"Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, 'A mighty prophet has risen among us,' and 'God has visited his people today.'” (Luke 7:16 NLT)
Christian Cyclopedia defines the word prophet, "in Scripture a prophet is a divinely inspired forth-teller (1 Sm 10:6; Jer 1:2; Eze 1:1; Hos 1:1; 1 Ptr 1:11; 2 Ptr 1:21) who rebukes sin (2 Sm 12; Is 58:1; Eze 3:17; Mi 3:8), shows God's mercy (Is 40; 53), and in gen., proclaims messages of God (Ex 4:14–15; 7:1–2: Eze 11; Heb 1:1–2)."
We see all of these prophetic qualities in Jesus' life.
- Rebuking sin (John 8:11)
- Showing God's mercy (Matthew 5:3-12)
- Proclaims messages of God (The Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5:13-7:29)
Throughout the Old Testament, God's prophets forth-told of the coming Messiah, the one who would come and save God's people.
Jesus forth-told of this as well.
"Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, 'Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.' While Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he called out, 'Yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I’m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don’t know him. But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you.'" (John 7:25a, 26b-29 NLT)
What separates Jesus from all the other prophets is that Jesus came to the world and forth-told the Good News of Himself.
"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17 NLT)
Where else in the God's Word do we find Jesus: Prophet? What were people's reaction to the prophecy He shared? Who were offended? Who were afraid? Whose lives were forever changed, saved by God, not to perish but to have eternal life with our Loving God?
"And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside." (Luke 7:17 NLT)
How may we spread the news and introduce Jesus: Prophet to others? How may we reveal from God's Word that Jesus wasn't just a man who taught great wisdom and did kind things, but that He was (is) God Himself, who came to us (not us to Him) to save us from sin and death?
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