The Scripture behind the Scripture
A Prophet Like Unto Moses
Deuteronomy 18:15 promises that God will raise up a prophet like Moses, to whom the people must listen. Peter cites it in Acts 3:22 and Stephen in Acts 7:37, applying it to Jesus.
“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;”Deuteronomy 18:15
“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.”Acts 3:22
“This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.”Acts 7:37
In its own place
In its own place. In Deuteronomy 18 Moses addresses how Israel is to know God's will once they are in the land, forbidding the divination and sorcery of the surrounding nations. Instead of such practices, God promises to provide a legitimate means of guidance, The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. In its original setting this promises an ongoing prophetic office, a succession of true prophets like Moses through whom God would speak to his people, so that they need not turn to pagan means. The people had asked at Sinai not to hear God's terrifying voice directly but to have Moses mediate, and God approved, promising to put his words in the mouth of the prophet he would raise up, and warning that whoever would not hearken to that prophet would answer to God. So in context the promise established the institution of prophecy in Israel, assuring the people that God would continue to speak through prophets in Moses' line. Yet the language, a prophet like Moses, set a high bar, since Moses was unique, and Deuteronomy itself later notes that no prophet had arisen in Israel like Moses, leaving the promise reaching toward one still to come who would fully match him.
Where the New Testament takes it up
This is a direct quotation, used by the earliest preachers to point to Jesus. In Acts 3:22, preaching in the temple after healing a lame man, Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18, For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you, and warns that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed. Stephen, in his defense before the council in Acts 7:37, also cites the promise, recalling that Moses foretold a prophet like himself whom God would raise up. Both follow the Greek text closely. The apostolic reading takes the promise of a prophet like Moses as reaching its climax in Jesus, the supreme prophet who speaks God's word, whom all must heed on pain of judgment. While Deuteronomy established an ongoing prophetic office, the early church saw that the office pointed forward to one final Prophet who would surpass all others and match Moses himself. Peter presses the warning, that failing to listen to this prophet means being cut off, applying it to the call to repent and believe in Jesus. The Gospels also show God echoing this at the transfiguration, hear ye him.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Jesus is the prophet like Moses, and greater than Moses. Like Moses he speaks the very words of God, mediates a covenant, and leads God's people out of bondage, but he does so surpassingly, delivering not from Egypt but from sin and death, and giving not merely the law but himself. At the transfiguration the Father's voice declared of Jesus, hear ye him, echoing Deuteronomy's command to hearken to the coming prophet. The warning that whoever will not listen will be cut off gives urgency to the call to receive Christ, for he is God's final word to humanity. Where the prophets before him brought messages from God, Jesus is himself the Word made flesh, so that to hear him is to hear God fully and finally. The long line of prophets like Moses reached its goal in the one Prophet who is also the Son.
Questions people ask
Did Deuteronomy 18 mean only a future Messiah?
In its own context it established the ongoing office of prophecy, promising a succession of true prophets like Moses so Israel need not turn to pagan divination. But because no prophet fully matched Moses, the promise reached forward to a final Prophet, whom the apostles identified as Jesus.
How is Jesus the prophet like Moses?
Like Moses he speaks God's very words, mediates a covenant, and delivers God's people, but surpassingly, saving from sin and death and being himself the Word made flesh. At the transfiguration the Father commanded, hear ye him, echoing Deuteronomy's call to heed the coming prophet.