Christ the Prophet by Charles Lindsay Taylor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jun 24, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 26.

Christ the Prophet

By Charles Lindsay Taylor

WHEN Moses was nearing the end of his life work he said to Israel, "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear." Acts 7:37.

This promise of God thru His servant was ever afterward cherished by the Jewish nation, and when, after centuries of waiting, John the Baptist appeared and the Spirit of God testified so mightily thru his message, his nation sent messengers to him to inquire concerning his person and work. One of the questions propounded was, "Art thou that Prophet?"

John was a prophet, and a great prophet, but he was not "that Prophet." To him had been given simply the work of preparing the people for the advent of that Prophet who, "mighty in deed and word" (Luke 24:19), should bring direct from the throne of God the message of life for the dying world.

As the prophet of God, Christ Jesus occupied relatively the same position that Moses before Him had occupied. He was a man dwelling among men. Like Moses He was the prophet in Israel. By birth He was a Jew, and His personal work while on earth was for that people; "He came unto His own."

Undoubtedly no one who believes the Scriptures will question that Jesus was a prophet. It may be, however, that some will query the thought that He was really like Moses in the exercise of the prophetic gift.

The prophets of the olden time were those who spoke for God; each was a mouthpiece for the Almighty. The messages borne were God's messages, given in God's words, and backed up by His Spirit's power. It was not theirs to choose the time when, the place where, nor the manner in which their work should be performed. They were directly under the control of Jehovah.

Thus we read of Moses that God spake unto him, and the command was given, "Thus shalt thou say unto the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel." Ex. 19:3. David said concerning himself, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His word was in my tongue." 2 Sam. 23:2. To Jeremiah it was said, "Whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak" (Jer. 1:7); and to His servant Ezekiel the word came, "Son of man go, get thee unto the house of Israel and speak with My words unto them," "whether they will hear or whether they will forbear." Eze. 3:4, 11.

Just so it was with the Lord Jesus. As prophet He received the message from God. His word was not that which His will formed, but that which the Father dictated. He plainly declared, "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." "The word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me." "As My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things." John 12:49; 14:24; 8:28.

Always a man of faith, always submitted to the purposes of God, He was found of the Father always an open channel thru which the waters of life, in messages and deeds of love, could flow forth to the thirsty world.

Likewise it was that the Son of God as the prophet of God wrought out His deeds of mercy for and among His people. He worked by faith. All the mighty miracles of His life were but the outworking of Jehovah who dwelt within Him. "I do nothing of Myself," He said. "The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." John 8:28; 14:10. And thus when men beheld His beneficence and love expressed in the feeding of the multitudes, the healing of the sick, the casting out of devils, the giving of sight to the blind, and the raising of the dead, they saw not the human but the divine, not the Son but the Father. To Philip He plainly said, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."

"But," says one, "was He not the Son of God? And could He not have spoken and worked according as He Himself wished?" Yes, He was the Son of God, and He could have done all that He did at the behest of His own will. Such, however, was not His choice. He had come to do the Father's will (Ps. 40:7, 8), thus He willed that even His divine self should be subservient to the Father. He therefore exercised not His own power, but as all men must do who will finally enter heaven, He allowed only His Father's will and power any place in His life.

Upon this point also we hear Him speak: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me;" "I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father;" "I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38. And in that crucial Gethsemane hour, when the fate of earth trembled in the balance, He could only pray, "Not as I will, but as Thou wilt;" "Thy will be done." Matt. 26:39, 42.

Prophet of Galilee! Wonderful Man He was, and yet what He was man may become. His mind, His Spirit, His power, His will, and His work we may have. As prophet, as God's humble servant among men, He brought God down to men, or, what is more true, He lifted man up to God. And now, because of His experience, all His children may follow Him in knowing God's will and in revealing that will to the world. As Christ was sent, so are His followers sent. John 20:21. To them has been given the spirit of "revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Eph. 1:17), the Spirit which shows them "things to come" (John 16:13), and, as lesser prophets, so to speak, they go with their burning message of life and love, ambassadors to reconcile man to God. 2 Cor. 5:20.

Yea, wonderful Prophet! Indeed we "hear Him," and His message has made us glad.