THE ONE 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).

Moses said, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you"  (Acts 3:22).

I am currently reading through the book of Deuteronomy.  Reading this inspired me to write this advent meditation.  One of the foundation stones of Christian apologetics is the fulfillment of prophecy.  It was essential for the apostles, preachers and teachers of the New Testament to show how the coming of Jesus, the Christ, fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Fourteen hundred years before Christ, Moses prophesied that God would raise up a propet like himself.  In the apostle Peter's second sermon, he says that Jesus is the one like Moses.  Being like Moses was one of the necessary qualifications of the Messia that people were looking for (John 1:45).  There are many similarities between Jesus and Moses.  The following list only contains the salient similarities:
1. They were both born under difficult circumstances in which their lives were in danger.
2. They both came out of Egypt.
3. They both enjoyed intimate communication with God (Deut. 34:10 & John 1:18).
4. Moses was the mediator between God and His people.  Jesus is the great mediator between God & His own (Hebrews 4:14-16).
5. Moses delivered Israel from slavery.  Jesus is the great deliverer from sin.
6. Both Moses and Jesus were miracle workers to credential their authority.  Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea; Jesus calmed the storms on Galilee.  Moses brought manna from heaven; Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes to feed the fultitudes.  Moses turned the waters of Egypt to blood; Jesus turned the water to wine at a wedding feast in Cana.  Truly, Jesus Christ is the only one who fulfills the prophecy of Moses.  So, as both Moses and God said (Matthew 17:1-5) we must listen to Jesus.

Our Father's Love,
Tom