The Names of Jesus - Elmer Towns

understood by the Jews to refer to one anointed of the Holy Spirit who received revelation from
and communicated a message for God.
One of the early Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament was that God would raise up
a Prophet like unto Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). Although the character of this Prophet came to
be the standard by which other prophets were evaluated, the Jews clearly understood the
prophecy as Messianic. Many Old Testament prophets engaged in prophecy, but only Jesus
possessed the credentials and practiced the ministry of the Prophet in perfection. His ministry
gave evidence of all three of the following aspects of prophetic preaching:
Spokesman for God—”For-teller” Jesus was a spokesman for God and so fulfilled the
office of the prophet. Everything Jesus said was the Word of God. Also, “His name is called the
Word of God” (Revelation 19:13). Jesus consciously said and did the will of the Father while
here on earth. He told the religious leaders of His day, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but
what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise”
(John 5:19). Later in the same conversation, Jesus said, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I
hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
Father who hath sent me” (John 5:30).
Prediction—”Foreteller” Normally, when people think of prophecy, their first idea is
that of predicting future events. In His role as foreteller, Jesus made several prophecies. He told
His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26), which was fulfilled at Pentecost
(Acts 2:1-4). Further, He described the ministry of the Holy Spirit in this age (John 16:13,14)
and the details of His own death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew 16:21). Additional predictive
teachings of Christ dealt with His return (John 14:2,3), the existence of the church (Matthew
16:18), and the course of the church age (Matthew 13).
A Preacher to People—”Forth-teller” Jesus taught the people truth concerning God.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, acknowledged, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a
teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with
him” (John 3:2). When Jesus taught, “the people were astonished at his doctrine; for he taught
them as one having authority” (Matthew 7:28,29). Jesus spoke with authority for God. Several
extended discourses of Jesus are recorded in Scripture, including the Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5-7), the mystery parables (Matthew 13), the Olivet discourse (Matthew 24-25), and
the Upper Room discourse (John 13-16).
Jesus was certainly consistent with the prophetic tradition of Israel; and, as such, those
who heard Him understood Him to be a prophet (cf. Matthew 14). But Jesus was more than just
another prophet; He was the Prophet. Although there were many similarities between Jesus and
the other prophets, there were also differences. The most notable of these was His authority in
preaching. The prophet of God almost always prefaced his remarks with the expression “Thus
saith the Lord”; but, characteristically, Jesus began by saying, “But I say unto you.”