22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
3:22
For
Peter now gave some cases in point of prophets who spoke about the restoration.
Moses truly said to the fathers,
Peter quoted Deuteronomy 18:15 here.
‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me [Christ the Messiah] from your brethren.
Deuteronomy 18:15 establishes the nature of the prophetic office. The prophet’s role was to speak for Yahweh to Israel with authority. Jesus’ ministry will be similar to that of Moses, who delivered Israel from Egypt. He will also be like Moses in that He will judge Israel as a mediatorial Head of the nation.
Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
Israel was responsible for listening to and heeding what the prophets said. It is possible to hear and yet not listen, as children do. The word “hear” not only means to listen but to respond. There is a tendency to hear but not take to heart.
3:23
And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
Peter also quoted Deuteronomy 8:19. If Israel does not repent, there can be no further hope for the nation until it does. God will not fulfill His covenants with them until they embrace the Messiah.
3:24
Yes, and all the prophets,
Luke also mentioned “all” the prophets in Acts 3:18, 21.
from Samuel and those who follow,
The prophets from Samuel onwards predicted the Millennial reign of Christ, the Messiah (1 Sa 3:20; 13:14; 15:28; 16:13; 28:17). We find the great Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7:10ff. This covenant is the king element of Jesus’ reign as King Jesus, King of the World.
as many as have spoken,
Many prophets of the Old Testament spoke of the Davidic Covenant, such as in the Psalms and historical books.
have also foretold these days.
The prophets spoke of “these days,” the days when the Messiah would come.
PRINCIPLE:
Revelation is the only way finite man can come to understand absolute truth.
APPLICATION:
Since there is a cacophony of voices in our society, we tend not to respond to them. It seems no one has the authority to speak truth. That is because man starts with man, a finite viewpoint. If we start from God, the infinite viewpoint, we can come to universal truth, absolute truth. And that truth must come by revelation from the God who is everywhere, all-knowing, all-powerful, sovereign, and truth itself.
Rejection of God’s Word is a propensity of mankind. Jesus spoke of this skeptical attitude toward Scripture (Mt 23:37; Lu 24:25-27; Jn 5:39). The problem with Israel was not that they did not know the truth but that they would not accept it. They had a pattern of rejecting the Bible.
