For some of you, your parents put great thought into your name. What it meant. What they wanted you to become.
I’m not sure if my parents thought that deeply about my name. It seems like a rather ordinary name.
But my name represents me. It represents who I am. When I am endorsing a legal document, I sign my name. If someone were to slander me, they would tarnish my name.
What’s in a name?
Jesus Christ has many names:
Lord. He is our ruler. Our boss.
Savior. He saves people from the wrath of God.
The Lamb of God who takes away our sin.
The Bread of life, i.e., the Bread that we need for eternal life.
The Way when we are lost
The Truth, when we are deceived
The Life, when we are dead
The Resurrection, when we need the hope of glorified bodies
Son of David
Lion of Judah
Son of God
Immanuel, meaning God with us.
Your bulletin insert gives a partial list of all the names and titles and descriptions of Jesus Christ.
What other person in human history could make such a wide range of claims?
What other person in history could ever impact the world like he has in the past 2000 years?
And over the centuries, many have articulated Jesus’ work in terms of three “offices” or roles or Titles:
Prophet.
Priest.
King.
Over the next 3 Sundays, we’re going to look at Jesus in these three profound and extraordinary roles.
Our understanding of this and belief in this will shape our lives.
Our worship will be heightened.
Our confidence will increase.
Our obedience will quicken.
Our love will widen.
Jesus is Unparalleled. There has never been anyone like him. There never will be anyone like him.
Many of you in this room have believed in him. You can rejoice that God has been so gracious to you to bring you into a relationship with this Unparalleled Jesus.
Theologian Philip Schaff said this:
“The first century is the life and light of history and the turning point of the ages. If ever God revealed himself to man, if ever heaven appeared on earth, it was in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth.
“He is, beyond any shadow of doubt, and by the reluctant consent of skeptics and infidels, the wisest of the wise, the purest of the pure, and the mightiest of the mighty.
“His Cross has become the tree of life to all nations; his teaching is still the highest standard of religious truth; his example the unsurpassed ideal of holiness.
“The Gospels and Epistles of his Galilean disciples are still the book of books, more powerful than all the classics of human wisdom and genius.”
Let’s talk about Jesus Christ this morning.
Old Testament (OT) Offices for Israel
In the OT for Israel, there were three major offices for the people in their relationship with God.
• Prophets.
Like Samuel, Nathan, and Isaiah. Prophets served by speaking God’s words to the people; They were the mouthpieces of God to the people.
The prophet often said, “Thus says the Lord…” indicating he wasn’t offering his own ideas or words, but he was transmitting what God himself had told him to say.
He spoke about the nature and the heart of God
He spoke about sin and judgment.
He spoke of forgiveness and mercy from God.
• Priests.
Such as Aaron.
The priest offered sacrifices, prayers, and praises to God on behalf of the people.
They were mediators to allow people access to God.
We might say the Priest represented MAN before God.
While the Prophet represented GOD to man.
• Kings.
Such as David and Jehoshaphat.
The king ruled over the people as God’s representative.
These three offices served God and his people Israel.
And these three offices foreshadowed Christ’s own work in different ways.
Christ fulfills these three offices in the following ways:
• as prophet he reveals God to us and speaks God’s words to us;
• as priest he both offers a sacrifice to God on our behalf and is himself the sacrifice that is offered;
• and as king he rules over the church and over the universe, particularly in his future role when he comes to earth a Second Time to establish the kingdom in its fullness.
OT on the Coming Prophet
This morning we are focusing in on Jesus as the Great Prophet.
Moses was the first major prophet, and he wrote the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch.
After Moses there was a succession of other prophets who spoke and wrote God’s words.
But Moses predicted that sometime another prophet like himself would come.
Here is the most foundational passage for today.
Shortly after Jesus rose from the dead, Peter quoted Moses (from Deuteronomy 18:15-18):
Acts 3:22–23 ESV “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’”
So Peter, quoting Moses’ prophecy, clearly tells us that Jesus Christ is this coming Prophet that Moses spoke of and that the Jews anticipated for 1400 years.
Let’s re-read Peter’s last sentence: Every soul who doesn’t listen to him shall be destroyed! Strong words!
No other prophet was foretold of like this or ever spoken of like this.
The Gospels on the Prophet
All this was clear to Peter after Christ died and rose from the dead, but it wasn’t as clear during Jesus’ three years of ministry.
There were rumors and questions by the people, but they didn’t know very much about him. There was disagreement and confusion.
Some Jews knew of this prophecy, and they were expecting him at some point. Following the feeding of the 5000, the people said,
John 6:14 ESV “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”
Clearly they had Moses’ prophecy from Deuteronomy in mind.
When Jesus touched the coffin during a funeral and raised from the dead the son of the widow from the town of Nain, how did the people there respond?
Luke 7:16 ESV Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!”
Another time:
Matthew 16:13–14 ESV Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
In general, the people were conflicted about who Jesus really was. They didn’t get that the Prophet predicted by Moses was also the Messiah (the Christ) and that he would also become the Great High Priest and the King of kings.
John 7:40–44 ESV “When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.”
In spite of the division about him, there was no doubt Jesus was extraordinary.
At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:28–29 ESV “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
He spoke differently than anyone these people had ever heard. And his teaching was not merely great skill in public speaking. There was a power behind his words. An authority.
Something about Jesus was profound.
One time the Pharisees sent some soldiers to arrest him, but the soldiers couldn’t. Or they wouldn’t. Why not?
John 7:45–47 ESV “The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived?”
In the Garden just hours before Jesus’ crucifixion when the soldiers came to arrest him, the Jewish rulers said they were seeking Jesus of Nazareth. John records:
John 18:6 ESV “When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”
The passage is not entirely clear on why or how they fell down, but it seems there was something so powerful and so authoritative about Jesus and his words that they simply fell backwards.
There was and is something about Jesus that caused a STIR in people in those days, and causes a STIR even in our day. All over the world.
If you are a skeptic, you should wonder, “Why?”
There was never anyone BEFORE like him. There has never been anyone SINCE like him.
My faith in Christ has been strengthened this week as I’ve considered him. He is UNPARALLELED.
When OT prophets spoke, they spoke as mere men—weak and frail men standing side by side with the people pointing them to God.
Jesus spoke like that, but much more. He was not merely side by side due to his humanity, he stood above them beckoning them to look to him. To believe in him. Jesus the Great Prophet was and is the ACCESS to God. Our faith in God goes through him. (This also ties in with next week’s theme of Jesus as the Great High Priest.)
John 3:18 ESV “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Jesus is unique from all the other prophets of God, for we are not merely to believe the WORDS that Jesus says, we are to believe in HIM. This is profoundly significant. We accept or reject the PERSON of Jesus. In him we find LIFE or DEATH.
We must pay attention to him.
Jesus spoke like all the other OT prophets by predicting future events, but uniquely so. The greatest example: he predicted his own death and resurrection.
Matthew 16:21 ESV “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Who could predict his own death at the hands of others…with accuracy? Who could predict that he would rise from the dead?
Rising from the dead sounds ridiculous, anyway. But then to predict—and accurately so—that is not of this world.
And Jesus not only MADE prophetic predictions, he FULFILLED them.
After he rose from the dead, he spoke with two disciples walking along a road toward a town called Emmaus.
Luke 24:27 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
He was the fulfillment of many long-awaited prophecies.
In doing so, he placed himself at the very CENTER of history.
The OT prophets pointed forward to Jesus.
The NT apostles pointed backward to Jesus.
All the prophets in the OT claimed to speak the truth.
Jesus did that but far more. He claimed he WAS the Truth.
John 14:6 ESV Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The OT prophets would never make such a claim. Jesus did more than speak the truth. He embodied the Truth. He was the truth.
For you here today who love Jesus, you are quite privileged to know the most remarkable person ever to walk the earth.
Related to the name, “The Truth,” is another one.
John 1:1 ESV “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
He does not merely speak the word of God, he IS the Word of God. All that God the Father utters to man with his words, Jesus Christ his Son is the embodiment and the spokesman and the perfect representation of the Father.
Why the name, “The Word”?
Words express thoughts. People don’t know what you are thinking—your thoughts are “invisible”— until you speak.
So, in this sense, Jesus expresses the invisible God. And perfectly so.
Jesus himself is the revelation of God to man.
Think about this! This is one of the fundamental differences between Christianity and every other religion in the history of the world! Many religions have written words to describe an “invisible god.” They have their sacred books.
This is in sharp contrast to Christianity where a person was sent to fully demonstrate an invisible God.
Towards the end of Jesus’ time on earth, when the disciples were struggling,
“Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”
(He wanted to see God so he could be really sure.)
Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?” (John 14:8–9)
The life of Jesus reveals the invisible God! He is the WORD of God.
Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, Savior of the world.
He not only speaks the Truth, he IS the Truth.
He not only utters words from God, he IS the Word of God.
He not only spoke prophecy, he was the fulfillment of centuries of prophecies.
The Epistles on the Prophet
That’s an earnest look at the Gospel record of Jesus. What about the rest of the NT? The Epistles?
I find it significant and fascinating that nowhere in the Epistles—in the NT letters—could I find that Jesus is called a prophet.
Not in Paul’s letters. Not in Peter’s or John’s letters.
Nor in Hebrews, although the implication of Christ as Prophet—as Spokesman for God—is clear.
Hebrews 1:1–2 ESV “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
Jesus changed everything.
When he came, lived, died, and rose from the dead, all of biblical history and all of human history changed. God’s communication to mankind changed when he sent his Son, Jesus.
But in these last days, God now speaks to us through his Son, Jesus. The text doesn’t explicitly call him the Prophet, but the comparison is unavoidable. He has become THE spokesman for God.
He is really much more than the prophets of old. He is the SON. The Son of God. The Word of God. THE Great Prophet that Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy.
And given the description of him here— the heir of all things, through whom he created the world—it is difficult to think of any other later prophets, or so-called prophets, who could possibly surpass him. Like Muhammad or Joseph Smith who founded Mormonism.
Why is He not explicitly called “The Prophet” in the Epistles?
Perhaps two reasons:
1. He is the Son. The Father sent his Son to represent himself to us. The Son is greater than a Prophet could be.
2. Jesus is the one about whom the prophecies in the OT were made.
All the prophets of old wrote about Jesus. He was their focus.
His greatest accomplishment was not in speaking prophecies. His greatest accomplishment was fulfilling all the prophecies through his life, death, resurrection, ascension, and imminent return.
How Does this Impact Us?
How does all this impact us? Jesus is the Great Prophet from God. What do we do with this?
Marvel at Jesus.
God’s promises came true. He said he would send a great Prophet, and he did.
He stunned the world when he came. The authority with which he spoke. The power of his words. The truth of what he said.
His words divided the people. No one could stay neutral. He prophesied about himself.
He calmed a raging storm with just a few spoken words, “Peace! Be still!”
He raised Lazarus from the dead by a simple call, “Lazarus, come out!”
He cried out in his last words on the cross, “It is finished!!”
We sang the song, “Cling to the Crucified.” That song is marveling about Jesus, and calling us to hold on to him.
He is the Mighty One
The Holy One.
The Gracious One.
The Faithful One
The Living One
The Loving One.
Cling to the Lamb who died.
We should marvel at him. And worship him.
There has never been anyone like him. And never will be. He is Unparalleled.
Our faith in him can be strengthened today as we consider him.
Listen to him.
With such authority as he wielded and wields, we must pay attention to him.
He has ascended into heaven, but he still speaks through his Holy Spirit and the written Word of God.
Hebrews 1 tells us that in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. God is speaking through Jesus.
Are we listening?
Do not ignore him. Do not plug your ears. Do not trifle with him. Do not tangle with him. Do you remember what Peter said in Acts 3, quoting Moses?
“It shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.”
At the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, the disciples were commanded to listen to Jesus.
Matthew 17:5 ESV “He [Peter] was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’”
Paul tells us,
Colossians 3:16 ESV “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Let the message of Jesus and about Jesus reside in your heart and mind. This is why I encourage us all to read our Bibles regularly. To come with a heart to learn on Sunday morning and at our Life Groups.
When you hear various philosophical views on life, what voices are making the final decision for you in what is true and what is false? Do you ask, “How does that line up with what Jesus says in his Word?”
When you have conversations on how to politically solve our society’s problems… hear what Jesus says first and foremost.
When the culture tells you where true value comes from, listen to the Spirit of Christ speaking to us through God’s Word.
When someone says, “There are many ways to God,” examine Jesus’ startling words on that.
Listen to whatever he says. Then believe him. And obey him.
Center our lives on Jesus
Center our lives on him.
Not on family.
Not on our children or grandchildren.
Not on career.
Not on church activities.
Jesus is the True North on the compass of our lives. He is the Center not only of our lives but of life itself.
Many of you in this room are beautiful examples of this, and your lives are a beautiful treasure.
In all life’s decisions, make him center. Seek his will.
Often in the morning when I’m praying, I think of the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus said to pray this to the Father: “May your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.”
Multiple times this past week, I prayed those words: “Lord, may your will be done in me and with Annette today. In all we are doing today, may your will be done.”
If you are deciding what job to take, center your life on Jesus in that decision.
If you are wondering if you should marry this girl, make Jesus at the center.
When deciding how to use money you have, put Jesus in the middle.
When you wonder what to do over the weekend, seek Jesus first.
We are to spend our lives doing the will of Him who is UNPARALLELED.
Conclusion
Someone once said that Jesus Christ is the “Triple Cure.”
He is the Triple Cure for this Eternal Problem we have: a broken relationship with God Almighty, our Creator.
It is broken, and we cannot fix it. But Jesus not only can fix it, He Himself IS the FIX.
Triple Cure:
Prophet—the Word of God. He is the Voice we listen to. We must listen to his voice more than any other voice.
Priest—he represents us to God. He is our Mediator, offering his own blood in payment for our debt to God. Through him we can approach God boldly.
King—he rules over us.
God has promised that in his Son is life itself. And Paul said in 2 Cor. 1:20, “All the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in Christ.”
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