The Prophet Like Moses
Identifies: His MINISTRY
A chain about the Messiah as the ultimate revealer of God's word and deliverer. In Jewish expectation, messianic hope included speculation about the return of ancient biblical figures, especially Moses and Elijah. The promise of a 'prophet like Moses' created an expectation that persisted through the centuries, Deuteronomy itself closes with the note that the promise remained unfulfilled.
Moses as a type of Christ
TypologicalDeliverer of his people, mediator of the covenant, prophet
— Exodus-Deuteronomy (BSB)The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you. Everyone who does not listen to Him will be completely cut off from among his people.’
This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.
For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. And every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
Now Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be spoken later. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.
Moses set the pattern: deliverer, lawgiver, mediator. Deuteronomy promised one 'like Moses', and then noted that no such prophet had yet appeared.
A prophet like Moses
God will raise up a prophet like Moses from among His people
— Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19 (BSB)The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him. … I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
When the people saw the sign that Jesus had performed, they began to say, “Truly this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
On hearing these words, some of the people said, “This is truly the Prophet.”
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you.
Heaven must take Him in until the time comes for the restoration of all things, which God announced long ago through His holy prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.
The prophet like Moses would speak with God's own authority and work miraculous signs confirming his mission.
Teaching in parables
Opening His mouth in parables; hearing but not understanding
— Psalm 78:2; Isaiah 6:9-10 (BSB)I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning, … And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
Fulfilled in the New Testament
Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
Anointed by the Spirit
The Spirit of the LORD would rest upon Him
— Isaiah 11:2; 61:1-2 (BSB)The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him -the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. … The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,
Fulfilled in the New Testament
As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.
the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
Healing ministry
The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk
— Isaiah 35:5-6; 53:4 (BSB)Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. … Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases.”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?’”
At that very hour Jesus healed many people of their diseases, afflictions, and evil spirits, and He gave sight to many who were blind. So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Performing miracles
Eyes of the blind opened, ears of the deaf unstopped
— Isaiah 35:5-6 (BSB)Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”
When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
Ministry in Galilee
The people walking in darkness in Galilee would see a great light
— Isaiah 9:1-2 (BSB)Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those in distress. In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future He will honor the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations:
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
When Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
A light to the Gentiles
A light for revelation to the Gentiles
— Isaiah 42:1-4, 6; 49:6 (BSB)“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.” … “I, the LORD, have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, … He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
Fulfilled in the New Testament
“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory. In His name the nations will put their hope.”
a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.”
For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
The Servant who brings light to the nations would also be beaten and spat upon, willing suffering as part of his mission.
A messenger to prepare the way
A voice crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD
— Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1 (BSB)A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all humanity together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” … “Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple -the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight -see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Fulfilled in the New Testament
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.” “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet: “I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
Before the Prophet could arrive, a forerunner must appear, one in the spirit and power of Elijah.
The spirit of Elijah would precede Him
Elijah would come before the great day of the LORD
— Malachi 4:5-6 (BSB)Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Fulfilled in the New Testament
For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.
Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
The Cumulative Portrait
The ultimate Prophet would speak God's words with God's unmediated authority (mouth to mouth, like Moses), be a deliverer bringing a greater Exodus, be a covenant mediator greater than Sinai, work miraculous signs, especially healing the blind, deaf, lame, and mute, be anointed by the Spirit, and bring God's instruction to all nations, not Israel alone.
New Testament Fulfillment
Jesus explicitly claimed Isaiah 61 in the Nazareth synagogue: 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' When John the Baptist asked 'Are you the one?', Jesus pointed to the signs of Isaiah 35: the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear. The crowds identified him as 'the Prophet.' Peter quoted Deuteronomy 18 and applied it to Jesus. Luke describes Jesus' death using the Greek word exodos, the ultimate deliverance.