Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Book of Deuteronomy, the 18th chapter:
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Martin Luther called this passage the best passage of the entire book of Deuteronomy. Now, if you’ve read Deuteronomy, full of its laws and regulations, you might be inclined to agree. But, that’s not the reason why this is the chief passage here. It’s chief, it’s best, because it is a distinct prophecy of the great prophet who is to come. And that prophet, was, of course, Jesus Christ.
But, Christ is not only a prophet. He is no mere prophet, He is the fulfillment of all that prophecy ever said. Christ came to give a new word to the people. Moses, in this book has finished all of his teaching over the priesthood of Israel, the nation that Israel is to be, and how God demands to be worshipped. But, here, Moses places this wonderful prophecy, this passage, to show that something new is coming. There will be a new Israel, a new priesthood, a new worship of God, where, as David says, sacrifices and offerings God does not desire, but that the ways of God, the Law of God, is written upon our hearts.
But the amazing thing is, Moses here is giving way to this prophet to come. He is already standing aside. Remember, Moses was the preeminent prophet of the Old Testament. We tend to think of Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Elijah as such, but Moses’ Law, the Law God gave to Moses has been the guide for three of the 15 largest religions in the world. Moses’ Law, given to him by God Himself, is good and right and holy, as Paul says. It is that which David meditated on day and night. It the Law that speaks across time and space. And Moses is basically saying that something greater is coming, and Moses will pass away.
Moses yields to this prophet because the prophet, who will be among the Israelites, will speak a word to the people that is given from God Himself. God will put the words He desires the prophet to speak into that prophet’s mouth. That means that man, that prophet, that brother of Israel will speak never deceitfully or sinfully, but speak only those words that His Lord bids Him speak. But how is this prophet to speak a word greater than Moses?
The Law of Moses is great and grand. Already, even in Israel’s day, it was impossible to obey. It was good, yes, but the Law was damning. It showed people their sin and demanded from them their lives. The Law expected obedience, perfect obedience, to be saved, to be blessed, and there were none who could fulfill it. So, is Moses saying that the prophet that is to come is going to speak a greater word of the Law, a greater Law that Moses’? That’s what we would expect.
We would never expect God to relax the Law, right? Oh hey, guys, I see that you can’t keep the Law down there, so I’m gonna make it a bit easier for you. You know that do not commit adultery thing? Yeah, you can go ahead and nix that. Sleep with who you want. And the honor your father and mother thing? Go ahead and try it, unless they’re being snarky, okay?
God’s never going to relax the Law. So when Moses says a greater prophet is coming, we would expect that prophet then to give a greater Law than Moses gave. Do not commit adultery? Don’t even look at a woman with lust in your heart. Honor your father and mother? Even an errant word is enough to send you to hell. That’s what we expect.
And sure, enough, Jesus does come along and says those things. But this isn’t worrisome. Sure, we see Jesus giving the Law. And we see Him even tightening it, even presumably, it feels, around our necks. I know I feel that way. When I look at Jesus’ words, I know I haven’t kept His Law. But, in Christ, I also know I don’t have a necessity to do so to be saved. Jesus’ commands are for those who are under His cross, baptized in His blood. We obey the law because we get to obey the Law, we’re free to obey the Law. We’re free, because if we mess up it does not count against us. If we do not obey it perfectly, Christ has forgiven it. And if we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But, those outside of Christ, outside of this greater prophet, will hear His words and have even more condemnation poured on their heads. Christ’s commands are greater than the Law, and they will serve to condemn all who do not, will not believe in Christ. They are unwilling to listen, and cannot complete the Law on its own demands. Thus, they will have nothing but fear on the last day.
But, for those who know the voice of their Shepherd, for those who are in Christ, who are baptized in His blood, Christ’s commands are not hard, but come along to say, “My dear ones, since you are my children, this is how we behave in this house. We get along, we do things orderly, we behave properly, we show respect and deference to one another. Love each other because I love you.” This is a command to be sure, but it is spoken so sweetly that there is no condemnation here. There is no fear or trembling. It is as if a father were holding his child on his knee consoling him as the tears roll down his face. That is the love of Jesus toward you.
And it’s for this reason: Jesus loves you in this way, Jesus loves you without condemnation, for the word that He speaks, the word that is greater than the word of Moses, is the word of Gospel. And that’s not just that Jesus died for you. But it’s that Jesus died in your place to forgive your sin and was raised from the dead to give to you the promise of the Resurrection. This is the Word that God put into the mouth of His prophet, His Son, the Son of God. This prophet is the one who speaks the forgiveness of God Himself for you not obeying the Law.
The Law is perfect, and it being perfect condemns imperfect creatures. But the Son of God speaks not condemnation but love and forgiveness to His creation. Since it is already in the Law, there is no need to add condemnation from God’s mouth; but there is every need in the world to be comforted with a word that has not yet been spoken, for it is all done in Jesus Christ. This is why Moses stands aside. There is nothing Moses could do or say that would compare with Christ. What Christ does for His creation, by taking on our flesh and taking our place on the cross, is something that no one could ever do except for God Himself. And so Christ has done this.
Christ is God in human flesh and He has done all things marvelously. Christ arose out of the nation of Israel, conceived by the Holy Spirit, yet born of the Virgin Mary, taking her humanity upon Himself, that humanity which is tied to the throne of her great ancestor David, and so Christ lived as one of us. And through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, Christ has shown us then that salvation is from the Jews, for Christ was this, a brother of Israel. But this prophet, this Christ, saved not just Israel, but the entire world, every nation, and gave them all this new Word of the Gospel, bringing them into His Church.
Thus when Christ says you are His, when He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” this is the Word of the Gospel, not the Word of the Law. Christ gives to you this day this great Gospel. With this Word, He makes you alive and consoles you in your fears and trials. This is the New Covenant of God, that Christ has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows and gives to you His righteousness forever.
This is the fulfillment of all the words of Moses and of all the prophets: that Christ is the great prophet, priest, and king forever, and His Word alone will stand and give rest to the weary. This is the message of the Church, and this is the message of every priest, every pastor, who stands in the pulpit, where they declare, with Christ upon the cross, “It is finished,” for you. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. This is the Word of Christ, the greater prophet of Moses. And so, in Jesus’ name, we say, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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