Jesus as Prophet

The Person of Christ

The Word made Flesh

I. While Old Testament prophets would record the word coming to them with saying such as, “The word of the Lord came to me saying...” we never see this in the life of Jesus. This isn’t because Jesus wasn’t a Prophet, but because Jesus is the Word Himself according to John 1:1

John 1:1 NKJV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

What this means is that Jesus not only had unique authority as a Prophet of God, but that Jesus is the eternal Son of God made flesh to dwell among us.

The Son of God

I. Not only does Jesus have unique power, but He is uniquely qualified to reveal the Father to us. Who would possibly know the Father better than the Son? John 14:9

John 14:9 NKJV

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

I like to say that Jesus has come to exegete, explain, or reveal the Father to us. To teach us what He is like and call us to know Him more intimately. Which leads to the fact that not only is Jesus the Word made flesh, and not only is He the Son of God, but He is:

The Image of God

I. Now, this does not simply mean what we usually mean when we say that we are all image bearers. When we say that Jesus is the Image of God, we are speaking about His divinity. John Owen put it this way, “Whatever belongs to the person of the Son, He receives it all from the Father by eternal generation.” John 5:26

John 5:26 NKJV

26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,

What that means is that Christ is not some similar resemblance to the Father, but that Christ is the same in nature as the Father and that whatever divine attributes are seen in the person of Jesus are also true of the Father.

Christ’s Powerful Passion

As Our Humble Brother

In Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses prophecies about a coming Prophet who would come from among the people of Israel as their brother. It says:

Deuteronomy 18:15 NKJV

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

So, when we see the Word becoming flesh we see that God has come to dwell among men that we might touch, see and hear Him. In the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the God of all creation speaks in a way that our minds can understand and He has come to experience human life that He might sympathize with us as our brother and Lord. In the Old Testament Israel tells Moses to please go before God on their behalf because they are far too scared to draw near to Him, but in Jesus, God comes to us and humbly and gently invites us to Himself.

As Our Heroic Brother

In the New Testament we see Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist and after this we see the Father declare, “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.” after which the Holy Spirit comes down as a dove and lands on Jesus. But what’s the significance of this? Well, in His baptism, Jesus identifies with us sinners and when the Spirit lands on Him, Jesus goes to the Wilderness and is tempted. Again why does this matter? It matters because what Jesus is doing is walking as the Second Adam into a harder battlefield than Adam ever experienced and it is there that Jesus rests in the power of the Spirit and overcomes where men have only ever failed. When Satan tempts Jesus, he tries to attack Jesus just like he did Eve, by trying to form doubt about God’s Word. But Jesus didn’t waiver a bit and was sustained by nothing but the Spirit’s power, not even food or comfort.

As Our Herald

Finally, this great, compassionate, and qualified Jesus is seen as God’s herald to us. Hebrews 1:1-2

Hebrews 1:1–2 NKJV

1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

When we read about the Lord, we read about God’s true Prophet coming to reveal the will of God to us and so I want to give us to applications of this:

Since Jesus, the Son of God, is the Prophet of God we must carefully hear Him. What does that look like?

Scripture Engagement: Study the Bible, particularly the Gospels, as they contain Jesus’s teachings and actions. Memorize key passages that reveal His prophetic words (e.g., the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7).Prayerful Reflection: Seek His guidance through prayer, asking for wisdom to understand and apply His words.Discernment: Cultivate a heart sensitive to His Spirit, distinguishing between worldly wisdom and Christ-centered truth.

Obedience: Jesus calls for a transformed life (e.g., love your enemies, forgive others, seek righteousness). Strive to live in accordance with His teachings.Moral Courage: Stand for truth and justice, even when it is countercultural, emulating Christ's boldness in confronting sin and hypocrisy.

In Jesus we have a gentle and kind Lord who sympathizes and cares for us and calls us to come and learn and enjoy the Father.