Jesus, the Prophet

John 16:1 - 3 "1 All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me."

These are some of the words that Jesus tells the disciples before He is arrested. He is warning them what is going to happen and why. Notice the second part of verse 2. He is laying the groundwork for their acceptance of Saul/Paul. "in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God." Isn't that exactly what Saul thought when he was pursuing followers of "the Way', before He met Jesus. See Acts 7:57 - 8:1 "At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And Saul was there, giving approval to his death." Then, later, Saul who became Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Read the whole account at Acts 22 as told by Paul.

Jesus was so many titles (Physician, Teacher, Preacher) that we oftentimes miss other titles. He was a prophet too. One way to know if a prophet was from God is if his foretelling comes to pass. (See Deuteronomy 18:21-22) Isaiah was a prophet because much of his prophesy about the coming Emmanuel happened when Jesus was born. Much of Jesus' prophesy was about His own death. It happened just as He said it would.

In a few cases that I have noticed (I'm sure there are others I've missed!), Jesus prophesied about those around him or things to come. He told many of the disciples how they would die. He told them that the temple would be destroyed. In this passage (John 16:1-3), He told them that there was someone who would think that he was doing God's work in persecuting them. Jesus also said in the same statement that persons who persecuted them in God's name didn't know Jesus or the Father. This prophesy came true when Saul was blinded on the road to Damascus and talked to Jesus. He then became persecuted instead of persecuting - this was only AFTER he met and came to know Jesus and the Father. This is an other example to illustrate that Jesus is who he says he is. He knew what was coming and warned the disciples, paving the way for Saul/Paul to spread the good news to the gentiles.

The important part to remember about Jesus as Prophet is that He was so much more than just a prophet. He was THE Prophet, THE Teacher, THE Lamb of God, THE Ultimate Sacrifice, THE Healer, THE Son of God and THE Savior of the world. Amen

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