A Life in Exile

With Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples and other believers, they were able to make connections between the words and work of Jesus and the Old Testament narrative. Like a beautiful puzzle, words spoken in ancient days made the picture they were seeing come to life. This is the case with today’s lesson, as we move into the book of Acts and listen, not just to disciples but to a godly deacon, proclaiming the same truth, using the same words of Moses, but to different audiences.

Let’s start with the original passage. In the seventeenth and eighteenth chapters of Deuteronomy, God is speaking through Moses to setup initial teachings concerning judges, the king, priests and Levites, and the prophet. Each of these is a foreshadowing of The Judge, King, Priest, and Prophet known in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today’s verse centers around the prophet.

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. This is what you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die!’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘They have spoken well. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19 CSB)

The Israelites were terrified of the idea of seeing God or even hearing his voice. Their fear of God was not a righteous fear but an unfounded one, coming from their own weaknesses and inability to follow him in obedience. God, in his wisdom, knew this would happen, and so, from the time of Moses, paved the way for one to come in the likeness of the Israelites who would speak only that which God had given him. What was their job? To listen.

The proclamation.

Fast-forward to the first century A.D. and Peter and John are just starting out in their own Spirit-led ministry. They’re still in Jerusalem, so there are a lot of people hanging around after the explosion at Pentecost. By the power of the Spirit, they have healed a crippled beggar, and as he was still holding on to them, a crowd came to check it out.

Always one to engage, Peter starts sharing the truth of the gospel. Once he shares about how Jesus died and was raised from the dead, he tells them to repent and turn to God, so that they too may know times of refreshing. Then he shares this:

Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning. Moses said: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to everything he tells you. And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from the people. (Acts 3:21-23)

While the people loved his words, the priests and Sadducees were not as pleased and had Peter and John thrown into jail.

Stephen used this same passage when he shared with the Sanhedrin just before he was martyred.

“This is the Moses who said to the Israelites: God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. He is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us. Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. (Acts 7:37-39)

Stephen presses the point of how Israel had rebelled against God by turning to idols and not listening to any of the prophets, much less the One who was so recently among them. This didn’t sit well with the religious leaders, obviously, and resulted in Stephen’s death by stoning.

Are you listening?

This is not a message that will be automatically received by those who hear it. While Peter and John were later released from prison, Stephen was killed. However, in both cases, many heard and received, and the number of believers grew. Stephen’s martyrdom would lead to increased persecution but also to the spread of the gospel to the known world.

There was a moment in the lives of Peter and John when they heard similar words. At the transfiguration of Jesus, only James was with them as well. Three men to witness Christ in all his glory. Those who had witnessed his baptism would have heard almost the same thing, but at the transfiguration, there is a flashback to the wilderness, Moses, and a prophet to come.

While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)

Jesus, the Word of God, spoke only what God would give him to say. To hear him is to hear the Father, as they are one in existence and purpose. The question is: Are we listening to him? Are you? Remember what God said: “I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.”

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Learning from the Past post, click HERE, or start the series from the BEGINNING.