“The Christ of Sinai,” from the lesson series Christ of Our Christmas, December 2020
our Scripture
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him (Deuteronomy 18:15 NIV).
Deuteronomy 18:15 NASB
Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV
Deuteronomy 18:15 NLT
Deuteronomy 18:15 MESSAGE
our Lesson
Our lessons for Christmas this year take us all the way back to the book of Deuteronomy. The first stop looks at the Christ of Sinai, Jesus the prophet. The Israelites were informed that one day God would raise up for them a prophet just like Moses.
From the time I began to produce and deliver sermons and lessons on an annual basis, it seemed important to spend time each year speaking about the birth of Christ. As long as you move from town to town every five years or so, you are not in danger of teaching the same things in the same ways to the same people.
But if you stay in one place – how can you make Christmas new and meaningful every year? What part of the Christmas story have you not considered for a time?
Let’s continue our journey toward Christmas this year in the gospel of Matthew. One of the twelve disciples, Matthew shares these thoughts about the Christmas story in his first chapter
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:18-21 NIV)
| Matthew 1:18-21 NASB |
Matthew 1:18-21 ESV |
Matthew 1:18-21 NLT |
Matthew 1:18-21 MESSAGE |
The King James Version of the Scriptures translated the verse in the way many of us memorized it, and are most familiar: “and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 KJV).
Christ alone can bring salvation. Joseph is told to call the baby “Jesus” which is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew “Joshua” which means “the Lord saves.” Jesus Himself said that “He was the way, the truth and the life … no man comes to the Father except through Him” (John 14:6).
The fourth chapter of Acts begins with Sadducees, priests and guards of the temple angry with apostles Peter and John. Peter and John were proclaiming to people the resurrection of the dead. We would expect the Sadducees to be disturbed; they did not believe in the resurrection. But it was more than just they disagreed with the teaching. The apostles were using Jesus as proof of the resurrection and as fulfillment of Scriptures.
They seized Peter and John and threw them in jail until a meeting of the leaders could be gathered. The immediate occasion for the uproar was the healing of a man who had been lame. As Peter explains the source of the power of the healing, he clearly states Jesus has a authority larger and stronger than just the ability to heal physical ailments. He can heal the consequences of sin.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 NIV).
| Acts 4:12 NASB | Acts 4:12 ESV |
Acts 4:12 NLT | Acts 4:12 MESSAGE |
Paul put it this way to the Romans: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13 NIV).
Securing our salvation is a process which is given three analogies in the Old Testament. Salvation is a result of the work of a prophet, a priest and a king. John speaks of the resurrected Christ in terms that relate to the three offices or analogies in the first chapter of his Revelation (red italics mine).
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness (the work of the prophet), the firstborn from the dead (the work of the priest), and the ruler of the kings of the earth (the work of the king) (Revelation 1:5 NIV).
Eusebius was a historian in the early church. He became the bishop of Caesarea Martima about 314AD. Along with Pamphilus, Eusebius is considered one of the most influential scholars helping assemble the Biblical canon. He was one of the first to recognize in writing the threefold offices of Jesus as the Messiah. He writes,
And we have been told also that certain of the prophets themselves became, by the act of anointing, Christs in type, so that all these have reference to the true Christ, the divinely inspired and heavenly Word, who is the only high priest of all, and the only King of every creature, and the Father’s only supreme prophet of prophets.
The roles of the prophet, priest and king are the primary examples of leadership as described in the Old Testament scriptures. When Jesus came to earth, even as a babe in a manger, He fulfilled prophecies about each and began to assume the responsibilities of the functions.
The Christ at Sinai: Prophet
The prophet was the one called by God to speak with His authority and on His behalf. The prophet was to announce what God was saying, and to give insight into the events of the future. Old Testament prophets spoke in veiled terms of the coming of the Messiah (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 31:15). Many of those alive during Jesus’ lifetime referred to Him as a prophet (Matthew 21:11; Luke 7:16; John 4:19; Matthew 16:14).
Jesus even called himself a prophet. He made connections between himself and the great prophets of the Old Testament (Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24-27). He spoke with authority, though often using parables to teach the people (Mark 1:22; 4:34). He was able to perform miracles (Matthew 8:1-17; 9:18-33; Mark 1:32-34; Luke 17:11-19; John 2:1-11). Just as in the days of old, many of the Jewish believers did not heed the words of this prophet.
On many occasions Jesus foretold the future, similar to the prophets of Israel. He told his disciples of his death and resurrection (Matthew 17:22-23), of the denial of Peter (Matthew 26:31-35) and the betrayal by Judas (John 13:18-30).
An intriguing Old Testament passage of Scripture is found in the Torah. Moses proclaimed in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” Both Peter and Stephen use this Scripture in their messages connecting Jesus to the prophet that Moses was predicting (Acts 3:17-23; Acts 7:37-38).
Some scholars argue that all of the Old Testament prophets spoke about the coming of the Messiah in one way or another. This chart captures the heart of the teaching and offers some examples of Messianic Prophecy.
| OT Prophet | Scripture Reference | The Messiah Seen As |
| Isaiah | Isaiah 7:14 | Prince of Peace |
| Isaiah 9:1-7, 53:1-5 | Suffering Servant | |
| Jeremiah | Jeremiah 23:5-6 | Righteous Branch |
| Ezekiel | Ezekiel 16:62-63 | Lord who makes atonement |
| Daniel | Daniel 3:25 | Son of Man |
| Hosea | Hosea 1:2 | Faithful husband |
| Joel | Joel 2:28-32 | Giver of the Spirit |
| Amos | Entire Book | Rescuer of Judah |
| Obadiah | Obadiah 1:21 | The Deliverer |
| Jonah | Jonah 2:9-10 | The Good News |
| Micah | Micah 5:2 | Comes from Bethlehem |
| Nahum | Nahum 1:7 | Stronghold in day of wrath |
| Habakkuk | Habakkuk 2:4 | Justifier of faithful |
| Zephaniah | Zephaniah 3:14-17 | Mighty to Save |
| Haggai | Haggai 2:6 | Shaker of heaven |
| Zechariah | Zechariah 9:9 | Humble King |
| Malachi | Malachi 3:1 | Ruler in His Temple |
But rather than being a word from God, Jesus was the Word of God (John 1:1), chosen Himself to live among us (John 1:14). The Hebrew writer proclaims, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, who he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the world” (Hebrews 1:1-2 ESV).
The Christmas story includes a prophet, although not in the way you might think. Luke records the circumstances in the second chapter of his gospel.
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38 NIV).
Two important concepts stand out in these few verses. The first is the depth of worship and dedication of Anna. Luke records that she never left the temple, but spent her days and nights fasting and praying, a part of her active worship to God. It appears she was entirely focused on the hope of the coming of the Messiah. Could we be so focused awaiting His return?
The other thought comes at the end of the passage. Luke mentions that Anna spoke “to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” Although they probably did not understand exactly what they were hoping for, many people longed for the redemption of Jerusalem. We are unsure of what we are looking for, but we should be deeply longing for the redemption of our world. The effects and consequences of sin are visible everywhere we turn. We place our hope in a Christ who will one day have “every knee bow, and every tongue confess” that He alone is Lord.
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