The Prophet

by TERRELL, J. D. | Category: Names And Titles Of The Lord Jesus | Oct 2005

In the final three articles in this series we shall look together at three titles as applied to the Lord Jesus, namely Prophet, Priest, and King; and the aspects of His divine ministry which are connected with them.

So in considering firstly the title and office of PROPHET let us eavesdrop for a moment on one of the most remarkable encounters described in the gospel narrative. It was late afternoon and the journey must be on foot - all seven and a half miles from Jerusalem to their home village. Two weary, utterly bewildered disciples talking together of all these '"things which (had) happened"'. '"What things?"' asked their newly found fellow traveller. '"The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people"'. Most readers will recognise the story and feel again that spine-tingling excitement that the Emmaus road always evokes in the believer rejoicing in the risen Saviour. The Master soon began to lift the thoughts and spirits of the disciples as He launched into what must have been one of the most enlightening discourses human ears ever heard. For, beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Now what is of particular interest to us right now is the way in which the Emmaus road disciples spoke of their crucified Lord � '"a Prophet mighty in deed and word"'. And then, the Master's choice of themes for His self-revealing discourse to them - beginning at (RV, from) Moses and all the Prophets. Clearly, those who heard and companied with Jesus during His ministry had come to think of Him as an outstanding prophet who established His credentials by being mighty in deed and word. This expression evokes in our minds, does it not, the leadership and instruction of a Moses; or the miracles and ministry of an Elijah. For to the Israelite, the office and ministry of the prophets were revered and treated with a very wholesome respect. We know how highly God valued His prophets. In Psalm 105 we read that God's command to the nations was, '"Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm"'.

And now, as the Lord set about opening up the minds of the two travelling disciples He began with Moses and all the prophets. This was language they would understand and relate to. These two disciples probably knew about the Lord's miracle of raising the dead at Nain. On that occasion the exclamation of the on-lookers was, '"A great prophet has risen up among us"' and '"God has visited His people"'. The appearance of a divinely anointed prophet in Israel had always been hailed by the spiritually minded Jew as a real visitation from God. Little wonder the Lord Jesus, the Prophet mighty in deed and word, wept over Jerusalem as He entered the city for the last time before Calvary, and deplored the tragedy, '"you did not know the time of your visitation"'. And all this was in spite of the fact that, when He entered the city initially, the crowd said, '"This is Jesus, the Prophet from Nazareth of Galilee"'. The disciples had earlier told the Lord that many of the people had identified Him as Elijah or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets returned to life.

So let us go back a bit and consider for a moment how the title and office of prophet had emerged in Israel; most importantly how God saw it, and the vital part it played in His self-revelation to His people. In Deuteronomy chapter 18 Moses is in full flood as he recounts to the nation the history of God's dealing with them. In verses 15-22 of that chapter, He reminds them of a promise God had made to him, and repeats the words for emphasis in His address to them. '"The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren"' and, quoting God's own words, he declared, ''I ... will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My Name, I will require it of him''. Some versions of the Bible print the word 'prophet' in this passage with a capital 'P' indicating the translator's conviction that this is a prophecy of the coming Christ. Indeed, students of the Word, seeking Christ in all the Scriptures, can hardly have much doubt about the import of this promise.

Certain it is from the gospels' narrative that the Lord acknowledged the title Prophet as applicable to Himself. We remember His words when His own folk in Nazareth rejected Him. '"A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house"' (Mat.13:57). Then, speaking of His impending sacrifice and death, He said, '"It cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem�' (Luke 13:33). Here was the promised prophet of Deuteronomy 18 with the words of God in His mouth, commanding the acceptance and accountability of all who heard. God would require it of them, as Moses had declared.

So it always was, in varying degrees, for all the prophets of Israel. They were men controlled and inspired by God; men who not only often foretold the future, but even more importantly, were the authoritative bearers of the words of God to His people. The word most commonly used in the Old Testament for 'prophet' carried the thought of bubbling over; of Spirit-filling which could not be contained, but had to have release in the fearless and faithful speaking out of the Word of the Lord. The prophet was a man sent from God, sometimes primarily to His people as in Judges chapter 6 where we read that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel; sometimes to an individual, as with the unnamed man of God who was sent to Eli with a powerful message which has lived on in its solemn promise and warning, ''those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed'' (1 Sam.2:30). In Jeremiah's case the prophetic commission was global in its scope: '"I ordained you a prophet to the nations"'.

The prophetic ministry of Christ embraced all three dimensions - the individual, the people-wide and the universal. In Ephesians chapter 1:9-10 in the RV we read that it was God's good pleasure 'to sum up all things' in Christ. This is certainly true of the way in which the Lord Jesus brought to wonderful consummation the prophetic ministry of the great men of God of Israel's history. We read that the law and the prophets were until John. To the Baptist it was given to introduce to Israel the great Prophet of our God of whom Moses had spoken. If the prophet's chief function was to give forth the Word of God with faithfulness and authority, none fulfilled this like the Son of God. God, 'who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son' (Heb. 1:1-2).

The words of the old hymn say it all:

Great Prophet of our God,

Our tongue would bless Thy Name;

By Thee the joyful news

Of our salvation came;

The joyful news of sins forgiven,

Of hell subdued,

Of peace with heaven. (Isaac Watts)

TERRELL, J. D. | Oct 2005
Names And Titles Of The Lord Jesus