Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Jesus- A True Prophet

If you were to ask around you would find that people from many different backgrounds or religions (Muslims to Buddhist) would say that Jesus the man was a great prophet. Christians often respond by adding that He was more then a prophet, he was/is God in the flesh. This is indeed true but in emphasizing his divinity (being God) we may under appreciate Jesus the prophet. Understanding Jesus as a Jewish prophet helps bring clarity and perspective to His teachings. Let us take a quick look at Jewish history and the role of the prophet.

Priest and prophets have been used by God in very different ways. "Priest were responsible for the regular, ongoing, day to day and year to year religious life of Judaism- the key words being regularity and its cousin regulations."(1) Priest came from the family line of Aaron (Moses brother). Moses was known as a prophet- a person who hears from God and passes on Gods message to His people. The danger of the priest is being caught up in the regulations of religious life. At times Israel would find themselves just going through the motions. Their relationship to God was on cruise control- might look good on the outside but nothing really going on within the heart. Does this sound familiar? It's easy to do. When this would happen God would raise up a prophet- someone who would bluntly tell what God thought of their lives. (Clear example is Isaiah 1:11.13-14,16-17).

Prophets and priest contrasted in many ways as well. "Priests of necessity had credentials: they created and upheld order, and it was essential that their ordination be orderly- complete with ordination ceremonies and special religious clothing." (2) "Prophets arose without formal credentials or clothing... As you'd expect, since their purpose was to disrupt the status quo. their life and rhetoric were necessarily unruly, disturbing, and sometimes shocking. For example, the prophet Hosea scandalized polite society by marrying a prostitute. The prophet Ezekiel staged a long public protest in the nude." (3) This is just a few examples of the prophets public demonstrations we read within the pages of the Old Testament.

Within Jewish culture Jesus would not have been viewed as a priest- He lacked the credentials. But He was a true prophet- coming out of nowhere (Nazareth) with a culture shocking and radical message. And as for disturbing public demonstrations let us not forget Jesus turning over tables piled high with money and using a whip to drive people out of the temple. If that's not a public demonstration against religious greed I don't know what is.

As we dive deeper into the Sermon on the Mount let us hear a message that speaks against the religious statues quo, words that penetrate beyond the outside and straight to the heart, words of authentic transformation, and words from the mouth of a prophet, the prophet Jesus.


(1) The Secret Message of Jesus- Brian McLaren pg 20.
(2) Ibid, 21.
(3) Ibid, 22

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