A Look at Messianic Prophecy: Who is the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15-18?

Introduction

 Anyone who has studied evidential apologetics will see that many apologists have laid a great emphasis on messianic prophecy as one of the keys to demonstrating Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. One thing that is left out of these discussions is that when it comes to prophecy, it is not always predictive. The Greek word for fulfill is πληρόω (pleroo) – which has a much broader usage than “the prediction of an event.”

For example, in Matthew 5:17- Jesus says he came to “fulfill” the Law and the Prophets. In this passage “fulfillment” has a sense of embodying, bringing to completion, or perfecting. Fulfillment is one of the main themes of the New Testament, which sees Jesus and his work bringing to fruition the significance of the Hebrew Bible. However, let’s look at a case of predictive prophecy. For a prophecy to be predictive it must meet the following criteria:

1. A biblical text clearly envisions the sort of event alleged to be the fulfillment.

2. The prophecy was made well in advance of the event that was predicted.

3. The prediction actually came true.

4. The event predicted could not have been staged but anyone but God.

5. Clear Prediction: Is the prophecy publicly available with a reliable text and evident interpretation?

6. Documented Outcome: Is the prophecy documented by publicly available facts?

7. Is there evidence for it in world history?

8. Proper Chronology: Is there empirical evidence that is available presently and publicly to document that indeed the prophecy does predate its fulfillment?

It must be remembered that the strength of this evidence is greatly enhanced if the event is so unusual that the apparent fulfillment cannot plausibly explained as a good guess.[1]

One of the most pivotal texts that speak about the first coming of the Messiah is Deuteronomy 18: 15-18:

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18: 15-18).

I. What is the purpose of a prophet?

1. A prophet (Heb. nabi) was an individual who received a call from God to be God’s spokesperson, often connected with some crisis that was about to occur, and then announced God’s message of judgment and/or deliverance to Israel and the nations.

2. The office of prophet took place in Moses’ day ( Deut 18:15-22).

3. The word “prophet” occurs over 300 times in the Old Testament and almost 125 times in the New Testament. The term “prophetess” appears 6 times in the Hebrew Bible and 2 times in the New Testament.[2]

II. In Deuteronomy 18:15-22 and Deuteronomy 13:1-5 , God listed five certifying signs by which a true prophet of God could be recognized:

1. A prophet must be an Israelite, “from among [his] own brothers“ ( Deut 18:15 ) (Balaam is the exception that proves this rule).

2. He must speak in the name of the Lord, “If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name” (Deut. 18:19 ).

3. He must be able to predict the near as well as the distant future -”If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken” ( Deut. 18:22 ).

4. He must be able to predict signs and wonders (Deut. 13:2 ).

5. His words must conform to the previous revelation that God has given ( Duet .13:2-3 ).[3]

II. Let’s look at the context of the Passage (Deut 18:15-22)

1. God, through Moses, is warning Israel to remain separate from the evil practices of the surrounding nations (Deut. 18:9-12). God instructs Israel how to tell the difference between a “true prophet” and a “false prophet.”

2. After God had warned Israel about attempting to get supernatural information from bogus pagan sources ( Deut 18:9-14 ), he announced that he would “raise up for them a prophet like Moses from among their own brothers” (v. 15).

3. Any prophet who speaks in the name of the Lord and his words do not come true is a “false prophet.” God has not spoken through him.

4. In the same context God tells Israel He will send prophets who will truthfully speak for Him. What’s more, Israel can someday expect a prophet who will be “like Moses,” that God will specially raise up.

5. The word “prophet” is in the singular, so it must refer to some individual prophet in the future.

6. God would “put his words in the prophet’s mouth and the prophet will tell the people everything God commanded him” (v. 18).[4]

III. The wider context shows that:

1. (Deut. Ch, 16-18) describes the offices of king and priest.

2. This would support the text (Deut 18: 15-19) being about the Messiah because He is the head of both those offices.

3. The nearer context of Deut. 18: 9-14 prohibits pagan divination contrasted with Deut: 18: 15.

IV. What Deut. 34: 10-12 which says that “No prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”

Does this prophecy mean the end of prophecy had come? The answer is that at that time, there had been no historical fulfillment because none of them have been like Moses. But this does not mean there is not someone who will come in the future to fulfill the prophecy.[5]  After all, if prophecy had ended than why is it in the time of Jesus that many Jewish people seem to be looking for the prophet of Deut. 18:15-22?

1 The people said, “When they heard these words, some of the crowd began to say, “This really is the Prophet!” -John 7:40

2. “Now when the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus performed, they began to say to one another, “This is certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”- John 6:14

3. John the Baptist began to preach, he was asked, “Are you the Prophet ?” -John 1:19-23

Remember, the prophecy says that a future prophet will be like Moses:  “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you.”

Let’s look at the similarities between Moses and Jesus:

1. Moses was the greatest prophet, leader and teacher that Judaism has ever known.

2. Moses Maimonides (1138- 1204), was a medieval Jewish philosopher whose writings are considered to be foundational to Jewish thought and study. In one of Maimonides 13 Principles of Faith is the belief that Moses’ prophecies are true, and that he was the greatest of the prophets.

Has Deuteronomy 18:15-18 been recognized by the Jewish people as Messianic?

‘A Prophet from the midst of thee.’ In fact, the Messiah is such a prophet as it is stated in the Midrash of the verse, ‘Behold, my Servant shall prosper’ (Isaiah 52:13)….Moses, by the miracles which he wrought, brought a single nation to the worship of God, but the Messiah will draw all peoples to the worship of God.” –Rabbi Levi ben Gershon-14th century [6]

V. If the Messiah is supposed to draw all peoples to worship God, remember the following:

Given that the Messiah is called to be the ideal representative of His people, His mission is also to be a “light to the nations.” We see the following in Isa. 49:1-7: The Servant of the Lord is a chosen instrument by the Lord (1–3). The Servant glorifies the Lord before Israel and brings back the remnant of Israel ( 5–6). He has calling to all the nations (Gentiles). Kings and princes shall see and bow down to the Servant (vs. 7). Yet, for the sake of the glorified name of the Lord, this Servant also suffers (vs 4), being despised and abhorred by Israel (vs 7). In relation to Jesus’ messiahship, while a remnant believed in Him, what is more significant is that Christianity now the home of 1.4 billion adherents. Sure, large numbers don’t make a faith true. But another traditional view is that the Messiah will spread the knowledge of the God of Israel to the surrounding nations (Isa.11:9;40:5;52:8). Are there any other messianic candidates that have enabled the world to come to the knowledge of the one true God other than Jesus?

Remember that the Abrahamic Covenant was prophetic. In this sense, there are several aspects of the covenant such as land promises, etc. But as far as Gentiles, they are supposed to receive spiritual blessings, but ultimately these were fulfilled though one specific “seed” of Abraham—the Messiah.

Also, given Israel’s calling it should be no shock that in Ephesians 2: 11-3:6, the Gentiles recipients are addressed as those who were formally without the Messiah. They were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2: 12). So Israel was already near (Eph. 2:17), but the good news is that now along with Gentiles they even brought closer to God (Eph. 2:18).

VI. If this prophet has to be “like Moses” how else does Jesus meets these qualifications?

He must be a great intercessor:

1. Moses was the great intercessor for Israel, preventing God from utterly destroying them when they worshipped the golden calf (Ex. 32:7-14; Num. 14:11-22).

2. Jesus is a greater intercessor. He now intercedes on behalf of all mankind (Jn. 3:16: Heb. 7:25; note Num. 21:4-9 and Jn. 3:14).

He must be a great prophet, judge and king:

1. Moses was a great prophet, judge, and king: (Ex. 18:13; Deut. 33:5).

2. Jesus was a greater prophet, judge and king (Jn. 1:19-21, 29-34, 45; Mt. 2:2; Jn. 5:26-29; Heb. 7:17).

He must be a Redeemer:

1. Moses rescued Israel from the bondage and slavery of Egypt (Ex. 3-4; Acts 7:20-39).

2. Jesus rescued the world from the bondage and slavery of sin (Eph. 2:1-8; Rom. 3:28-4:6).

He must be a Mediator:

1. Moses was the mediator between God and Israel. The first case we see for someone who wants to atone for the sins of Israel is one of their greatest prophets-Moses himself. You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” (Exod. 32:30).

2. Jesus is now the Mediator between God and all humanity (1 Tim. 2:5).

He must be able to speak to God “face to face.”

1. Remember, this individual will be like Moses in that God spoke to Moses “face to face.” This literally means “mouth to mouth.”

2. Therefore, whoever the prophet would be, he would be required to speak to God face to face.

Like Moses, Jesus claims to speak the words of God:

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him”

1. So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” -John 7: 16-18.

2. “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”-John 8:26

3. “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”-John 12: 49-50

VII. In order to be like Moses, this prophet will have to be a “sign prophet.”

1. While actions by other prophets such as Ezekiel and Jeremiah etc. show some significant parallels to Jesus, Jesus is closer to the actions of the Jewish sign prophets such as Moses.

2. Miracles have purpose in that they are used to provide evidence for people to believe the message of God through a prophet of God.

3. The writing prophets of the Hebrew Bible did not perform miracles, so they cannot be the prophet that Moses spoke about!

We see this is an important feature with Moses:

1. God says, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you” (Exod. 3:12).

2. When Moses asks God, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me?” the Lord gives Moses two “signs”: his rod turns into a snake (Exod. 4:3) and his hand becomes leprous (Exod. 4:1–7).

3. Moses “performed the signs before the people, and they believed; … they bowed down and worshiped” (Exod. 4:30–31).[7]

How does Jesus fulfill the role of a “sign prophet?”

Remember, “sign” (sēmeion) is used seventy-seven times (forty-eight times in the Gospels). It is occasionally used of ordinary events, such as circumcision (Rom. 4:11), and of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes (Luke 2:12). [8]

Remember that the prophet Isaiah spoke of a time where miraculous deeds would be the sign of both the spiritual and physical deliverance of Israel (Isa.26: 19; 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 42:18; 61:1). Also:

1. The word “sign” is reserved for what we would call a miracle.

2. “Sign” is also used of the most significant miracle in the New Testament, the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.

3. Jesus repeated this prediction of his resurrection when he was asked for a sign (Matt. 16:1, 4). Not only was the resurrection a miracle, but it was a miracle that Jesus predicted (Matt. 12:40; 16:21; 20:19; John 2:19).

4. Nicodemus said of Jesus “We know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2).

5. “Jesus the Nazarene was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know” (Acts 2:22)

As already mentioned, Jesus is viewed as the “prophet” is a firm motif of the early traditions of the New Testament (see above).

Remember: The text says that the prophet must be able to predict the near as well as the distant future -”If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken” ( Deut 18:22 ).

VII. Did Jesus actually predict anything that came to pass? Let’s look at a few of them:

1. Jesus predicted that he would be dead for three days and then be raised from the dead (Matthew 16:21; 20:18-19; cf. 12:39-40). See A Cumulative Case for the Resurrection.

2. Jesus gave a prophecy to his disciples, “… you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” They were baptized about ten days after he ascended up into Heaven (Acts 1:5)

3. Jesus said his church would grow rapidly (Matthew 13:30)

4. Jesus gave a prophecy that another Helper would be sent (the Holy Spirit) and we see that the Spirit of Truth, was sent about ten days after prophecy ascended up into Heaven (John 14:16-17)

5. Jesus also discussed that judgment would come to the unrepentant sinning people of the cities of Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Korazin because they rejected Jesus and his miracles. This came to pass when the cities were diminished and the people were afflicted by the Romans and these three cities were abandoned (Matthew 11:20-24).

Note: I will defer to Glen Miller’s work on handling the common objection that Jesus is failed apocalyptic prophet because of Matthew 16:28 . Glen’s article called Was Jesus a failed apocalyptic prophet that the embarrassed church had to re-work into something different? can be read here:  http://christianthinktank.com/spinmequick4.html?vm=r&s=1

Conclusion:

As far as the promise of a prophet to come like Moses, are there any other candidates that have come that fulfill this messianic prophecy?

Sources:

---