Christ the Prophet

Hebrews 1:1-2

We need a Word

We are hungry for a word today, for something to renew us, revitalize us, give us a sense of direction, purpose, being…

We feel lost in the dark without it, wandering from the fold, groping in the night.

If God is there and wants us to know him, if he has an answer, a plan, or a salvation, he is going to have to speak to us.

The work of Christ as Mediator as office of Prophet, Priest and King.

WSC 43: How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?Christ executes the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

To know Christ as the full revelation of God, the prophet above all others, the word we desperately need to hear today.

The Work of the Prophet

Speaking God’s Word to Man

He speaks in the name of God: Thus Saith the Lord.

The truths which he utters rest upon the authority of God; they are his words which the preacher is the organ of announcing to the people. But he must say only what was spoken to him.

2 Peter 1:21 - “Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

A Light in a darkened world - revealing God’s truth

Representing God to Man

Living out God’s Word

Hosea - marrying a prostitute, to demonstrate God restoration of unfaithful Israel.

Ezekiel - laying on his side - one day of every year of Judah’s unfaithfulness

Demonstrating God’s Wisdom

Exercising Covenant Justice

The prophet was a the prosecuting attorney of the covenant

Judgment upon the godless nations of the world

Showing God’s covenant people where they had failed

Reminding God’s covenant people of God’s promises

Looking forward

The Fatal Flaw of the Prophets

All of them were sinful men

Isaiah - I am man of sinful lips, and I live among a people of sinful lips

Jonah - fled from God to keep from proclaiming God’s mercy in Ninevah

All of them died -

God spoke to them in various times and places - spanning 1300 years. Their witness was incomplete; looking forward to a time when the things they saw and said would be fulfilled.

They spoke to our fathers - not to us

Christ The Great Prophet

(Hebrews = The Superiority of Christ)

He is the Superior Prophet. What is different about Christ?

He is the Son - His word is divine authority

He is the Son of God - the Second Person of the Trinity, very God of very God, begotten not made.

He is the Son Incarnate - who took upon Himself our human nature, fully God and fully Man.

“He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:31).

He is the heir - His has divine right; all things are his

Proprietorship - full ownership, to govern and use at his will

He spoke all things into being -

His word has power to create and give life, by his word all things are held together.

He Is The Image of the Invisible God

By His word and Spirit he reveals the will of God

Everything that God would say is said in the person of Christ

John 12:50 ‘What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

He doesn’t just say God’s Word, He is God’s Word Incarnate

All that he did revealed the heart of God

No one has seen God - but if we see Christ, we see the Father

He is the exact imprint of God’s nature

He lives out the goodness, mercy, and compassion of God

A.W. Pink - Though the revelation which God gave the prophets is equally inspired and authoritative, yet that through His Son possesses a greater dignity and value, for He has revealed all the secrets of the Father’s heart, the fullness of His counsel, and the riches of His grace.

He Is the New Covenant

Where the old covenant of Moses, etched in stone, was unable to ultimately save, the new covenant of Christ, written upon our hearts, saves to the uttermost

Comes to those who have failed under the outward covenant, and works new life, fulfilling the promise of God’s eternal covenant of grace

He is the one who will judge between the sheep and goats, exercising the ultimate prophetic role

Looking forward - to the day of his return and final justice

The Supremacy of Christ Our Prophet

He is without sin

Jesus never needed to use the prophetic, ‘thus says the Lord’. Since he was God incarnate, all his words were at the same time human and divine. He was greater than the prophets. A prophet spoke God’s word only when under the influence of the Spirit of God. Otherwise he was an ordinary fallen man, sinful and weak. Jesus, on the other hand, who is our Lord, the Word made flesh, spoke on his own authority.

He is a Prophet without End -

Resurrected and ascended, His Spirit and Word continue to give us life, to lead us in righteousness

He speaks to us

A.W. Pink - The God who spoke to ‘the fathers’ now speaks to ‘us.’ The God who spoke in ‘times past,’ now speaks in these ‘last days.’ The God who spoke ‘by the prophets,’ now speaks ‘by His Son.’

Honoring the Prophet

Listen to Him!

When a prophet is true - how did the people react

A false prophet - rejected, put to death

A true prophet - honored, received, trusted

This is my son, listen to him

All that he said came to pass - he is to be trusted, taken into your life

All of Scripture is the word of God

All pointing to Christ, all explaining Christ, all showing what it means to live in Christ - to be heard, studied, build your life upon it

Repent and Believe

The call of Christ the prophet - the kingdom is at hand, repent and believe

Repent - turn from your sin, your failures, you brokenness

Believe - trust in Christ for your salvation, look to him as your Lord and Savior, know that you are secure in Him

Obedience to Christ is love for Christ

Share the Prophet’s Hope

We often miss this - but we are to share the words of our prophet Christ - to tell the world of the hope, the peace, the truth, the grace we have found in Him.