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The Promised One | The Promised Prophet

December 14, 2025
Deuteronomy 18:15-19

¹⁵"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— ¹⁶just 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.’ ¹⁷And the Lord said to me, 'They are right in what they have spoken. ¹⁸I 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. ¹⁹And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.'"

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Purpose

To discover and experience Jesus Christ in our midst

To cultivate mutually encouraging relationships

To participate in God’s mission to the world

Opening Prayer

Responsive Prayer — Isaiah 40

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

    and cry to her

that her warfare is ended,

    that her iniquity is pardoned,

that she has received from the Lord's hand

    double for all her sins.

A voice cries:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;

    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

    and every mountain and hill be made low;

the uneven ground shall become level,

    and the rough places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,

    and all flesh shall see it together,

   for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Summary

We are continuing our sermon series titled The Promised One looking at how Jesus fulfills the promises made to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David. In our passage for this week, Moses assures Israel that the Lord will raise up a prophet “like me” from among their own brothers: a covenant mediator who will speak God’s very words. This promise grows out of Israel’s fear at Sinai, where the overwhelming holiness of God made them plead for a mediator to stand between them and the divine voice (Exodus 20:19-21). God graciously heard their appeal and established the prophetic office so that his people would not be left to seek guidance through the types of pagan divination, sorcery, or omens condemned immediately preceding this passage (Deut. 18:9-14; cf. Isaiah 8:19-20; Amos 3:7). It should be mentioned that we tend to think of the prophetic office as one of foreseeing the future, but as Old Testament scholar Iain Duguid points out, the prophetic office is primarily one of revealing the will of God to his people. In this way, Deuteronomy 18 presents a continuation of Moses’ covenantal role and demonstrates how God revealed his will leading up to Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2; Westminster Confession of Faith [WCF] 7.5).

Yet from the earliest days of Israel’s hope, this promise for a continuing prophetic office pointed forward to a singular, climactic Prophet who would surpass Moses and embody the fullness of God’s Word. Scripture explicitly identifies Jesus as the complete fulfillment of this passage. Crowds recognized him as “the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14; 7:40). John the Baptist denied being this promised figure (John 1:21, 25). Peter and Stephen unmistakably apply Deuteronomy 18 to Christ (Acts 3:22-23; 7:37). The New Testament clearly shows that Jesus not only fulfills Moses’ prophetic role but also surpasses it. Theologian Meredith Kline observes that though both Moses and Christ serve as covenant mediators, only Christ has uniquely seen the Father (John 6:46), making him the perfect revealer of God. In other words, Christ perfectly and completely executes the office of a prophet “in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation” (Westminster Shorter Catechism 24). Where Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house, Christ is the Son over the house (Hebrews 3:1-6). Moses mediated the covenant at Sinai, but Jesus mediates a better covenant established on better promises (Hebrews 8:6). Moses spoke God’s words; Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:14). The transfiguration makes this contrast unmistakable: Moses stands beside Jesus, but the Father’s voice singles out Christ alone — “Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5) — echoing Deuteronomy’s call to heed the coming Prophet. Christ is the final and complete revelation of God (WCF 1.1) and the only mediator between God and man (WCF 8.1).

With this promise comes a command and a warning. God requires his people to listen to this Prophet, and whoever refuses will face divine judgment (Deut. 18:19). As Italian theologian Francis Turretin notes, this text contains a “special command of faith in Christ” already embedded in the Old Testament itself. To reject Christ’s words is to reject God’s own revelation (John 12:48-49). The prophets who came before him were genuine gifts of God’s grace, yet they were preparatory, incomplete, awaiting the arrival of the true Prophet. Jesus is the consummation of that office — the one who perfectly reveals God, mediates the covenant, and speaks with final authority. To heed him is life; to ignore him is to stand accountable before God.

Discussion Questions

1. Looking at the Bible

• From the passage, share with the group some key phrases or ideas that stood out to you.

2. Looking at Jesus

• Jesus says that he “came to bear witness to the truth, and everyone who is of the truth hears his voice” (John 18:37). How does this statement help us understand Moses’ command, “to him you shall listen”? In what ways does listening to Jesus differ from merely believing facts about him?

3. Looking at Our Hearts

• C.S. Lewis explains that the only logical conclusion for Jesus and his extraordinary words is to see him as “Lunatic, Liar, or Lord.” Why would we be reluctant to see him as Lord? What would the implications be if he is indeed lord over everything?

4. Looking at Our World

• Moses warned Israel not to turn to the practices of the nations for guidance (Deut. 8:9-14). What parallels do you see today in cultural “alternative revelations” or sources of truth people rely on? How should Christians respond without retreating from the world or engaging in its norms?

Prayer

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