A Prophet Like Moses

A PROPHET LIKE MOSES
Near the end of the life of Moses, the Lord promised that another prophet would come who would be like Moses. The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. (Deuteronomy 18:15). This prophet would speak with the words of power that were equal to those spoken by Moses. The New Testament apostles recognized that the fulfillment of this prophecy was seen in Jesus (Acts 3:19-22). The prophecy goes on to describe in exactly what way the future prophet would be like Moses.

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. 19 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. (Deuteronomy 18:18-19).

What made Moses so special that he should be compared with the Messiah? It was that he had the words of the Lord. But that is not all. All of the prophets that followed had the word of the Lord. There was something even more special about Moses. It is that he saw God. No made before or since ever saw God. Moses caught a mere glimpse of God's “afterglow” (Exodus 33:18-23). Only Jesus has seen God in His fulness. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18).

Notice also the tenses that are used. Jesus is described, not as the One who was in the bosom of the Father, but as the One who is in the bosom of the Father. This verse takes us full circuit from the beginning to the incarnation and then to the ascension of Christ. When we come to meet Him, we come to meet One who is in the very bosom of the Father.