232 Seven Shocking Ways Jesus is Superior To The Prophets

There are seven shocking ways that Jesus is superior to all other Prophets and writers of the Bible. Traditionally we tend to treat all writers of the Bible with equal weight and importance. However, when we discover who Jesus is and the ways in which He is superior to all of scripture and other prophets we need to listen very closely to what Jesus taught and let it take precedence own our lives.

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The Unique Superiority of Jesus above all the Prophets.

It is important to recognize Jesus Christ as the final authority on God on the basis of the

New Testament witness. This is self-evident from the claim that Jesus is God (John 1:1-2)

but there is no harm in establishing Jesus status by the abundance of witnesses present.

1. Jesus surpassed all the prophets.

Jesus recognized John the Baptist as the greatest of the prophets:

Matthew 11:11 NLT “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater

than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater

than he is!”

John then claims that Jesus is far superior to himself:

John 1:27 NLT “Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave

and untie the straps of his sandal.”

Moses, the hero of the Jews, is the mighty law giver but Jesus gives grace and truth which supersede law.

John 1:17 NLT The law came through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus

Christ.

While hierarchy is not a status Jesus aspired to (Philippians 2:5-8) it is clear Jesus

surpasses all other prophets. Jesus confirms this point

John 5:36 NLT But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my

miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he

sent me.

The miracles of Jesus were to authenticate his claim that he came from God. These

miracles included mass healing for everyone near him. The first of 10 instances of this

claim by Matthew is found in chapter 4 verse 23-25.

Paul follows up Matthew’s lead with this statement in his letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 1:19-21 NLT I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness

of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised

Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the

heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader

or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to comeCan there be any doubt left of the unique superiority of Jesus our LORD and Master?

Throughout the universe and all time and timelessness?

2. Jesus is the only eyewitness of God.

Only eyewitnesses qualify to give evidence in a court of law. Apart from Jesus all other prophets can only give hearsay. They saw visions or dreamed dreams or heard voices but they did see God or understand God’s heart as Jesus did.

John 1:18 NLT No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God,

is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.

Exodus 33:20 NLT “But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me

and live.”

1 Timothy 1:17 NLT All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal

King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:16 NLT He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no

human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All

honor and power to him forever! Amen.

Jesus is the perfect witness to the being and character of God.

John 14:6 NLT Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can

come to the Father except through me. ”

Jesus is the way to God, he is the truth about God and he has the life of God. This is

confirmed by Jesus as follows.

John 14:9 NLT Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you

still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are

you asking me to show him to you?”

God does not look like a 30-year-old Jewish male. Jesus is referring to the congruence of

their characters. They are Siamese twins joined at the heart.

3. Jesus projects his preeminence with his teachings.

Six times he will say: “You have heard it said, but I say unto you.” He is quoting Moses and

raises the standard from a legal to a moral basis. Jesus is moving us from being right and

not having the love of God in our hearts to being filled with the self-sacrificing, others

centered aeection of God for his creation.

“You have heard it said . . .Do not commit murder BUT I say do not be angry (Matthew 5:22)

Do not commit adultery BUT I say lust is as bad as the act (Matthew 5:28)

You can divorce BUT I say you are forcing your wife to commit adultery (Matthew

5:32)

You must honour your vows BUT I say do not make vows (Matthew 5:34)

An eye for an eye BUT I say do not resist and evil person (Matthew 5:39)

Hate your enemy BUT I say love your enemy and pray for him (Matthew 5:44).

These are astonishing statements which are alien to the people of this world. They reflect a different world, the Kingdom of Heaven, which is beyond our imagination. Anyone else making these statements in Jesus day would have been laughed out of town. We take Jesus seriously because this is how he lived his life and died.

4. The throne room of heaven acclaims Jesus as the hero of heaven and earth because

he gave his life to us in his voluntary death

Revelation 5:11-14 NLT Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands

and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the

elders. 12 And they sang in a mighty chorus:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—

to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength

and honor and glory and blessing.” (7 attributes)

13 And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in

the sea. They sang:

“Blessing and honor and glory and power (4 qualities)

belong to the one sitting on the throne

and to the Lamb forever and ever.”

14 And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and

worshiped the Lamb.

This acclamation is by the leadership in heaven’s throne room. It would be wise to agree

with them.

5. No other being has ever self-resurrected.

Jesus claimed he had the ability to lay down his life and take it up again.John 10:18 NLT “No one can take my life from me. I (sacrifice—not in Greek, unique

to NLT) lay it down voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to

and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

None of the Jews believed Messiah would die (John 12:34) because they had read passages like Daniel 7:14—"his reign will never end.

” When he died no one believed he would

resurrect. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea spent a great deal of money on entombing spices because they did not believe he would resurrect on Sunday morning. Neither did the devout women who brought spices believe he would resurrect. The disciples would not believe the women that Jesus was alive.

Luke 24:11 NLT But the story sounded like nonsense to the men and they did not

believe it.

After Peter and John run to the tomb and see the evidence, they change their minds

John 20:9 NLT For until then they still hadn’t understood the scriptures that said

Jesus must rise from the dead.

It does not state that the disciples did not believe what Jesus had told them. Instead it

invokes the prophetic scriptures concerning his death and resurrection.

This is not surprising since a self-resurrection has never happened before and has never

happened since. This self-resurrection is the greatest evidence that Jesus has underived

life in himself. We put him in a tomb and sealed the entrance but he burst forth against all

expectations. No one else has even returned from the dead on his own ability. No one else will ever do so because Jesus is life in himself and no one else is!