This is the first article in a special three-part Advent series on how Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king.
In Acts chapter three, we read one of the earliest Christian proclamations of Jesus as the great and final prophet. The events here occur right after Pentecost when Peter healed a man who had been unable to walk his entire life at the entrance to the temple in Jerusalem. Instead of running off, the man joined both Peter and John for afternoon worship. But as he walked along the interior (at what was called Solomon’s portico), the man dropped all sense of decency and began leaping up and down, shouting praises to God. Who wouldn’t? He had been unable to walk for over 40 years.
The text seems to imply that this all made a bit of a scene. Everyone was watching in amazement. Wasn’t this the man who begged for money at the temple’s gates? Hadn’t he been crippled his whole life? Seeing the surprised look on the crowds’ faces, Peter began to speak. “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” (v. 12). It was not us. It was the power of Jesus that healed this man; “the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all” (v. 16).
Peter then began to speak of and apply the good news of Jesus to those listening. Jesus was the “Holy and Righteous One” (v. 14), the glorified servant of the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Though they rejected him, preferring the murderer Barabbas instead, Jesus was still for them. “I know that you acted in ignorance,” but you should know everything that had transpired, “God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets.” So, Peter urged those gathered around, “Repent…that your sins may be blotted out” (vs. 17-19).
Lest they had any doubts about the legitimacy of Jesus’ claims, Peter then doubled down, arguing that Jesus was the Messiah whom “all the prophets…proclaimed” (v. 24). He was the fulfillment of the very specific prophecy of a forthcoming prophet akin to but greater than Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. Accordingly, as people committed to the Torah and proud of their covenantal heritage, he concluded by reminding them of the promise given to their fathers (especially Moses and Abraham), saying God sent his prophet and Messiah “to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness” (vs. 25-26).
There were Jews who recognized that Jesus was the promised prophet, even before his death and resurrection. At the feeding of the five thousand, for example, upon seeing Jesus’ miracles, the people all said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” (John 6:14). Many were persuaded in the temple that day too–about five thousand in fact (Acts 4:4). But just what is a prophet?
Jesus is the terminus of God’s special revelation, not just because he was the last in a long line of prophets.
In short, a prophet is sent by God to speak God’s word, and, in some cases, do God’s bidding. Some are called to speak to individuals; others speak to nations. Some perform miracles. Others predict future events or are able to communicate God’s wisdom. Jesus, then, can very much be described as a prophet. But is he just a prophet? The New Testament teaches that he was and then some. It teaches that he was and is the fulfillment of the prophetic office that began with the patriarchs and prophets of old. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways,” reads Hebrews 1:1-2, “God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
In this way, Jesus is the terminus of God’s special revelation, not just because he was the last in a long line of prophets. Not only did he speak God’s word. He is God’s word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him.” That “Word became flesh and dwelt among us” in the person and work of Jesus (John 1:1-3, 14). It is for this reason that theologians—past and present—refer to Jesus as prophet (along with priest and king). He fulfilled the word of God delivered by the prophets of old and was (and is) the incarnation of that very word.
Moreover, while the prophetic office was fulfilled at a particular time and in a particular place, Jesus still performs the functions of this office. He did so in the temple that day through Peter’s preaching. He has – throughout the course of history – in the cathedrals of Europe, villages of Africa, and house churches of China. He does so to this day when his people preach his word, administer the sacraments by his command, and teach in his name. He is not just the prophet. He is our prophet, to whom we look for truth and the words of eternal life.
