Bless the Lord, O my soul,   
And all that is within me,   
bless His holy name.   
Bless the Lord, O my soul,   
And forget none of His benefits.   
- Psalms 103:1-2   
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Christ Is A Prophet Like Moses

            In Stephen’s great sermon recorded in Acts chapter 7, he pointed out some similarities between Christ and Moses (Acts 7:37). Let’s look at some of the similarities.

            Both Moses and Christ deliver men from bondage. God used Moses as a prophet that led his people out of the bonds of slavery under the Egyptians and Moses supposed that Israel would understand God’s great deliverance but they did not(Acts 7:25). Much the same, Christ delivers his people from the bonds of sin and death giving everlasting life to those who will follow him (Hebrews 2:14-15). Sin leads to death when allowed to run its course (Romans 6:23) but Christ disposes the fear of death and offers hope of eternal life with him. Both are the great deliverers of all time in their own sense.

            God used both great prophets to deliver his law. The Law that Moses gave to the children of Israel was the exact word spoken to him on Mt. Sinai by God. As always, God chose to deliver his words through a man (Acts 7:37-38). This Mosaic Law separated his chosen people from the rest of the world and made way for the presentation of his son and our Savior through them. This announcement or prophecy of a Savior is made by Moses and the Savior is described as another great prophet that was to come from their nation(Deut. 18:15-18). This great prophet, like Moses, would also give law or instruction that was only from God, speaking only the things that God commanded him (Deut. 18:18; Acts 7:37; Hebrews 1:1-2).The words spoken by this later prophet would be the words or law that would justify men to God through the forgiveness of sins, unlike the Law given by Moses (Acts 13:38-39). And best of all, this Gospel of Christ is for all men (Mark 16:15-16).

            Sadly though, both Moses and Christ were rejected. Moses was rejected by his own people in spite of the overwhelming evidence that was continuously given them (Acts 7:35-50). In Stephen’s message, he bravely and boldly went on to show the Jews that Christ too was rejected (Acts 7:51-53) by them. Like today, many want religion on their own terms and will not accept the commands of the one who deserves the worship.

            Stephen’s message was not only rejected, but he was ultimately stoned to death for preaching these things(Acts 7:54-60). The message that Christ was rejected and killed for our sins was the same message that had converted many Christians earlier in Acts chapter 2.However, here we see a stark contrast in how the Gospel of Christ, or the truth, produces different reactions in man depending on man’s heart. Do we sometimes get mad and stop our ears when the truth is preached and it convicts us (Matt. 13:13-15; 2 Thess. 2:9-12)? Many times it seems that the world does.

                                                                                                                - Marc Hopkins



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