Jesus: the One greater than Moses

Peter preached a sermon in Acts 3, going to the Old Testament to prove to the Jews that Jesus was, in fact, Messiah. Peter reveals that Jesus is the prophet that Moses predicted.

Deuteronomy 18:15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.”

Moses says that God will one day send, “A prophet like me”. Moses was pointing to Jesus. How were Moses and Jesus alike?

-They were both born in a time when God’s people were under a foreign rule.
-They were both born in the midst of babies being killed, and survived.
-They both were Hebrew by birth, yet belonged to royalty.
-They both often spoke with God on a mountain.
-Moses was given the Law, Jesus fulfilled the Law.
-They rebuked people for their idolatry. Moses when he came off the
mountain and the people were worshiping a golden calf. Jesus when he went into the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers.
-Most importantly, they both freed God’s people from slavery. Moses freed Israel from slavery. Jesus frees God’s people from the shackles of their sin.

Jesus was the prophet that Moses predicted. But Jesus was infinitely greater than Moses.

-Jesus didn’t just deliver messages from God. He was the message.
-Jesus didn’t just bring the 10 commandments down from the mountain. Jesus wrote the 10 commandments, and He perfectly fulfilled them.
-And Jesus would not just be the one to speak with God on behalf of the people. Through faith in Jesus, we would be able to go to directly God in prayer. He would no longer be this scary cloud on a mountain. He would call us his kids, and we would call Him Father.

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Miracles and the Gospel

When you read the Gospels, it’s clear that Jesus did supernatural miracles during His ministry, including many miracles of healing.

But Jesus is no longer with his disciples in body. Would miracles cease? Would the power of Jesus leave with Jesus? No. Jesus promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The presence and power of Jesus was with His Church through the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 3, this is the very first miracle we see the apostles do since Jesus ascended. God used Peter and John to heal a man who was crippled from birth.

That’s what this miracle communicated. The ministry and message of Jesus have not ceased, but continue in His followers – in His Church.

“The main point of the story is the continuing power of the name of Jesus to perform the same gracious and healing acts which were signs in the Gospels of the coming of the kingdom or rule of God.” –I. Howard Marshall

By healing this lame man, God is making it clear that Jesus is still the Messiah. And His followers carry the authority of Jesus because they carry the mission of Jesus.

So not only was Jesus a miracle worker, but Jesus made it clear to his disciples that they would do the same.

Miracles may not happen in the same way or the same frequency today, but they do happen.

I say that with certainty, because I’ve seen miracles happen. I’ve seen people on their deathbed be healed and recover. I’ve seen demons cast out of people. I’ve seen God heal disease, both in our country and others. We all saw and heard a miracle just a couple of weeks ago right here when Jeanne Chavez asked for prayer for breast cancer. We prayed, and God healed her days later. God still works miracles.

And I know God works miracles today because the work of the gospel goes on today. If God does miracles for the chief purpose of pointing to the gospel, it should be no shock that God is still pointing the gospel today, and sometimes He performs a miracle to do it.

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When “Dead” Won’t Do

Before we had our daughter Chloe, Angela and I took a trip to Chicago, just the two of us. While we were there, we went to the aquarium / zoo. We like seeing animals up close. We had fun. Then, nearby was the museum of natural history, which we usually enjoy as well. So we left the zoo and went to the museum next. But for some reason, the museum was not enjoyable. Just coming from seeing animals that were so alive, to seeing a bunch of dead things – stuffed and lifeless – the dead things just seemed more……dead.

When you know life, death won’t do.

In Acts 2, the Church is infused with life. The Holy Spirit has been poured out on followers of Jesus gathered in the upper room.

Peter preached the gospel and thousands are saved. The Holy Spirit regenerated them, and the Lord added them to His Church.

And what did they do next? They came together. They lived life together. They had new life. They received what Jesus called “life abundant”. Before salvation, they were dead and didn’t know it. Now, because they are alive, they realize what it is to be alive.

Those whom Jesus has saved are drawn to others whom Jesus has saved. Life is drawn to life.

And for followers of Christ, that’s the drawing of the Holy Spirit who is in you to others who are filled with the Holy Spirit. God put the Spirit in us – He gives us the unity of the Spirit, as Paul calls it – because the Church is meant to live life together, glorifying God and serving one another.

And as we are constantly filled with the Spirit, God will use you to point others who are dead to Jesus – the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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Priority of Family and the Church

Imagine if someone asked you for one lesson, just one thing that God has taught you in your life that you want to pass on to other Christians. Dr. Al Mohler, one of the top Christian thinkers of our time, was asked that question. And this is what he said…

“I think the one great lesson the Lord has taught me over these years is that the importance of the family and the local congregation supersedes every other relationship to which the Christian is called. Christians demonstrate the glory of God and the power of the gospel by the way we marry and stay married, by the way we raise our children, by the way we love each other, and by the way we live faithfully in the congregation of believers. The centrality of Christ’s purpose to glorify himself in His church and the blessings of God that are directed to the precious gift of the family — these far exceed our other allegiances.”

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