The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people. You shall heed such a prophet. This is Moses speaking, promising a successor. The rabbis interpreted this as pointing to the Messiah. Christian tradition interprets it as Jesus.
But I'm struck by what it means for a prophet to be like Moses. Moses talked face-to-face with God. Moses wasn't a wonder-worker trying to prove himself. He was a spokesman for God, saying: here's what the LORD says.
When I read the Gospels and see Jesus, I see someone doing this. He isn't trying to impress people with signs. He's speaking with authority about the kingdom of God. The authorities know something is different about His presence. He talks like God Himself is speaking.
What gets me is that this promise is in Deuteronomy, the final book of the Torah, Moses' farewell. He's saying: I'm leaving you, but don't despair. God will send someone else. Someone who knows Him like I know Him. Someone who will speak for Him to you.
I believe that person was Jesus. And for two thousand years, God has been speaking through Jesus to His people. That promise has held. When I read Scripture, when I listen for God, I'm listening for the voice of the One who came like Moses but greater than Moses.
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