Luke 16:19-31
Moses and the Prophets
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Matthew 23:29-36
Wise Men and Prophets
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
2 Peter 1:20-21
The Prophets Were Inspired by God
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Luke 7:18-35
The Messenger for Jesus is More than a Prophet
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces.26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:
“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
“‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.’
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”
The road map to God before Jesus came was Moses, the Prophets, wise men, and teachers...Moses led God's people, the Hebrews, out of Egypt and would teach them much about God...The Prophets were sent later and would tell the people the Word of God...Yet, many people were not convinced that God had sent them...Many people did not listen to Moses and the Prophets...Moses and the Prophets would be close to God, and inspired by Him...The Prophets and Moses were God's hand picked messengers...These men of God were inspired by Him to speak and write His very Word, the Old Testament of the Bible...St. Peter tells us that no Scripture came about by the Prophet's own interpretation and did not originate in the will of man...But the Prophets spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit...And the Prophets stood between God and His people...God inspired the entire Bible...
So even though the Spirit of God inspired our Old Testament (and the entire Bible), many do not believe the words that are written and have been inspired by God Himself...This process of God sending Moses and then other Prophets happened for the next several hundred years...It is thought that Moses was born around 1500 b.c. and the last Prophet to write an Old Testament Book was Malachi around 400 b.c....
Another Prophet would come and He was much more the earlier Prophets...His name is Jesus...And He tells us that His messenger, was John the Baptist, a Prophet himself...Yet, John the Baptist was more than a Prophet, because it would be him that would announce the coming of the Son of Man...He announced Jesus to the world...
Jesus later told the teachers of the law and the Pharisees that He would send the world prophets, wise men, and teachers who know the Truth, but these men and women of God would not convince them that Jesus was the Messiah...The nonbeliever would persecute, crucify, flog, and kill these believers and ministers of His Word and His gospel of the Good News...The early apostles and the first Christians were persecuted heavily and many were killed for believing in the Son of Man...
Jesus was not accepted by everyone, especially the Sanhedrin, the Chief Priests, the Pharisees, and the teachers of the law...Jesus told this group that they would call John the Baptist, a demon, for recognizing Jesus for who He was -the Son of God...And He told them, they would think and call Him a glutton and a drunkard, because He would be a friend of the outcasts, the Samaritans, and even friend of the tax collectors, and sinners...
Jesus would say some of the most interesting, fascinating, and challenging statements ever said on earth...And in all of His spoken Word they are most famous words ever to be spoken...His spoken word would be ushering in a New Spiritual Kingdom, the Kingdom of God...And He was the Deliverer of this Spiritual Kingdom and is our Deliverer and our Savior...This Man is the Christ, the Messiah who was and is to come...He stood up two thousand years ago, and said I AM Truth...In this Truth is Perfect Wisdom...And wisdom is proved right by all the followers of this Truth...