Was Jesus a Prophet?

I have had interlocution with certain brethren in the faith, and they are very uncomfortable when you ask them whether Jesus was a prophet or not. Some will tell you, no, he was not a prophet, and others will reply with a resounding yes, and yet they do not want to talk about him being a prophet because if they do, they feel they are placing Jesus on an equal pedestal with the old testament Prophets. But the biblical answer to the above question is that Jesus was truly a Prophet sent by God. Who is a Prophet? A prophet is a mouthpiece of God. They are messengers, and representatives of God to his people. In the bible, prophets were carriers of God's will to the people. They communicated the exact words of God to the people. Mostly you will find prophets use phrases like; "Thou saith the LORD'' (2 Samuel 24; 12; 2 kings 1; 4, 1 Chronicles 17; 7) or "the Word of the Lord came unto me saying" (1 Kings 17; 8, 2 kings 15; 12, 2 Chronicles 11; 2). 

When they use such phrases, it means that the message they are about to communicate is not their own, but from a divine source, and that is from God himself. Jesus was also a Prophet and as a prophet he communicated the exact words of God to the people: For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak (John 12:49-50). The Old testament Prophets also prophesied future events and their prophetic utterances were fulfilled. Elijah prophesied that it will not rain and it was so: Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit (James 5; 17-18). Isaiah the prophet also prophesied the coming, sufferings, death and resurrection of the Messiah and every detail was fulfilled in the life of Jesus, see (Isaiah 53, Mark 10; 34).

 Jesus being a Prophet prophesied Peter's denial of him and it came to pass: Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied it with an oath, "I do not know the man." A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away." Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly (Matthew 26; 69-75).  He also prophesied his own death and resurrection and it was literally fulfilled, see (Mark 10; 34, Matthew 28; 5-6). The life of the prophets were marked by miracles (Genesis 20; 17-18, Exodus 14; 16- 22, 1 kings 17; 18-24). 

Jesus being a Prophet, his life was also marked by notable miracles: Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan (Matthew 4; 23-25). The early disciples and apostles saw the fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses, who prophesied that God will raise up a great prophet from the midst of the people (Deuteronomy 18; 18-19) as fulfilled in the person of Jesus. Apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and made it clear to the throng that Jesus was the prophet that Moses prophesied about: And that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you (Acts 3; 20-22). Stephen the Martyr also applied the prophecy of Moses to Jesus as that great prophet, see (Acts 7; 37). Jesus identified himself as a prophet: But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house (Mark 6: 4). 

Jesus was a prophet infinitely greater than all the old testament prophets. They all spoke God's word concerning him: Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins"  (Acts 10: 43), but Jesus is the Word made flesh, he is the incarnated Word: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1; 1; 14). One distinguishing mark about Jesus is that, Jesus was more than a prophet, he was God manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3; 16), who came primarily to play the role as our Savior, in order to save us from our sins through his vicarious death on the cross, even as it is written: Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2; 6-8). Jesus was indeed a Prophet, a truth that cannot be contested, but yea, he was more than a prophet, he was God veiled in human flesh. God bless you

               A thought to ponder

 Jesus was indeed a Prophet, a truth that cannot be contested, but yea, he was more than a prophet, he was God veiled in human flesh

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