The Prophet, Part 2

Today on Summit Life with J.D.

Greer. Do you realize that at Christmas we're not talking about the birth of a baby who came to bring goodwill and make us feel loving and warm to each other? We're talking about the Son of God that all the Bible, all the fuss, all of it has been about Him. Do you realize what it will be like if you just ignore or trivialize Him or pay lip service to Him by coming to church once in a while? Welcome back to Summit Life, the Bible teaching ministry of pastor, author, and apologist, J.D.

Greer. As always, I'm your host, Molly Vitevich, and we're excited to be jumping back into God's Word today with you. As a little kid, you probably believed a lot of the stories about the Christmas season that you later learned were a bit exaggerated or maybe even made up entirely.

Certain flying mammals with red noses and gift delivery methods, for instance. So is the story of Jesus's birth just another one of those stories? Pastor J.D. addresses that question today as he continues our new teaching series called Foretold.

We began this teaching yesterday, so if you missed it, you can catch up online at jdgreer.com. We're looking at a passage that you probably don't associate with Christmas from the book of Deuteronomy. Pastor J.D. titled this message The Prophet. I want you to make a list of everything that you think God ought to be like. And if you need more than one page, turn it over right on the back page and make a list of every possible descriptor you can come up with of what God ought to be like.

And then I want you to go back after you're done and read back through that list, and here's what you'll find. You want to be God. And you at least need to recognize that about yourself, that you interpret what God says about himself a lot of times based on what you like and what you don't like. And I'm not saying that I'm right and you're wrong. I'm just saying that you and I both have to be open enough to let God shatter our categories. Because if God is going to give especially a point of profit who is going to speak for him, he says you ought to at least be humble enough to listen to him.

I mean, listen, I'm not trying to be, you know, over the top or a jerk. I'm just saying if God is God, then he gets to make the rules. We don't get to define him according to our liking.

Well, some of you hear that and you say, well, that's great. But how do we know who really speaks for God? Lots of people say they represent God. Muhammad did. Joseph Smith, the Pope. They all claim to speak for the divine.

How do we supposed to know who's a fake? That's a great question. Usually I know it's a great question. It's exactly the question that gets asked in verse 21. Verse 21, if you say in your heart, how may we know that the word of the Lord has not spoken? Well, verse 22, when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously.

You don't need to be afraid of him. A very important way that God would show us that it was him speaking was through the miracle of revealed prophecy. Declaring things that there was no way anybody could know and then having them come true. Part of the reason that we believe the Bible to be true is the incredible detail and amount of prophecies given about Jesus Christ. By the way, did you notice that when God tells them how he would reveal himself, he says prophet and the singular? He is talking about one particular prophet who would come. One of the proofs that that prophet was really from God would be that he was substantiated by an incredible amount of prophecies. There are right around 322 direct prophecies given in the Old Testament about Jesus. By the way, not vague stuff like there's gonna be a great man who does some scary stuff and lots of people are gonna like him and then he'll die tragically and civilization will end in 2012.

Not stuff like that. The prophecies specific about where he would be born Bethlehem Micah 5 2 and that happens. That he would be crucified by having his hands and his feet pierced Psalm 22 16 and that he would die in the midst of criminals Isaiah 53 12 and that happened. That the executioners who killed him would gamble for his clothing Psalm 22 18 and that happens. That he would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and that that silver would be used to purchase a potter's field Zachariah 11 13 and that happens. That he would be born 173,880 days from the decree of our desert seas to rebuild Jerusalem Daniel 9 25 and that happens. That he would be buried with the rich Isaiah 53 9 and rise again Psalm 16 10 and that happened and 312 or so others.

Now I know what some of you say do that you're like well he just got lucky. Dr. Peter Stoner professor emeritus of science at Westmont College did a study on the statistical probability that all the prophecies could have just happened to be fulfilled luckily in one man. He examined each Old Testament prophecy and used the most conservative probability that it could have come true in somebody's life. Then he crossed them all together and he found that statistically speaking the odds that all 322 would come together in one man would be one in ten to the 157th power. Now I know some of you say well maybe he exaggerated the math.

He had his math checked by a peer review of the American scientific affiliation not a Christian group who did not necessarily agree with his conclusions that Jesus was the son of God but they substantiated that his was his statistical analysis was dead on if not a little on the conservative side. One in ten to the 157th power. Anybody here in here have their mind around that number? I'm sure you don't. Just to help give you a frame of reference the odds of one in ten to the 16th power would be he said as if you covered the entire state of Texas in silver dollars two feet deep you took one of them randomly and painted a little black mark on it and just tossed it in with all the rest and then took a big spoon and stirred them all up and then you took a blind man and catapulted him in randomly from somewhere in Mexico shot him into Texas and gave him one shot to pick out the silver dollar with a mark on it his odds of getting it would be one in ten to the 16th power.

One in ten to the 157th power. Now I know what some of you say back to that you're like well I bet Jesus was some kind of opportunist he saw these prophecies and he thought you know I could make a lot of these come true and then people would think I was the messiah so Jesus was like okay what's next all right next one ride a donkey into Jerusalem and get crucified I can do that check it doesn't work for a few reasons first of all the same man who rode on the donkey also had to be a descendant of Abraham Isaac Jacob Judah Jesse David and had been born in Bethlehem over which he had no control in other words he had to fulfill the hundreds that were out of his control before he could do the few that were in his control furthermore a lot of these prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus enemies people who would not want have wanted Jesus's claims to the messiah to come true people like the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the Roman rulers and Judas furthermore a lot of them happened after his death after his death so the idea that he was an opportunist that manipulated the circumstances explains a few of them but not the majority of them again some of you are trained to be cynics and that's fine I'm right with you you said well I know maybe Jesus followers doctored the prophecies after Jesus came to make them fit Jesus where was Jesus supposed to be born where was he born Bethlehem okay let's write that in your Bethlehem about one of the most amazing discoveries of the last century was something called the Dead Sea Scrolls major portions of the Old Testament that were discovered in a cave by the Dead Sea these copies of the Old Testament were written over a hundred years before Jesus we know that because of the kind of language and writing that was used a lot of secular scholars were ecstatic giddy when we found these things because they were sure that we would study these things and be able to see how the early Christians had beefed up the prophecies about Jesus and that these these copies that dated 100 years pre-Jesus would show that the originals weren't like the ones we have but what they found is that the text in these copies is the same exact same as that or virtually the same that you have in your bibles so no there was no doctrine of prophecies after Jesus came all these prophecies were intact just as we read them here long before Jesus got here 322 specific prophecies written hundreds of years before Jesus came that show us that Jesus really was the prophet of God that's impressive to me but beyond these 322 specific prophecies there's something that I think is even more impressive here this is what it is there are a number of pictures that are given in the Old Testament not specific prophecies but pictures that Jesus fulfills that's what's happening here Moses said the real prophet the ultimate truth revealer the ultimate prophet will be like me but much more it's like all the Old Testament characters are dim shadows of Jesus and when the real Jesus comes you see the real version of all that they were trying to show you so that's the question we need to ask of this passage how was Jesus like Moses well here you go both Moses and Jesus were mediators between God and man both of them gave a law both of them built a temple where God dwelt Moses's was a tent in the desert Jesus's was his body the Gospel of Matthew out of all of them was aimed at a Jewish audience and one of the things that Matthew was trying to do in his Gospel is show you that Jesus is this prophet referred to here in Deuteronomy 18 so what he does out of the gate is try to show you the similarities between Jesus and Moses Matthew chapter 2 just like Moses Jesus was brought up out of Egypt Matthew chapter 3 just like Moses Jesus began his ministry by coming through water for Moses it was the Red Sea for Jesus it was his baptism Matthew 4 just like Moses and Israel Jesus wanders in the wilderness where he is tempted for 40 days when Jesus comes out of the wilderness at the end of Matthew 4 verse 23 of that chapter says that he healed all the diseases of the Israelites well see when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness one of the names that God taught them to call him was Jehovah Rapha which is translated the God who heals all our diseases when Jesus comes out and heals everybody's diseases he said I'm that God Matthew 5 just like Moses Jesus goes up to a mountain and gives the people the law Matthew's whole point is that Jesus is the second and greater Moses he is the prophet like Moses that Moses predicts here you're listening to Summit Life with Pastor J.D. Greer we'll return to our teaching in just a moment but I wanted to quickly invite you to consider a few ways you can strategically partner with us in the coming year first you can join in multiplying the gospel in your neighborhood and across the world by sharing our daily devotionals with your friends and family who want to go deeper with God or maybe it's by starting a bible study in your home using some of the monthly resources created by Summit Life or even listening to our free teaching library together perhaps you put us on your daily prayer list lifting up your fellow listeners as they experience God each day or maybe it's by supporting us with a one-time donation or by becoming a monthly gospel partner however you choose to spread the story of the gospel this Christmas we want you to visit jdgrier.com to be equipped to give or to let us know what you're up to and this month receive the 2025 Summit Life day planner with your generous gift to the ministry give us a call at 866-335-5220 or check it all out at jdgrier.com now let's get back to the conclusion of today's teaching once again here's Pastor J.D. this passage indicates that this prophet would have to be more than Moses too do you see this look at this 15 the Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me from among you from your brothers now watch look at the next verse verse 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the 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 anymore lest I die and the Lord said to me they were right on what they've spoken so I will raise up a prophet for them when Israel stood before the mountain and God was revealed you recall they were terrified and they cried out to Moses and said we can't look at God we can't hear from God because if we hear his voice or see him we will die and God's response back to them was you're right and so Moses had to hear from God watch and speak to the people but Moses was not able to bridge the gap between God and people Moses was insufficient to do what the Israelites needed him to do and that was to take away their fear and dread in the presence of a holy and awesome God so Moses in that sense was a failure because he was not able to connect the people to God and bridge that great gap between a sinful people and a holy God and that's mainly because Moses had his own sins to deal with we didn't study this part but Moses at the end of his life loses his temper right and smacks a rock around for a while which doesn't sound that bad but it was a direct violation of God and so he was forbidden to lead Israel to the promised land listen to this Moses was sinful and because of that he was unable to lead his people into the promised land Jesus was sinless and because he died for our sins he was able to lead us into a promised eternity Moses built a temple so the people could offer sacrifices and live near to God Jesus became the temple who put away our sins so that God could live in us Moses could only bring people to a place of fear in the presence of God Jesus brought the presence of God into our hearts with a spirit that sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts and tells us that we are the precious sons and daughters of God Moses gave the law and the people couldn't keep it and three thousand people died in exodus 33 at the foot of mount Sinai Jesus gave the spirit and he died for our transgressions and three thousand were saved in acts two at the foot of mount calvary Moses was a prophet Jesus was a savior Moses was created Jesus was the creator Moses was a servant of God Jesus was the son of God Moses died for his sin and abandoned his people as they went into the promised land Jesus died for our sin and was raised to life so he could say I will never leave you or forsake you Jesus is the true and better Moses y'all that's what starts to make the bible so amazing to me when you start to see that everything in the old testament everything was a shadow that Jesus would fulfill perfectly let me read this to you I didn't write this I kind of wished I had but I didn't I've edited certain parts of it um but I want you to listen to this it's going to refer back to some things in the bible that if you didn't grow up around church you may be a little unfamiliar with but it won't last that long so just stay with me Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us the first Adam ate from a tree and we died the second Adam died on a tree and we lived Jesus is the true and better Abel who though innocently slain by his family has blood now that cries out not for our condemnation but cries out for our forgiveness Jesus was the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us Jesus is the true and better Joseph who at the right hand of the king forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them Jesus is the true and better David whose victory over the giant becomes his people's victory even though his people never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in Jesus is the real Passover lamb innocent perfect helpless slain so that the angel of death could pass over us Jesus is the true temple he is the true prophet the true priest the true king the true sacrifice the true lamb the true light the true bread everything in the old testament only pertains to him every verse in every chapter is about him all of the religious heroes could only take us so far but they could not restore us to God they could impress us but not save us because Jesus was man he could die for our sins because he was perfect he was sufficient as our substitute because he was God he was able to overcome death and now save all who put their trust in him do you know where I'm going with this if Jesus really is all that if Jesus really is the ultimate point of all the Bible if all the fuss is about him if everything that happened in the old testament was about him then it makes sense of course you have to listen to him verse 15 listen to him Matthew 17 there's a scene where Jesus appears on the mount of transfiguration and beside him are the two greatest old testament prophets Elijah and Moses and Peter who would become the apostle Peter a guy whose mouth tended to get in motion before his mind engaged says I got a great idea two greatest old testament prophets Jesus let's build some tabernacles some shrines for all three of them if you remember in the middle of his his building campaign God the father speaks from heaven and says this is my beloved son hear him listen to him translation Peter shut up the time for religion the time for building the time for heroes is gone my son is standing before you listen to him if God listen if God is really speaking to you if God is really speaking through that prophet can you really afford not to listen to him listen do you realize how majestic he is do you realize that at Christmas we're not talking about the birth of a baby who came to bring goodwill and and make us feel loving and warm to each other we're talking about the son of God that all the Bible all the fuss all of it has been about him do you realize what it will be like if you just ignore or trivialize him or pay lip service to him by coming to church once in a while look what he says verse 19 whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name I myself will require it of him what's it like to stand before God having lived in a place where you heard about Jesus and just didn't think he was that important or at least important enough that you paid attention to him if this is the son of God this deserves more than a passing glance this deserves your absolute and total attention this is the son of God how could you look at God's son his majestic son what all of it's been about and then to say not that interested not that relevant and while I'm on this by the way why would you want to if this really is your creator God coming to you your father running to you after you had rejected him chasing you to die for you what else would he have to do to demonstrate his love for you why would you not want to listen to him last thing I want to do real quick I want to point out that you have been given moses in your life how do you pluralize moses mosi you've been given mosi in your life let me explain what I mean by that a moses in many ways is something that comes into your life that points you to Jesus it's a shadow that points you to a greater need for some of you you are dissatisfied again even after getting that job having that relationship being married a second time third time finally hooking up with that person and there's something inside you that's telling you this is just still not it that dissatisfaction that yearning that you feel that voice that tells you you were created for more that is a moses to you pointing you to Jesus saying that's what you were created for what are the things in your life that have been pointing you to your need for Jesus your need for Jesus make this christmas season one to remember by asking Jesus to lead your life moving forward you're listening to summit life with pastor jd greer pastor jd as our world continues to face so much uncertainty it sometimes feels like hope is in short supply but it doesn't have to be right i know what you mean molly it does seem like we're always entering another year of not knowing exactly what the future holds this christmas season should remind us that the god that we serve the god who loves us is not a far off distant god he wants to be with us he wants to hear from us we know this we can't save anybody the gospel alone saves people we're just god's instruments for spreading the the good news of great joy that that the angels proclaim to the shepherds in lute too we believe this year god wants to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could imagine both in this ministry and in your life because of your support we've been able to expand our ministry and share the hope of the gospel to more people in new places and in brand new ways this time of year is really really critical for us financially so i would ask if you would consider joining us today and giving a generous year-end gift so that we can press forward into these new doors that god is opening for us so you could head to jdgreer.com slash donate right now and uh and you could join us in that thanks jd as god has blessed you this past year through the teaching on this program will you extend that gift to someone else by donating today as our way of saying thanks for your support we'll get you a copy of our featured monthly resource the 2025 summit life day planner ask for a copy when you donate today at the suggested amount of 45 or more call 866-335-5220 that's 866-335-5220 or give online at jdgreer.com i'm molly vidovich have a great weekend of worship and be sure to join us next time as we continue our new teaching series called foretold we'll see you next week for summit life with jd greer today's program was produced and sponsored by jd greer ministries