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The LORD said to Moses, “I will raise up a Prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put My Words in His mouth.”

᛭ INI ᛭

The Lord made a promise in Deuteronomy 18. He kept that promise in Christ. Christ is the Prophet like Moses. Moses was the greatest of Prophet, second to John the Baptist, of course, as Christ made clear last week. The end of Deuteronomy 34 says, “There has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.” The LORD also said this about Moses in Numbers 12: “If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD.”

The Lord did raise up prophets from among the children of Israel from time to time. Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim, Isaiah from Judah, Jeremiah from Levi. But none of these were like Moses. Christ is the Prophet like Moses. He’s a better prophet than Moses because He’s the Son of God and not servant (Heb 3). The Apostle John says earlier in His Gospel that Christ is the Word of God, the Only-Begotten Son of God, that Christ didn’t just see the form of God but He is “in the bosom of the Father.”

CHRIST IS THE PROPHET WHOSE WORD GIVES LIFE TO THOSE WHO HEAR.

(I. Christ truly is Prophet.)

Now, Christ is indeed the Prophet that the LORD Promised Moses and Israel. Prophet is one of Christ’s Offices. (He’s also King and Priest.) A prophet is someone who preaches the Word of the LORD. We often think that a prophet’s just someone who predicts stuff that’s going to happen in the future, but that’s not quite it. A prophet isn’t the one predicting stuff. The Prophet is sent to declare the Word of the LORD. Sometimes that’s a Word for the future, “This will happen.” Sometimes that’s a Word for the present, “You’re sinning! Repent!” Sometimes it’s a reminder about the past, “The LORD brought you out of Egypt.” Sometimes it’s all three wrapped up together.

Christ preaches the Word of the LORD because He is the LORD Himself. The LORD’s His own Prophet. The Son preaches the Word of the Father. And we see that Christ is a faithful and true Prophet. He preached that He would suffer, die at the hands of Gentiles, and rise on the Third Day, and that’s exactly what happened! “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The Third Day He rose again from the dead.” Because Christ did that we believe He’s the promised Prophet, the Savior of the World, whose other prophecies will come true.

(II. “To listen” (Dt 18) means to have faith.)

Now, the LORD has words of warning about how we should react to the Promised Prophet. He warns His people Israel, but it also applies to you and to me. “Him you shall hear” the LORD says. “Listen to Him.” Pay attention to what He says, believe what He says, do what He says. This is what it means to “hear” and listen. This isn’t letting it go in one ear and out the other. This isn’t ignoring the Word. This isn’t saying, “Sola Scriptura,” “the Bible Alone,” and then well, not learning, not reading, not listening. “Him you shall hear” means to take what Christ says to heart, to act on it, of course, but primarily to believe it. By the power of the Holy Spirit, who’s living and active in the Word, faith in turn then acts on the Word, wants the Word, delights in the Word. If there is no true faith, well, to those who don’t hear, to those who don’t have faith, the LORD warns, “And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.”

Faith and the Word are meant to go together. But they can be separate. The devil himself knows the Bible. Even unbelievers can know the Words of Scripture. In fact, it’s possible that unbelievers can know Bible history and verses better than believers! Knowing Bible verses, having them committed to memory, is not necessarily a sign of faith. “Faith without works is dead.” Those works are commanded and described in all 10 Commandments, including the Third, which we’ll get to in a moment. But as it stands true faith listens to the Word of God, listens to Christ’s Words, believes them and behaves as if it believes them. Faith lives by the Word of Christ, lives for the Word of Christ, and lives out the Word of Christ. Faith does this because it believes that

CHRIST IS THE PROPHET.

(III. Christ’s Word gives life!)

Faith also does this because of the Promises attached to Christ’s Words. Faith believes not only that CHRIST IS THE PROPHET, but that CHRIST IS THE PROPHET WHOSE WORDS GIVE LIFE. His Word created life at the Beginning of the World: “Let the earth and sea bring forth plants, all manner of sea creatures and birds of the air, all livestock, wild animals, and creeping things.” Christ’s WORD is still living and active, and so it gives life to faith and spiritual enlightenment to the mind. The Word gives strength to believe and to do all that the LORD has said.

When we highlight and magnify Christ’s Words we’re doing nothing else than confessing that we believe CHRIST IS THE PROPHET WHOSE WORDS GIVE LIFE. Holy Baptism gives forgiveness, life, and salvation. Holy Absolution gives the same. The Holy Scriptures make you wise unto salvation. Our Lutheran Liturgy gives Life because it’s mostly the Word of the Bible. Not all sermons are equal, those that agree with the Scriptures, that work repentance and faith, those are faithful and true no matter what you personally think about them. The LORD’S Supper is what Christ says it is, and it’s for what Christ says it’s for. HE IS THE PROPHET after all. He not only speaks the Word which creates the wheat and grapes, He says, “This bread is My body given for you. This cup of wine is the New Testament in My blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” “These Words along with the bodily eating and drinking are the main thing in the Sacrament.” (SC VI)

If we believe that CHRIST IS THE PROPHET WHOSE WORDS GIVE LIFE TO THOSE WHO HEAR, who believe, well, we’d have worn out Bibles rather than pristine one’s. If we believed it, our fonts would have water damage from so many Baptisms. There’d be a worn path in the carpet leading to the altar. But as it stands hardly any Christians read their Bibles daily, many delay baptism, and the Sacrament is despised in a great many denominations. And preaching? Well,

… So much depends upon God’s Word. Without it, no holy day can be sanctified. Therefore, we must know that God insists upon a strict observance of this commandment and will punish all who despise His Word and are not willing to hear and learn it, especially at the time appointed for the purpose. [96] It is not only the people who greatly misuse and desecrate the holy day who sin against this commandment (those who neglect to hear God’s Word because of their [work or hobbies or time off]). But even that other crowd sins. They listen to God’s Word like it was any other trifle and only come to preaching because of custom. They go away again, and at the end of the year they know as little of God’s Word as at the beginning. (LC I, alt.)

(Conclusion.)

John was not the Prophet promised to Moses. Christ is. CHRIST IS THE PROPHET WHOSE WORD GIVES LIFE TO THOSE WHO HEAR. His Words give life because He Himself is the Word of Life, who secured life for you by His death, who assured eternal life by His resurrection, and whose Word constantly gives life. Yet, it only gives life to those who hear, to those who believe, who trust and cherish His Holy Word, whether that Word is delivered in the Bible, in the Sermon, at Baptism, through Absolution, or in the Supper of Christ’s body and blood. And your faith in that Word can be seen by how you treat that Word. “Faith without works is dead.” “It shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.”

May this prayer from Psalm 119 be true and answered for you and for all of us: “In Your steadfast love give me life, O LORD, that I may keep the testimonies of Your mouth.” (88)

᛭ INI ᛭