Jesus was acknowledged in His
time on earth as being a prophet.
"I see you are a prophet,
sir," the woman said. (Joh 4:19)
"This is the prophet Jesus,
from Nazareth in Galilee," the crowds answered." (Mat
21:11)
Prophets
are closely associated with healings, signs and wonders. The
people
recognized the prophetic mantle of Jesus through the miracles he
performed.
"Seeing this miracle that
Jesus had performed, the people there said,
"Surely this is the Prophet who was to come into the world!" (Joh
6:14)
The dead man sat up and began
to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
They all were filled with fear and praised God. "A great prophet
has appeared among us!"
they said; "God has come to save his people!" (Luk
7:15-16)
So the Pharisees asked the
man once more, "You say he cured you of your blindness
---well, what do you say about him?" "He is a prophet," the man
answered. (Joh 9:17)
Peter
clearly emphasized this same point when he addressed the people in
Jerusalem.
"Listen to these words,
fellow Israelites! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine
authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders
which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it
happened here among you." (Act 2:22)
Note: The true
test of a prophet is not the ability to do signs and
wonders.
"My dear friends, do not
believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out
if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets
have gone out everywhere. This is how you will be able to know
whether it is God's Spirit: anyone who acknowledges that Jesus
Christ came as a human being has the Spirit who comes from God."
(1Jo 4:1-2)
The ability to prophesy must not be confused with
an appointment to the office of the prophet.
In
the Old Testament God often allowed his Spirit of prophecy to fall
upon non-prophets like a cloak or a mantle.
"Then the LORD came down in
the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the spirit he had given
to Moses and gave it to the seventy leaders. When the spirit came
on them, they began to shout like prophets, but not for long. Two
of the seventy leaders, Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp and
had not gone out to the Tent. There in the camp the spirit came on
them, and they too began to shout like prophets." (Num
11:25-26)
Even king
Saul temporarily received the ability to prophecy.
"When Saul and his servant
arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Suddenly the spirit
of God took control of him, and he joined in their ecstatic dancing
and shouting. People who had known him before saw him doing this
and asked one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Has
Saul become a prophet?" (1Sa 10:10-11) (See also 1Sa
19:21)
This same
Saul, when not amongst the prophets, was so inadequate at hearing
God that he even consulted a witch
in his desire to hear from God.
"So Saul disguised himself;
he put on different clothes, and after dark he went with two of his
men to see the woman. "Consult the spirits for me and tell me what
is going to happen," he said to her." (1Sa 28:8)
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This same
ability is also promised to the New Testament
saints.
"But when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be
witnesses
for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth." (Act 1:8)
"And it shall be in the last
days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. And
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. (Act
2:17)
New
testament prophets have a very specific task.
It was he (Jesus) who gave
gifts to people; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be
prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and
teachers. He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of
Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. (Eph
4:11-12)
The early
apostles clearly demonstrated their prophetic abilities wherever
they went.
"Many miracles and wonders
were being done through the apostles,
and everyone was filled with awe." (Act 2:43)
"Many miracles and wonders
were being performed among the people by the apostles." (Act
5:12)
"Stephen, a man richly
blessed by God and full of power, performed
great miracles and wonders among the people." (Act 6:8)
We
are now all exhorted to desire this prophetic gift above all
others.
"Pursue love, but strive
eagerly for the spiritual gifts, above all that you may
prophesy."
(1Co 14:1 NAB)
Be careful, this is not a game!
Simon, the
sorcerer, used to make money with his magic tricks. Seeing
the power of the Holy Spirit, he thought it was an excellent
opportunity for making even more money.
"Simon saw that the Spirit
had been given to the believers when the apostles placed their
hands on them. So he offered money to Peter and John, and said,
"Give this power to me too, so that anyone I place my hands on will
receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter answered him, "May you and your
money go to hell, for thinking that you can buy God's gift with
money!" (Act 8:18-20)
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Jesus is
calling us, even now, because He wants to fill us with his
Spirit.
On the last and most
important day of the festival Jesus stood up and said in a loud
voice, "Whoever is thirsty should come to me,
and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says,
'Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side.'
" Jesus said this about the Spirit, which those who believed
in him were going to receive. At that time the Spirit had not yet
been given, because Jesus had not been raised to glory. Some of the
people in the crowd heard him say this and said, "This man is
really the Prophet!" (Joh 7:37-40)
The robe of the prophet, just like the rest of the armor of
God,
is Christ himself, the Prophet of prophets.
Thus says the Lord!
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