All right. Well, we're starting a new sermon series this week for the next three weeks, and I'm kind of excited about it and kind of nervous about it. I'm not going to lie. But we wanted to look at Jesus, prophet, priest, and king. And we'll take each one of those titles given to him, each one of those offices, each week we're going to look at a different one. And this week we're looking at part one, Jesus as prophet. At the time of Christ's advent, there was a great expectation among the people, especially from the Jewish people who'd experienced years and years of promises and prophecies. You can imagine that, right? All you have to do is read through the scripture and see the biblical narrative. Years and years and years of promises and prophecies about the coming Messiah. So there was one coming, the Messiah. You think going back all the way to the first man and woman, God made a promise that he would one day send someone born of Adam, like us, who would defeat the seed of Satan and right the wrongs of fallen man. There was this promise from the very beginning. Now enter Jesus Christ. Starting this morning, we're going to be embarking on this three-week sermon series, and I think it's a really important issue. I think understanding this about Jesus actually unlocks so much of our faith in terms of how we really, truly appreciate who Jesus is and what He has done and is doing for us. I think it's really, really important for us. Think about it. When the Son of God became a man on that starry night in Bethlehem that we sing about this time of year, right? Jesus set out to fulfill three offices, three different offices, prophet, priest, and king. Now, just to briefly clarify, there were three different major roles or offices in the Old Testament. In fact, though God is the focal point of human history, the Bible actually, He is the focal point, but every story in the Bible is centered around one of these three people. prophets, priests, and kings all throughout the Old Testament. There are those like Moses, Samuel, and Elijah, prophets. Their teachings and at times their miracles dominate much of the Old Testament. Over and over again, these men teach God's Word, call people to repentance, which is much needed if you read the Old Testament, call people to love, and also, at times, give future prophecies and promises about what God is going to do in the future. Second, there are these individuals known as priests. We think of Aaron, Moses' brother, Hilkiah, and Abiathar, if you're familiar with these names. We see these individuals connected to the Tabernacle and Temple. doing priestly work. They would give other sacrifices over and over again, offer these sacrifices for the people and pray for God to forgive themselves and the nation. And lastly, there are those in the Old Testament like Saul, David and Solomon. These men do their best to rule and lead the nation of Israel through the laws and commandments that God has given. And their flaws and sins are put on full display, aren't they? As they, as men, try as they may, fail at leading perfectly. We'll get back to that in a few weeks. Again, though God is the focal point of the entirety of scripture, every story and every event in the Old Testament is centered around These three individuals, these three offices, the prophets, the priests, and the kings, yet each of these men failed to perform their roles perfectly and always leave the reader wishing for more. Always. The beautiful thing is that when Jesus came to the earth, he fulfilled all three of these roles perfectly. what every prophet, every priest, and every king failed to do throughout human history, Jesus did perfectly. He was the fulfillment of each of these offices. Now we're going to look at all three of these over the next few weeks, but we'll begin this morning with prophets. Now, I'd like to begin by looking at John 6. The Gospel of John chapter 6, verses 10 to 14. Jacob read this just a moment ago. Let's look at it afresh. I know this doesn't appear very Christmassy, but it's the account of the feeding of the 5,000. Really, the feeding probably of more like the 12,000, if we're being honest. And we remember the scenario, right? Where the people follow Jesus onto that grassy hillside next to the Sea of Galilee to see him heal and listen to him teach. And as they follow him away from the towns, it becomes time, it's tea time, isn't it? It's time for him to eat. Everybody's hungry, but they're so far away from the town, so far away from the markets. So the Lord sits them down and he's about to perform a miracle of multiplication in their midst. And we pick up in verse number 10, then Jesus said, make the people sit down. Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down in number about 5,000. And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down, and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So it wasn't just little crumbs, was it? Everybody ate. So when they were filled, that's beautiful, He said to his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain so that nothing is lost. Therefore, they gathered them up and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, notice this, this is truly the prophet who is to come into the world. It's a curious statement, isn't it? The prophet. We hear about prophets, a prophet, over and over again. They were obviously awaiting the arrival of the prophet. There was an apparent anticipation. Many times in the gospel records, Jesus is referred to as a prophet, isn't he? But why the prophet? I think we have to go back to the Old Testament for the answer to that question. I hope you'll be patient with me. Lots of flipping, lots of turning. If you can't turn quickly enough, don't get too intimidated. It will be on the screen. So if you're not accustomed to turning quickly, don't panic. We got you covered, right? Hopefully, as long as I've done it correctly. Um, but let's go back to the old testament to look for a few answers in deuteronomy chapter 18. Let's go there. God is speaking To and through moses, right? That's the scenario that's taking place here. We could go into more of the context, but we won't for the sake of time Look at deuteronomy 18 and verses 17 to 19 is what we're going to look at And the lord said to me what they have spoken is good notice verse 18. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brethren, put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall be whoever will not hear my words which he speaks in my name, I will require it of him." But notice it says, I'm going to send a prophet from among you, from among your brethren, I will put my words in his mouth, he'll speak to them all that I command him. This prophecy instantly created a new anticipation among the people of Israel in an instant. Now it was not just the one whom God alluded to in the garden, not just a descendant of Adam who would redeems Adam's fallen race. Now there was specifically a prophet and even more specifically the prophet. Again, the primary responsibility of an Old Testament prophet was to teach God's Word, to call people to repentance and love for God and neighbor, and also at times give prophecies and promises about God's plan for the future. In fact, the prophet's work is centered around, I want you to hear this, the work of a prophet is centered around and rooted in God's Word. Centered around and rooted in God's Word and if this is what a prophet is then what is the prophet? meant to be Well, let's look in the New Testament Hebrews chapter 1 Hebrews chapter 1 is toward the end of your New Testament's not all the way but toward the end of it the first two verses of Hebrews chapter 1 Word of God says, God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world. Notice, though God throughout history had spoken through different prophets, Through different methods and at different times, He is now, as of the time that Hebrews was written, spoken through one preeminent individual. He's listed here as the Son of God. He's listed here as the heir of the promises of God. He's listed here as the Creator. Who else could that be? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. The ultimate prophet has now come and has now spoken. The prophet has come. Look in the Gospel of John chapter 1. We're well familiar with this passage. John 1 verse 14 says, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. God became a man without ceasing to be God. But more specifically, the Word, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. A prophet's work, mind you again, was centered around and rooted in the Word. Yet John 1.14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Meaning this, Jesus Christ, was the living word, the walking word of God fulfilled. Yes, he taught the word and yes, he called people to repentance. Yes, he called people to love of God and love of neighbor. Yes, he predicted future events, but he was also the fulfillment of all of those things perfectly. Think about that. He was the fulfillment of everything that he was prophesying about and had been prophesied about him perfectly. Rather than just preaching repentance, he said that he always did those things that pleased the Father. Rather than just calling people to love, he showed that love to people like the woman caught in adultery when he said, let he that was out without sin cast the first stone. He ultimately displayed the greatest of love as he presented himself, his life as an offering for sin on the behalf of undeserving lost sinners. And rather than just making future prophecies, he was also a living, walking fulfillment of Scripture. In everything that he predicted, about the future was because and is because of his life and his death and his resurrection. Everything that we know about the future channels through the Lord Jesus Christ. Every promise of God that we can expect in the future flows through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let's look for a few minutes at a few specific prophecies Jesus fulfilled as a prophet. And I want to give you several of these, kind of three, and then we'll make three applications, okay? So every good preacher has three points, but I've got kind of six, so I don't know. Does that say something good about me? I think it does. I'm twice as good, aren't I? I'm kidding, I'm kidding. The first specific prophecy that Jesus fulfilled as prophet is his preaching in miracles. His preaching and miracles was a fulfillment of Scripture. Look in Isaiah chapter 61. If you're able to turn there, please do. If not, it will be on the screen. Isaiah 61. Again, these Isaiah prophecies, I want to communicate this to you. These prophecies in Isaiah were written about 700 years before Jesus ever came to the earth. Before the Son of God was ever born in Bethlehem, These prophecies were written 700 years before that, roughly. So, Isaiah 61, verses 1 to 3. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. This was a prophecy about Jesus. Not only did he literally read this passage in the synagogue of Capernaum in Luke 4 and actually say, today is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Jesus also used this when speaking to John the Baptist in Luke chapter 7. I want you to make note of that Luke 4 and go and read it in your own time. Jesus fulfilled this verse. But in Luke chapter 7, I want you to turn there and just look with me. John sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the coming one, if he was the prophet. And verse 22 of Luke chapter 7 tells us what Jesus said. Jesus answered and said to them, go and tell John the things that you have seen and heard, that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. He said, if you can go and preach that to John, John will know that I am the prophet, that I am the one coming, the Messiah. Jesus was fulfilling this prophecy before their very eyes. The gospel was being preached. The ostracized, blind, and lame, and lepers, and deaf, and poor were being ministered to and healed. And the dead, like Lazarus, were being raised to life. Their physical and spiritual need was at the heart of who Jesus was. He completely embodied what this prophecy said he would be. This prophecy was literally being fulfilled before their very eyes. The second specific prophecy that Jesus fulfilled as a prophet that we'll look at was his trial and condemnation. His trial and condemnation were tremendous fulfillment of scripture. Now, I'd like us just to park in Isaiah 53, not literal. Isaiah 53, just to conclude our preaching time, then we'll have a few applications to look at, okay? Isaiah 53, verses seven to eight, seven and eight. Again, 700 years before Jesus came to the earth, here was the prophecy. And I want you to think of how specific this prophecy is about Jesus's life. Isaiah 53 verses 7 to 8. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before his shearers is silent. So he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who would declare his generation? Now Christ undeniably fulfilled this in Matthew 27 verses 13 and 14. If you want to turn there and see, that's fine. I'll just allude to it. Maybe you could make a note of that. As Pilate interrogated the imprisoned Messiah, what did Jesus do? He remained silent, didn't he? He did not even answer him one word. He did not retaliate. He did not debate. He did not even try to justify himself or defend himself. In holiness and in righteousness, he remained silent. He fulfilled the words of this prophecy, but the way that he fulfilled it, he also fulfilled the heart of the law in doing so. Someone asked him, what's the greatest commandment in the law? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Not only did he fulfill the law, he fulfilled the heart of the law. But I also want you to think about this third fulfillment, his death and resurrection. His death and resurrection, look in verses nine and 10, very next two verses. And they made his grave with the wicked. What happened on the cross, Jesus? Hanging on the cross with two thieves on either side of him? But with the rich at his death, where was he buried? He was buried in a tomb prepared for kings? Likely. Because he had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in his mouth. What did Pilate say? I find no fault in this man. Yet, verse 10, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. Why would it please the Lord to bruise him? Here's why. when you make his soul an offering for sin. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. In his death, it still says, his soul was an offering for sin. In his death, his soul was an offering for sin. This is why Jesus said from the cross, it is finished. He was an offering, a substitute on my behalf on the cross. And he paid for all of it. Past, present, future, all paid at once as Christ became the great substitute for mankind. But what about his resurrection? In verse 10, after predicting his death, it says, he shall prolong his days. He shall prolong his days. In other words, he'll rise from the dead, right? Dead people don't have their days prolonged. I don't know if you know that's the way death works. He shall prolong his days. He will rise from the dead. He would not just be another martyred prophet. Sadly, those were a dime a dozen, weren't they? Unlike the other prophets, the prophet would rise from the dead in victory. So here's the concluding question, what does all of this mean to me today? What is the right here, right now, gospel significance of these truths for me, where I'm standing today? Number one, Christ's teaching and miracles give me an example for loving those who are deemed unlovable. Think about Jesus for a moment. Again, it was the blind, lame, lepers, deaf, and poor that Jesus made a beeline for. It was the misfits that Jesus went for. It was the outcasts that Jesus went for. Society refused them. Society mistreated them, but Jesus loved them. It's important to note that Christ is not just an example. He's not just an example, but there is no doubt that we are meant to make Christ's life and attitude our practical goal and that which we strive for. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And Jesus loved the unlovable. He loved when people weren't deserving of it. You know, one of the most powerful practical tools in the life of the church One of the most powerful practical tools in your home is this kind of love. To love even when the other person doesn't deserve it. That's Christ-like love. When they've not earned your love, when they've not done anything to, they don't even reciprocate your love. Love them anyway. Oh, they spoke nastily to me. Love them. pended me this way or that way, in spite of that displayed for them the persevering Christ-like love that he gives. The second thing, practically, is Christ's grace in the midst of persecution gives me an example for showing grace in unfavorable circumstances. And I want you to apply the same principle of love to grace. He gave grace when people weren't deserving of it. And this is one of the most powerful, practical tools in the life of the church, is to extend what grace means as unmerited favor, to extend grace to people who didn't earn it, to people who don't deserve it. Extend grace to them anyways. They may have offended you. But listen, in spite of that, display to them the persevering Christ-like grace and love. Strive just as Christ was determined to reconcile the world back to God. Strive to find the unity and find the restoration in every moment of conflict. Find unity. Strive for unity. Strive for peace. Don't strive for conflict. Jesus didn't. Let that be an example. And the third application is this. Christ's death and resurrection remind me that my favor with God is not dependent on number one, number two. What was number one and number two? Think about it again. Christ's teaching is miracles. Give me an example for loving those unlovable. Christ's grace in the midst of persecution shows me how I should show grace in unfavorable circumstances. But his death and resurrection remind me that my favor with God is not dependent on those first two points. We said that Christ is our example, our model for what it looks like to love God and to love man. But the truth is, the truth is I can't do any of those things perfectly like he did. That's the truth. I can strive to be as much like Jesus as I can, but listen, Jesus was unique. Jesus was a one-off. I can strive, but Jesus was unique. He came to live and to die specifically, listen to me, as my substitute. Specifically because mankind could never do perfectly what Jesus did. We always talk about his death and how extraordinary his death was, but I want you to think of how extraordinary his sinless life was. Jesus lived the perfect substitutionary life for me before he ever became my substitute in death. He lived like I should have lived, having never broken one of God's laws. And he died on the cross as a substitute, the payment for my transgression. I was a lawbreaker. He paid my fine on the cross as a substitute. Yes, we follow his example, but we desperately need him in order to be remotely like him. And we can't even begin to be remotely like him. until we trust him as our personal Lord and Savior. You can know of the example of Jesus all you want. Societies, governments can pattern different law schemes. After the Bible, the Magna Carta was based upon different things that they saw in biblical principle and other realms. And you can borrow from the principles of Christianity and Christ as much as you want. You can see him as an example and allow that to influence your policy and caring for the poor and things like that. But at the end of the day, We desperately need Him as our personal Lord and Savior before any type of transformation can ever take place. We desperately need Him. We need Him for salvation. We need Him every day of our lives in each and every situation. We desperately need Jesus. May God help us. to find our dependency and sufficiency in Christ and Christ alone.