22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet [ b ]like me from your countrymen; you shall listen to Him and obey everything He tells you. 23 And it will be that every person that does not listen to and heed that Prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also announced these days.

25 You are the sons (descendants) of the prophets and [heirs] of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed (descendant) all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 It was for you first of all that God raised up His Servant and Son [Jesus], and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”  

Acts 3:22-26 (AMP) 中文

Peter Preaching – Part 3

Peter started to preach to the crowd that had gathered when he and John healed a man lame from birth by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then Peter had made it clear that they were responsible for Jesus’ death. Later he cut them some slack telling them they did it in ignorance. Now he concludes his preaching.

Moses the prophet

As Peter concludes his preaching, he again points back to prophecy – as he did in his first sermon (Acts 2:14-36). This time, it’s to Moses, the first prophet of Israel (from Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19). “In a general sense, a prophet is a person who speaks God’s truth to others…In the Bible, prophets often had both a teaching and revelatory role, declaring God’s truth on contemporary issues while also revealing details about the future.” (gotquestions.org) Moses fulfilled both. 

Who is this Prophet? 

So who is the Prophet Moses was referring to? Can it be Jesus? “Yes, it most definitely can! In fact, some Bible scholars maintain that Jesus, during His human sojourn, is the primary fulfillment of these verses.” (biblestudytools.org quoting John Ritenbaugh) What was prophesied? That the Messiah would come. As Jews, they have the blessing, by grace, of the prophets and covenant – before the Gentiles.

Turning hearts

And what does this Prophet do? He turns hearts away from wicked ways. This is a blessing.

RЯeflection

• Have we thanked God for turning you and I from our wicked ways, our ways of sin, rebellion and rejection of God and His love? Without His saving work, we would be thrown “in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelations 21:8) And that is for eternity.