Epiphany 4 Raising Up a Prophet
Sermon Theme: The Lord our God has raised up a prophet like Moses to whom we shall listen Text: Deuteronomy 18:15–20 Other Lessons: Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1–13; Mark 1:21–28
Goal: That you believe in your hearts that Jesus is the final prophet to be raised up—on the cross and from the grave—for forgiveness of sins, that you recognize the danger of so many other prophets you might hear, and that you then have confidence that God speaks to you as a gentle, loving Father in Christ. From CPR 2015 by Rev. Timothy P. Halboth, Sermon: To whom should we listen? These days it seems everybody’s putting something in our ear—politicians, pastors, teachers, bosses or foremen or team leaders. Half of it we don’t believe, and the other half, well, we’re a little wary. Chances are we ought to be.
Problem is, most people are just telling us what they think we ought to hear..
In our text today, Moses, the man God has used for the last forty years to pass along his words to the people of Israel, is about to leave, to die. So the frightening question is to whom should they listen now? Would the Word of God that’s been so faithfully passed on to Moses and then by Moses still be passed along faithfully to future generations, even ours? To whom should we listen? In our text, God gives us his answer. Christians, take heart! The Lord Our God Has Raised Up a Prophet like Moses to Whom We Shall Listen.
As with Moses, we must listen to this Prophet. As Moses warned, there are plenty of false prophets to whom we might listen. Israel was about to enter the Promised Land, where the inhabitants promised anything but a faithful word from the Lord (vv 9–14a). Fortune-telling, divination, consulting the dead—these were all ways of seeking a word from the gods to get advantage in life. And all of these God says are an abomination—right up there with child sacrifice. Among us, it could also be fortune tellers or horoscopes ( one newspaper I remember had the horoscopes on the church page) or Ouija boards or seances. But it could also be some pretty slick false prophets: televangelists or pastors down the street who proclaim such false teachings as giving your heart to Jesus, accepting Jesus into your heart, prosperity gospel—believe and you’ll prosper. No doubt many of these are sincere; they mean to pass on faithfully what they think God wants us to hear. But sincere or frauds, either way, words not from the Lord are false and dangerous. We must only listen to a prophet like Moses—a prophet who speaks God’s Word (vv 14, 20). Things like fortune-telling and Ouija boards are actually inviting the devil to speak to us. And what about those other false teachings? Do we really want to give Jesus our heart, which is at times cold and uncaring? Scripture is clear that it is Christ who has first chosen us; we didn’t ask him into our hearts (Jn 15:16). And as to those promises of prosperity, what about people who believe but struggle to pay the mortgage, miss loved ones overseas, struggle to feed their families?
Jesus is the Prophet who, like Moses, speaks God’s Word, for his every word is God’s (v 15).
Moses had Jesus clearly in view—even though he wouldn’t come for another 1,400 years. Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated that he was the very Son of God. This morning’s Holy Gospel is evidence of that. The people were amazed that Jesus, in word and deed, showed such authority .And the demon knew exactly who he was: “the Holy One of God” (Mk 1:24). Jesus is God!—so when he speaks, it’s always the Word of the Lord. And, yes, we must listen to him (vv 18–19). At the Baptism of Jesus, just three weeks ago, God announced that all are to listen to him. The reason we must listen to Jesus is that he is the way of salvation, Jesus has the Word of truth. Everything he says, we can count on: “I love you with all my pure, sinless heart.” Jesus has the words of eternal life: “I have chosen you to be mine for eternity.” Jesus has the Word of faith: “I am with you, caring for you, even those times that don’t seem prosperous at all.” No other prophet but Jesus was raised up to free an entire world from sin, to proclaim eternal life to all believers. So we must listen to this Prophet, Jesus, who speaks the Word of the Lord to us, but can we? Yes, As with Moses, we can listen to this prophet. The fact is, we could not listen to the Word of the Lord any other way. Forty years before our text, God had come down on Mount Sinai (Mount Horeb) to speak to Israel, and how had that gone (v 16)? The lightning, the earthquake were too frightening. The Israelites were right (v 17). Sinful people cannot speak with God face-to-face and live. Because we’re sinful, we couldn’t bear to hear the Word of the Lord that way. That’s why God became a prophet like Moses—truly one of our brothers (v 18). Israel asked for God to speak to them through someone they could receive. Jesus is God, certainly enough, but he’s also truly one of us, our Brother. Jesus veiled his divine glory and majesty in humble flesh, like Moses’, like ours. He spoke to us gently, lovingly, in a way we could hear. But the gentle voice was possible only because of the loud cries of agony as this Prophet like Moses was raised up on a cross. That action took away those sins against which God’s voice must be terrifying. That sacrifice reconciled God to us so that now we can stand before him face-to-face. To this Prophet, then, we can listen. Jesus’ words from the cross “It is finished!” are the words we most want to hear. God raising Jesus up from the dead is his word to us that we are forgiven. And his Word we still hear today. Where? Here! When words like Moses’ in our text are read. When the Absolution is pronounced. When Jesus says, through me, that at this altar you are receiving his very body and blood. This is what you hear when the Word of God is proclaimed to you—Jesus, the final Prophet who was raised up by his heavenly Father. Amen.