Jesus Is Our Perfect Prophet (Deuteronomy 18)

In today’s passage from Deuteronomy, Moses spoke to the Israelites about the prophet God promised to raise up from among them. Unlike the imperfect Moses, his successor would prove to be even greater and better than himself. This coming prophet would be the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises of old. Only Jesus could be the One whose perfect word would faithfully and flawlessly come to pass.

Prophets served as mouthpieces between God and His people. Through sharing the Word of the Lord, they made God’s truth known among His people. What separated Jesus from Moses and the rest of the prophets, though, was that He alone could save and redeem God’s people from sin. God used the prophets of the Old Testament to continually point His people to the coming Messiah, who alone is the only Way to the Father.

How did Jesus fit the criteria for this final prophet? How could they be sure? Moses spoke of a prophet worth heeding and obeying, one whose words would truly come from the Father. Unlike the false gods and teachers who echoed off meaningless deception, Christ’s resurrection proved Him to be the perfect, promised prophet from God.

Moses instructed the Israelites to wait expectantly for the prophet who spoke God’s truth in all its fullness. He instructed them to watch for a divine message to be fulfilled as it could only come from God Himself. When it came to fruition, they would know it was His truth.

In His own perfect timing, God sent Jesus to the world to save us from sin. The ultimate fulfillment of Moses’ instructions came after Christ’s death and resurrection; He not only declared victory over sin and death but enacted His triumph on our behalf.

As you talk with your kids this week, help them understand that all Jesus spoke has and will continue to come to pass, just as Moses prophesied. Teach them that Jesus did more than simply speak God’s truth; He lived out and fulfilled its requirements so that by faith, we could be brought back into relationship with God.

Christ Connection: Jesus is the perfect and final Prophet God promised to send. Jesus is the Word who became a man. He came into the world not only to tell people God’s message but to bring people to God through His death and resurrection.

Key Passage: We are memorizing Isaiah 53:1-12 during this quarter. Primary children will be memorizing Psalm 23.