He
would come from among them. He would be one of
the brethren of the Jews. Thirdly, and interestingly,
he says, he will be like me, Moses says. He will
be like me. Now, in what respect would the Messiah
be like Moses? One commentary, I think, says
it succinctly. The expression specifically means,
like me at Horeb, mediating a fresh and normative
revelation of God. Moses was a type of Christ
both in his life and office. Like Jesus, his
life was spared in infancy. He renounced a royal
court to share in the conditions of life of his
brethren. and he became a captain of salvation
to Israel. He was faithful, full of compassion
and love, a powerful intercessor for his people,
speaking with God face to face and reflecting
the divine glory. Like Christ, he was a mighty
prophet in word and deed, a revealer of God's
will and purpose, a mediator of the covenant,
and a leader of the people. In all of those respects
that we've just read about, the Messiah was like
Moses. The Lord Jesus Christ was like unto Moses.
And the fourth idea in the prophecy is that God
would put his own words into the mouth of this
prophet. And so there would come a prophet whose
call would originate with God himself, who would
be Jewish by descent. who would be likened to
Moses in both life and office, and who would
have the words of God put into his mouth. Christmas
in the Pentateuch concludes in this book of Deuteronomy.
The promised Redeemer's overarching and supreme
purpose would be to reveal God to man. It is
John who seems to pick up on this theme in a
special way. You remember that John, when he
begins his gospel, does not say anything about
the birth event of the Lord Jesus. He begins
by giving Jesus a title. He says, in the beginning
was the what? The Word, the Logos. John selected
a word that was not uncommon in that day. It
was a word that philosophers used. It meant the
expression of an idea. But John, when he chooses
that word, gives it a new meaning, a personal
meaning. Because the word that he talks about
is not merely an idea, some abstract concept.
but he describes the word, the logos, as being
a person. And after giving us a number of details
about this word, this logos from God, he says,
and this word became flesh and dwelt among us.
And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the...
one and only of the Father, full of grace and
truth. And then in verse 17, he identifies the
Word as Jesus Christ. He says the law came through
Moses, but grace and truth. came through Jesus
Christ. He says, no man has seen God at any time.
Well, we think, what about Isaiah? Didn't he
see God on the throne? What about Moses himself?
Didn't he see God in that burning bush? And the
answer to that is yes, God did appear in various
ways in the Old Testament. But John's point is
that no man has seen God's essence at any time.
But he says, the only begotten God who is in
the bosom of the Father. That's a strange expression,
isn't it? We get the understanding of it from
what John tells us later in his gospel about
his position to the Lord Jesus Christ reclining
close to his bosom at the Last Supper. That indicated
a place. of particular dearness. It was a position
of intimacy, of closeness. And what John tells
us about Jesus Christ is that he was in a unique
position of dearness to the Father, who is in
the bosom of the Father. He has declared him,
says John. He has... explained him. And so John
is the one who fulfills for us this Christmas
idea that the Word of God became flesh and dwelt
among us. The Messiah's revelation of God was,
in the first place, personal. It was not merely
the passing along of some word. It was not an
idea that was given. The Messiah's revelation
of God was personal. When God sent His Son into
the world, He did not send Him as a professor
in a theological seminary. Maybe we can be very
glad about that. It was not that Jesus passed
along some ideas that He had learned about God.
That isn't the point. The point is that He came
and declared to us God Himself. It was a personal
revelation of God that He gave. John's choice
of words here is so interesting. He says in John
1 .18, He, the Son, led Him forth. He, the Son,
exegeted the Father. He narrated the Father.
He told us the story of Him in His life. God
spoke in the Old Testament through many means.
God spoke through theophanies, appearances. God
spoke through angels. that did His bidding. God
spoke through prophets and other representatives
who spoke on His behalf. But uniquely, God spoke
to us through His Son, the promised prophet of
Moses. In Hebrews chapter 1, the writer says,
God in former days spoke in a variety of means
through many different people. in many different
ways, in bits and pieces. But in these last days,
He has spoken to us by His Son. The point of
the writer is that God could say nothing more
than what He has now said. The Son has perfectly
expressed to us all that God is. There is nothing
more that needs be said. There is nothing more
that can be said. The Son has personally told
us of the Father. So much so that when Jesus
spoke to his disciples there at the supper table,
he said to them, he who has seen me has seen
the Father. He was a personal. revelation of
God. But secondly, he was the perfect revelation
of God. The perfect revelation of God. Somebody
out here says, I need to get a message to the
pastor. And so he or she calls the usher over
and says, come here, and gives the message for
the pastor. And the usher writes it on a card
or the usher waits until a point in the service
and comes up and says, the lights are on on a
blue Hyundai. The license number is. That's a
simple message. Sometimes it gets a little messed
up. It comes out as a Honda rather than a Hyundai.
But, you know, there's not a lot of difference.
The license plate number may be off. My point
is that when there's a message passed along that
way, something can get lost very easily. But
nothing was lost when the Son came into the world
to reveal the Father to us. Nothing was lost
in the transmission of that truth. Paul, writing
to the Colossians, says, He is the image of God.
Speaking of Christ, the image of God, the icon
is the word. An icon is the resemblance of something
to a prototype from which it's derived and in
whose essence it shares. Christ shares in God's
real being and is a perfect manifestation. of
that being. He is the perfect resemblance of
God. He perfectly passed on to us all about God
that you and I need to know. The writer of Hebrews
says it similarly but uses a different word.
He says, and he is the exact representation of
God's substance. The word there is Our word character.
He is the character of God's substance. This
word refers to an engraved character or an impress
made by a dye or by a seal. Have you seen that
rather weird commercial on television? I think
it's for some cold remedy. In which a person
is walking down a hallway and there are these
faces that come out of the walls. Have you seen
that? Which one I'm talking about? People's faces
are impressed in this whatever it is. And you
can see their face in the side of the wall. I
have no idea what they're advertising. I just
noticed the weirdness of what they put on the
screen. But you see what happens there is there's
an image that is made. There's an impress that
is made. And the result is you can see that person's
face. God is invisible. God cannot be seen by
our eyes unless he chooses in some way to manifest
himself. Our eyes cannot behold God. No man has
seen God's essence at any time. It's impossible.
But the Son is impressed in human flesh, and
we see God in the Son. He is God clothed in flesh
and blood and humanity. So that we can see God
in Christ. He is the exact representation of
God's invisible substance. Then Paul uses a different
word yet in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 6.
He speaks of the Son of Christ being in the form.
of God, the morphe of God. The word means the
outer display of an inward substance. He uses
the same word a little bit later in the same
text when he speaks about him coming in the form
of a servant. The very substance, the very heart
of Jesus Christ was that of a servant. And we
see it in his life. He was the servant of the
Lord. And he is also the form of God. His very
essence inwardly is that he is God himself. And
he gives us in his outward demonstration of life
what God is like. He is the form of God. Perfectly
revealed. All that God is was manifested in the
person of the prophet that Moses foretold, the
Messiah, whose revelation of God was not only
personal but perfect. Finally, we want to say
regarding this revelation of God through the
Messiah that it was final. There is nothing more
that needs now be said to us from God. God has
finished His revelation when He spoke through
His Son. There is not another prophet who will
surpass Him. There is not another book that will
supersede the Bible. Christ is described to us
by John in verse 14 and again in verse 18 as
the monogenes, that is, the one of a kind. He
is absolutely unique. There is nothing, there
is no one like him. His revelation of God is
without parallel, and it can never be repeated
again. He has come, He has spoken, it is final.
And thus the reason we battle with those who
claim that God has given some revelation beyond
this book. Or that God has spoken through some
other prophet after Jesus Christ. For He is the
final prophet of God. The fulfillment. of that
prophecy in the book of Deuteronomy. Moses was
the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. There
is none that surpassed him. But Jesus Christ
did surpass him. You see, Moses spoke with God
face to face. Boy, that's an amazing statement
to me. Moses spoke with God face to face. In
Exodus chapter 34, verse 10. Chapter 33, rather,
verse 11. In Deuteronomy chapter 34 and verse
10. Numbers 12 and verse 8. We see that he spoke
with God face to face. But Jesus Christ is the
very face of God itself. That's the difference.
Moses spoke with God face to face. Jesus Christ
is the face of God. The two are set in contrast
in Hebrews chapter 3, where both are declared
by the writer to have been faithful. But Moses,
as a servant in his house, the son as... The
son over his house. They're different in that
way. And the son is greater than the servant.
The servant is a part of his house. He's in his
house. The son is over it all. Jesus Christ surpasses
Moses. Moses gave the law. And hear me. The law
was holy. righteous and good. The Word of God
says so. But the law was also preliminary. The
law was preparatory. We might say it this way.
The law was given to introduce us to God. John
says, though the law came by Moses, Grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace is set
in contrast to law. In the law, the approach
to God was by obedience. And because that was
not possible for sinners, God in His grace provided
a covering, an atonement for the sins of believers.
so that they could be permitted a relationship
with Him. But under grace, the approach to God
is by faith. The approach to God is through receiving
the gift of righteousness, which God has made
available through Christ's sacrifice. A sacrifice
that is final. A sacrifice that is once for all
for sins. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
If the law was given so that we might be introduced
to God, grace and truth came so that we might
be intimate with God. One writer says, Christ's
incarnation was the full manifestation of grace
and truth. because it was the greatest possible
expression of God's compassion for people and
the most perfect way of conveying the truth to
their understanding, the Incarnation. That which
came by Jesus Christ is God's final statement.
What Moses gave was true, but it was only the
introduction. What Jesus has given is final.
It is finished in Christ. He is the prophet predicted
by Moses who would come after him. A prophet
whose words we must listen to. God says if we
will not listen to the words of that prophet,
he himself will require it of us. So to spurn
or to ignore what God has said in Jesus Christ
is to turn from the only provision that God has
made for us to have a relationship with Him.
The purpose of the Redeemer was to reveal God
to us, not merely so that we would have theology
to study. No, no, no. I am not knocking theology
or the study of theology. But he came for more
than that we might have a theology. It was so
that we might be saved. So that we might be intimate
with God. So that we might have a relationship
with this glorious God who revealed himself on
Mount Horeb and on Mount Calvary. We must either
pay attention to this revelation in Jesus Christ
or lose our souls. That's what it boils down
to. What does it mean to give heed to the words
of this prophet? It means to more than sit in
church and listen to a sermon. To give heed to
the words of this prophet means to give one's
life, to them, to these words. To entrust one's
soul to these words. To live with this prophet
as the Lord of one's life. When you and I do
less than that, God says I will require it of
you. And so today, as we bring to a close this
Christmas season, And we think of the promises
of the Redeemer. We think of His perfection.
And we think of His sacrifice and His reign.
And we think of His purpose in coming. Let's
be sure that our lives are being lived in accordance
with these words that God has given through this
prophet. that we understand that Jesus Christ
is the very Son of God, the very God of very
gods, that he himself has borne our sin, that
he has been raised from the dead now to be our
priest and to be our Lord. And let's bring our
lives up to that measurement and say, Lord, wherein
my life is not conformed to your words, to what
you have revealed. Lord, bring my life into conformity
to that today, because I want to give heed to
your words. I want to live with you as the Lord
of my life. Let's pray together. Dear friend,
God has nothing more to say to me or to you than
that he has said in his Son, Jesus Christ. We
cannot play with this challenge. We cannot toy
with it. We dare not spurn it or ignore it. We
must be serious about what God has said. God
has said in His Son that He loves us. Oh, how
He loves us. He has said in His Son that He is
a God of great compassion. who desires to come
to us, embrace us, to make our lives here meaningful,
and to take us to heaven to live with him for
eternity. He is a God who loves us. And in the
most wonderful way, he has demonstrated that,
through his Son. Have you responded to what God
has done for you, friend? Have you trusted Jesus
Christ as your Savior? Received Him into your
life for the cleansing of your sin? And if you've
done that, are you living today in conformity
to what the Son has said? Is the Son of God truly
the Lord of your life? Are His words the words
by which you live? Oh, I pray that if not, At
the end of one year, near the beginning of another,
you as a Christian would say to this prophet
of God, Lord, you have the words of eternal life.
And I yield myself to you. Take every part of
my being, all that I am, and conform me. Make
me the person you want me to be. Fill me with
your strength. Fill me with your glory. Fill
me with your compassion and grace. And in this
new year before me, may I grow and develop and
become more the person you want me to be. I hope
that's your prayer and your heart's desire today,
Christian friend. Father God, write that upon
our hearts. And may our hearts... Not be hard,
not be calloused, not be cold, but be warm and
tender and moldable in your hands. And write
upon our hearts your word for us, your will for
our lives, the depth of your love. And give us
hearts. gladly, willingly responding to the Lordship
of Christ. God, make us individually and make
us together as a church the people of God you
want us to be. And may this year find us living
out the words of God to one another and to our
community, especially to those without knowledge.
of what you've said through your son. In his
name I pray.