A Prophet like Moses?

Sabbath. Capernaum gathered at the Synagogue. The townspeople listened as one of their elders read from the scroll about the coming prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15-19). Perhaps some wondered, “Is Jesus that prophet?”

[In the SpendaYearwithJesus timeline, the reading took place Saturday.]

The scroll reading continued by posing the question, “How will we know?” (Deut 18:21) It was a difficult, urgent question with no easy answers.

For the average person, most of what they knew about Jesus’ experience was gathered from hearsay or rumor — not from first-hand experience. (What do you know about your doctor’s medical training, for example?)

There was constant speculation around Jesus’ identity. His teaching tours and healing activities sometimes aligned with and sometimes collided with his listeners’ expectations.

Jesus himself posed the question among his followers. Earlier this month, subscribers received this text message:

After bread. Secluded area of woods by a stream. Jesus asks the disciples: Who do you say I am?

. . . later, Jesus’ followers, Peter and Stephen, quoted the scroll to validate their conclusion concerning Jesus’ identity (Acts 3:22-23, 7:37).

But let’s not skip ahead too quickly! Follow SpendaYearwithJesus.