How does Acts 3:23 connect to Deuteronomy 18:15-19 about a coming prophet? The promise given in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 - Moses looks ahead: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.” (Deuteronomy 18:15) - Key details: • “A prophet like me” – one who mediates God’s word and covenant. • “From among your brothers” – an Israelite, fully human. • “You must listen to him” – obedience is mandatory, not optional. • Divine backing: “I will put My words in his mouth… I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.” (vv. 18-19) Peter’s citation in Acts 3:22-23 - Preaching at Solomon’s Portico, Peter quotes Moses: “For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.’” (Acts 3:22) - Then Peter presses the warning: “Everyone who does not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people.” (Acts 3:23) How Acts 3:23 connects to Deuteronomy 18 1. Same prophecy, same wording • Acts 3:22-23 deliberately lifts the language of Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19. 2. Identification of the Prophet • Peter applies the promise to Jesus—recently crucified, now risen (Acts 3:15). • Other New-Testament echoes confirm this link (John 1:45; 6:14; 7:40). 3. Heightened authority • Moses said “listen to him”; Peter says “listen to Him in everything.” Jesus’ words carry total, divine authority (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 1:1-2). 4. The stakes of obedience • Deuteronomy: God “will hold accountable.” • Acts: “will be completely cut off” (covenant exclusion, ultimate judgment; cf. Hebrews 12:25). 5. Covenant continuity • The God who spoke at Sinai now speaks in His Son (Mark 9:7, “Listen to Him!”—echoing Deuteronomy 18). Wider scriptural confirmations - Jesus mirrors Moses yet surpasses him (Hebrews 3:1-6). - Signs and wonders authenticate Him as the promised Prophet (Acts 2:22). - Refusal of His word brings sure judgment (John 12:48; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). Why this matters today - Jesus is God’s final authoritative spokesman; to “listen” is to repent, believe, and obey. - Rejecting Him still results in being “cut off,” now and eternally. - Embracing Him fulfills Moses’ hope and secures the blessings God always intended for His people (Acts 3:25-26; Galatians 3:14). |
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