In his sermon at the temple,
Peter affirms that Jesus is the prophet like Moses In one of Moses’ final speeches, he gave this messianic prophecy: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). The prophet whom Moses foretells bears these qualities: He will be raised up by God, He will come from among the Israelites, He will be like Moses, and He will be worthy of being heard and obeyed. The prophet who fulfills these words is Jesus Christ, the prophet like Moses. On the banks of the Jordan River, the Jews questioned John the Baptist about who he was and why he was baptizing. Their question “Are you the Prophet?” (John 1:21) shows that they were looking for the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy. John plainly informed them that he was not the Prophet but pointed them to the One who was: “ Among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (verses 26–27). John’s description of the Messiah as one “among you” recalls Moses’ prediction that God would raise up the Prophet “from among you” in Deuteronomy 18:15. The very next day, John specifically identifies Jesus as the One they were waiting for (John 1:29–31). In his sermon at the temple, Peter affirms that Jesus is the prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22, quoting Deuteronomy 18:15). Stephen, addressing the Sanhedrin in Acts 7:37, also quotes Moses and applies the prophecy to Jesus Christ. Jesus is like Moses in several ways. Moses was both a prophet and a lawgiver, and Jesus is, too. Jesus was widely recognized as a prophet who spoke the Word of God (Matthew 21:46), and He gave commandments for His followers to obey (John 13:34; 15:12, 17; Galatians 6:2). Both Moses and Jesus mediated a covenant between God and men—Moses the Old Covenant (Exodus 34:27; Acts 7:44), and Jesus the New (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15). Both Moses and Jesus were born during perilous times, and both narrowly escaped a king bent on murdering babies (Exodus 1:22 and Matthew 2:16–18). Both Moses and Jesus had a connection to Egypt (Exodus 2:1–4 and Matthew 2:13–14). Moses was the (adopted) son of a king (Exodus 2:10), and Jesus is the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:32). Moses spent forty years as a shepherd (Exodus 3:1), and Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14). Both Moses and Jesus were known for their meekness (Numbers 12:3 and Matthew 11:29). Moses and Jesus were alike in that they both led God’s people out of captivity. With great power, Moses led the Israelites out of physical bondage and slavery in Egypt, and Jesus, with even greater power, led God’s elect out of spiritual bondage and slavery to sin. Moses stood before Pharaoh and said, “'Let my people go” (Exodus 5:1). Jesus came “to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and . . . to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18). “In Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). Moses was also like Jesus in that he performed miracles-- not all prophets did. Several of the miracles of Moses bear a resemblance to Jesus’ miracles, most notably the provision of bread in the wilderness (Exodus 16:35), which is comparable to Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1–13). In fact, after Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, the people’s thoughts ran immediately to Moses’ prophecy: “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world’” (John 6:14). Another way that Moses was like Jesus is that he held intimate conversations with God: “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11). Jesus also had a special relationship to God: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son” (Matthew 11:27); “The Father knows me and I know the Father” (John 10:15). When Moses stood in God’s presence, his face shone with a heavenly glory and had to be covered with a veil (Exodus 34:29–35), and this reminds us of Jesus’ transfiguration, when “His face shone like the sun” (Matthew 17:2). Another important way that Moses was like Jesus is that he constantly interceded for his people. When the Israelites sinned, Moses was always standing by, ready to petition God on their behalf and plead for their forgiveness. After the blatant idolatry at the foot of Mt. Sinai involving the golden calf, Moses interceded twice for the people (Exodus 32:11–13, 30–32), and his intercession was needed at other times, too (e.g., Numbers 11:2; 12:13; 21:7). Moses’ intercession was temporary, but our Lord’s is everlasting. “If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). Jesus is right now “at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34). Jesus “always lives to intercede” for us (Hebrews 7:25). Not only was Moses an intercessor for God’s people but, like Jesus, he was willing to die for them. In Exodus 32:32, Moses offers his life in exchange for sinners. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” Jesus said (John 15:13), and Jesus proved His love when He “laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16; cf. John 10:15). Mission Israel Matt 5-17 I will be documenting The Journey to the MotherLand Shirts On Sale Now!
All proceeds directly fund Mission Israel The Skull Crushing Seed Of the Woman: Inner-Biblical Interpretation of Genesis 3:15’ by James Hamilton After Adam and Eve had sinned in the Garden of Eden, God cursed the serpent, who had tempted them, (Genesis 3.14-15) and pronounced judgment on Eve (Genesis 3.16) and Adam (Genesis 3.17-19). To the serpent, he said, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” James Hamilton, Professor of Biblical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes, “God’s first act of judgment in the Bible is accompanied by his first promise of salvation, and the salvation will come through the judgment. As the serpent is cursed, he is told that he will proceed on his belly and that he will eat dust (Gen 3:14). Further, enmity is placed between him and the woman, and between his seed and the seed of the woman. This enmity will issue in the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent (3:15).” The fullness of the Gentiles includes the full number saved, walking in fullness of godly character and power, embracing the fullness of God’s narrative, resulting in the fullness of God’s purpose. https://youtu.be/K-KyEspxhIU The Holiest of Holies, Mother Mary Have you caught Wind yet? The Morning SHIFT is Dawning ONLINE is the TOWN CENTER in JERUSALEM 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. God has given various people the number 100 million intercessors over the years in prophetic encounters. Eric Watt, Jason Hubbard (IPC), and team have visited IHOPKC a number of times over recent years. They represent and communicate regularly with leaders that oversee 5,000+ prayer networks that collectively include 130 million believers (at first I found those numbers hard to believe). In their recent visit (Dec. 2022), they shared that the leaders of these 5,000+ prayer networks and the 130 million intercessors connected to them will stand together to pray for the same area of the earth 4 times in 2023 in a global mission initiative called 110cities.com. I am overwhelmed as I consider that this is the first time in history that over 100 million believers will pray for the same geographical area together on the same day (see Jn. 17:21-23). These 100 million prayed for China on January 22, 2023. They will pray for the Middle East on April 17, for Israel on May 28, and for India on October 31. These 100 million believers are deeply committed to Jesus and to The Great Commission, but many of them are not yet connected to the Lord’s biblical purpose for Israel. But for one day (May 28, 2023) 100 million will pray for Israel as they did for China on January 22. But for 21 days leading up to May 28, 1 million+ intercessors will fast and pray asking the “Holy Spirit to ambush” them by marking the hearts of these 100 million for His purposes for Israel. Summary: In this Isaiah 62 Fast, thousands of ministries will host daily prayer meetings with fasting— together we will mobilize over 1 million+ to pray for Israel AND for the Spirit to mark 100 million intercessors on May 28 to see God’s heart for Israel. IHOPKC is only one of many HUBs hosting this Isaiah 62 Fast. John 17 contains the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in any of the Gospels. Jesus prays this after He finishes His final instructions to the disciples and before He is betrayed, arrested, and crucified. First, Jesus prays for Himself, then He prays for His disciples, and He closes the prayer by praying for all believers. This intercessory prayer is commonly called Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. The office of high priest was instituted at Mount Sinai when God gave the Law to the Israelites through Moses. Aaron and, subsequently, his descendants were chosen to be priests who were responsible for interceding for Israel before God (Exodus 28 – 29). One priest was selected as the high priest who would enter the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement to offer the sacrifice that would temporarily cover the sins of the people (Hebrews 9:7). When Jesus came, He offered His life as the ultimate sacrifice that would not only cover the sins of the people but completely cleanse His people and save them. Jesus is the ultimate High Priest, and His intercession for us in John 17 is a wonderful, multilayered example of His love. As Jesus begins His High Priestly Prayer, He reveals that His purpose in coming to earth was to glorify the Father by giving eternal life to those who believe in Him. Although Jesus is God and was with the Father before the world began (John 17:5), He humbled Himself and came to earth as a man so people would know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ” whom He sent (John 17:3). Now, the hour had come when Jesus’ work on earth would be finished (John 17:1), and Jesus asks the Father to glorify Him as He prepared to finish the work that would “give eternal life” to those who believe in Him (John 17:2). Jesus continues His High Priestly Prayer by praying for His disciples. The eleven who remained with Him had accepted Jesus’ words, knew that He is God, and believed that the Father sent Him (John 17:8). Jesus talks about the Father giving the disciples to Him and the disciples belonging to the Father; Jesus and the Father have everything in common (John 17:6, 9–10). Jesus mentions that glory has come to Him through the disciples (John 17:10). Jesus prays that the Father would protect the disciples since He will no longer be present in the world. He prays not that they will be removed from the world but specifically that they would be protected from the evil one (John 17:15) by the power of Jesus’ name (John 17:11). Jesus says that the world hates the disciples because they are not of the world, just as Jesus is not of the world (John 17:14, 16). But Jesus has given His followers the Word and sent them into the world, just as the Father sent Jesus (John 17:18). Jesus prays that His disciples would be sanctified by the truth, which is God’s Word (John 17:17) and that they would be unified (John 17:11). After praying for His disciples, Jesus also prays for everyone who will believe in Him through their message (John 17:21). Jesus’ desire, expressed in His High Priestly Prayer, is that all of His followers would be in complete unity, just as He and the Father are in perfect unity (John 17:21). Jesus prays for believers to be in God so that the world will believe in Jesus (John 17:21). When believers are united and abide in God, the world will know that God loves them and that He sent Jesus for them (John 17:23). Jesus loves the world, and His sacrifice that brings eternal life is for anyone who believes (John 3:16–17). Jesus says He has given believers His glory that they may be one as He is one with the Father (John 17:22). Jesus also prays that all who believe in Him will be with Him and see His glory (John 17:24). Jesus affirms that, whereas the world does not know the Father, He does, and He has made the Father known to His disciples. Jesus will continue to reveal God to His followers so that God’s love will be in His disciples and that Jesus Himself will be in them (John 17:25–26). Jesus says that He prayed the High Priestly Prayer because He was going to the Father soon and He wanted His disciples to “have the full measure of my joy within them” (John 17:13). As our Great High Priest, Jesus continues to intercede for us (Hebrews 7:25), and His High Priestly Prayer is an example of what His intercession looks like. Jesus “is able to save completely those who come to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25). His High Priestly Prayer, with its themes of unity, indwelling, glory, and giving, shows the profound extent of that salvation. https://isaiah62fast.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/One-For-Israel-31-Days-Prayer-Guide-Erez-Soref-One-for-Israel-digital.pdf The Sea of Galilee is one of the most familiar bodies of water in the Bible, especially to readers of the Gospels. Many of the events in the earthly life of Jesus Christ took place in the region of Galilee and areas surrounding the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is a vast freshwater expanse located in the Jordan Valley about 60 miles north of Jerusalem. Approximately 13 miles long and 7.5 miles wide at its broadest point near Magdala, the sea resembles the shape of a harp. Situated below the headwaters of the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee is fed with fresh water from snow-topped Mount Hermon and Mount Lebanon. The Jordan River continues out the south end of the Sea of Galilee, flowing downhill until it ends at the Dead Sea. The Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, and the Dead Sea are all located in the Rift Valley, a geological fissure that forms the longest and deepest crack in the earth’s crust. In the Old Testament, the Sea of Galilee is called the “Sea of Chinnereth” or “Chinneroth” (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 12:3; 13:27), named after the town, which is also spelled Kinnereth (Joshua 19:35). Some scholars think this name comes from a Hebrew word meaning “harp.” Most Old Testament references to the Sea of Galilee are related to tribal allocations (Numbers 34:11; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 13:27; 19:35). The area included the lands of Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar (Joshua 19). The prophet Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would come from the region of Galilee (Isaiah 9:1–2, 6). Jesus, coming from His hometown of Nazareth, fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. In New Testament times, the Sea of Galilee was an important commercial area surrounded by Capernaum, Chorazin, Bethsaida, Magdala, and Tiberias. Most of the roads in ancient Galilee passed near the sea, and many travelers crossed the Jordan Rift there. Its semi-tropical climate combined with the sulfur springs in Tiberias made the Sea of Galilee a popular health resort destination for sick people. Being the only significant freshwater lake in the region, the Sea of Galilee supported a flourishing fishing industry. Capernaum, a dominant setting in the ministry of Jesus, was the center of that fishing industry (Matthew 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:10, 11). By the first century, the Sea of Galilee had been renamed the “Lake of Gennesaret” or “Sea of Gennesaret” (Luke 5:1). In John’s Gospel, the apostle calls it the “Sea of Tiberias” (John 6:1; 21:1). Many momentous events in the life of Jesus took place around the Sea of Galilee, including the calling of several disciples. Peter, Andrew, James, and John had all been working as fishermen earning a living on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:13–22). Jesus also called Matthew the tax collector from the town of Capernaum on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 2:13–17). Due to geological features on either side of the Sea of Galilee, sudden and severe storms occur regularly on its waters. The Synoptic Gospels record one episode of Jesus calming a violent storm: “Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’ He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’” (Matthew 8:23–27; see also Mark 4:35–41 and Luke 8:22–25). In one of the most spectacular miracles of the Gospels, Jesus walks on the surface of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:45–53; John 6:16–21). In Matthew’s version of the story (Matthew 14:22–33), Jesus invites Peter to leave the boat and come toward Him, which Peter does and walks on water. Two other remarkable and well-known miracles that happened near the Sea of Galilee were the feeding of the four thousand (Matthew 15:29–39) and the feeding of the five thousand (Luke 9:10–17). Jesus taught the crowds by the shore (Mark 4:1–34) and preached while standing in a boat on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 13:2). And the Lord is believed to have delivered His famous Sermon on the Mount on the shores of the sea near Capernaum (Matthew 5—7). Jesus may have specifically targeted this area to minister and perform miraculous healings (Matthew 9:2–8; Mark 3:1–6) because of the significant number of sick people who sought out the Sea of Galilee’s restorative climate and medicinal springs of nearby Tiberias. On the southeast banks of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus cast out demons from two men of Gadarenes and sent them into a herd of pigs that drowned in the sea (Matthew 8:28–32). Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead near the Sea of Galilee (Mark 5:21–43) and healed a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 1:21–28). Before His ascension, Jesus appeared in His resurrected body to seven of His disciples for a final miracle catch of fish by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1–14). He cooked and ate breakfast with them and then restored Peter into His trust (verses 15–25). The modern Hebrew name for the Sea of Galilee is Yam Kinneret. Today, the area is a primary tourist site for the State of Israel and supports the commercial fishing industry. The Sea of Galilee is also the main source of drinking water for Israel. |
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