The great monotheistic religions of the world all trace their history to the little region east of the Mediterranean that still dominates world news.
One of the uniting features of all three beliefs—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—is their conviction that we are not left to our own religious inventiveness because GOD HAS SPOKEN.
How did He do this? It was through His prophets, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21) While there’s a long line of illustrious prophets accepted by all three beliefs, another shared feature is their high regard for Abraham, Moses, and David.
The place where Christianity diverges from the other two is the claim that Jesus stands above all the prophets because He is God come in the flesh.
More than that, it’s the Christian’s testimony that these prophets in the ancient Scriptures anticipated Messiah’s coming and spoke of Him long before His arrival. “To Him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” (Acts 10:43, ESV)
Now all three religions trace their heritage back to Abraham. He’s not only the progenitor of both Jews and Arabs, but, in a special way, “Abraham is the father of all who believe.” (Romans 4:16, NLT) The Jews objected to Jesus offering the gift of eternal life, and queried, “Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
To which Jesus replied, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” In fact, Jesus added, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:53, 56, 58)
This is a great transition to Moses, since the title “I AM” was also the way God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush. So what about Jesus and Moses? When He told His detractors, “You are not willing to come to Me that you may have life,” He also warned them, “Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.” (John 5:40, 45-46)
What about David? After being interrogated by various groups all day, Jesus said He had a question for them. What did they think about the Messiah? “‘Whose Son is He?’ “They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’
“He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’?
“If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” (Matthew 22:41-45) The people were stymied. The only explanation could be that David’s Creator came by birth into David’s family so He could become David’s (and our) Savior.
So there you have it. Abraham rejoiced in Christ, Moses wrote about Him, and David worshiped Him as Lord. These things “are written that YOU may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing YOU may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Saturday, May 4, 2024.