Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15 that the Lord would raise up a prophet from among them like him. Moses came as a mediator to the Old Covenant that was ratified by the blood of bulls and goats to build a place for Yahweh the King to dwell among Israel.
It was Yahweh the King who would dwell in a cloud over the ark of the covenant, which was also the throne of God on earth. Moses sat on a mountain and gave the instructions to Israel, Yahweh’s kingdom of priests, on how to live holy among a holy King, and these commandments were written by the finger of God on tablets of stone.
Here comes Jesus, King Yahweh in the flesh as well as the fulfillment of the prophet spoken by Moses in Matthew 5, sitting on a mountain and giving instructions for holy living under a holy King. Jesus would be the mediator of the New Covenant, but the blood that ratified this covenant was the blood of the King Himself.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, declared that He did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the prophets, but He actually came to fulfill it or fully preach it (Matt. 5:17). The Greek word for “fulfill” is pleroo, which means to carry into effect, bring to realization, consummate, fulfill as cause God’s law (as made known by the law), to be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment. Pleroo also means “to fully preach.”
How is Jesus describing this in the context of “fully preaching and fulfilling the gospel?” Jesus Himself tells us when He says, “You have heard that it was said by the ancients, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt. 5:27-28). Jesus came to cause the power of the gospel to bring a changed life by ratifying the New Covenant with His blood, and causing the instructions to be written upon our hearts so the fulfillment of Yahweh the King can come in to dwell among us.
In this episode of Keys to Walking in Kingdom Culture on the Charisma Podcast Network, we will step into a deeper dimension of what it means for Jesus the King to come and prepare us to become messengers who fully preach the gospel. {eoa}
Purchase Wayland Henderson‘s latest book on Discipleship: Walking with God: Repairing the Breach and Restoring the Ancient Path to Discipleship.
