Podcast Summary: "Jesus as Prophet (Part 1)"

Podcast: Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life
Host: Tim Keller
Date: September 10, 2025
Episode Theme: Understanding Jesus as Prophet—What It Means and Why It Matters

Overview

In this sermon, Tim Keller embarks on a teaching series examining the biblical doctrine of Christ, focusing specifically on Jesus as Prophet. Keller explains the threefold nature of Jesus’ work—prophet, priest, and king—and why each is crucial to grasping true, undistorted Christianity. This episode centers on the richest biblical sense of Jesus as Prophet: the ultimate and unsurpassed revealer of God’s nature and will.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of a Full View of Jesus (Prophet, Priest, King)

• [00:29 - 07:00] Keller opens by framing the episode within the larger sermon series on Christ’s roles.
• Christianity insists on holding together Jesus' humanity and divinity, as well as his work as prophet (revealer), priest (redeemer), and king (ruler).
• “If you leave out any one… it distorts your view of Reality, it certainly gives you a concoction that’s not Christianity and it’s spiritually poisonous if you take it into your system.” (Keller, 02:45)

2. The Dangers of Distortion

• [07:00 - 13:00]
  Using anecdotes from New Yorkers and C.S. Lewis’ famous "liar, lunatic, or Lord" argument, Keller lays out how Christians (or church communities) often emphasize one aspect of Christ at the expense of others—leading to trouble:

  • Wanting Jesus only as redeemer (priest), but not as one who reveals truth or rules.
  • Emphasizing Jesus’ authority (king) but lacking the gospel’s grace (priest).
  • Seeing Jesus only as a teacher (prophet), disregarding salvation and authority.

• Memorable Quote:
  “You can’t have Jesus only as priest and not prophet or king… He’s all prophet and all priest and all king. You just can’t have one piece of him.” (Keller, 10:40)

3. Jesus as the Ultimate Prophet: Biblical Context

• [13:00 - 21:50]
  Keller reads and unpacks Acts 3:17-26, highlighting:

  • Jesus as the Prophet promised by Moses (“a prophet like me from among your own people”).
  • Listening to Jesus is shown to be vital for life and relationship with God.

• “The fact that Jesus is a prophet… shows us that we have a God who speaks to us.” (Keller, 18:40)

4. The Human Longing for a Speaking God

• [18:40 - 22:50]
  • Humans deeply desire that the universe “talks back” — a theme in stories, music, and philosophy.
  • Leonard Bernstein’s quote about Beethoven: feeling there's something right, trustworthy, and consistent in the world—though he claims not to believe in an absolute truth.
  • Keller: “The reason you want to believe that there’s a universe out there to talk to, that there’s a rationale center that can talk back to us, is because there is.” (Keller, 20:48)

5. What Is a Prophet?

• [21:50 - 29:30]
  • A prophet is God’s mouthpiece: not offering interpretation but directly conveying God’s words.
  • Analogy: Critics interpret music, but the composer’s notes supersede critics’ opinions.
  • “No prophecy of Scripture is by the prophet’s own interpretation… Prophets spoke from God, not of their own will, as moved by the Holy Spirit, period.” (Keller, quoting 2 Peter 1:13, 23:10)

6. Truth in a Contemporary Context

• [24:26 - 36:18]

  • The uniqueness of Christian truth: objective, not based on personal interpretation or feeling.
  • Competing worldviews:
    • Naturalism/secularism: There is no God; only facts, no right or wrong.
    • Pantheism/New Age: Everything is God; truth comes from within.

• Underneath both, Keller argues is a “childish” motive: “There is a childish side of us that doesn’t want anybody to tell us what to do.” (Keller, 29:12)

7. The Authority of Prophetic Truth

• [33:00 - 37:00]
  • Prophetic truth surpasses all: expert opinion, tradition, and personal feeling.
  • “God’s truth trumps all other kinds of truth. If it differs with public opinion, you have to follow it. If it differs with your feelings, you have to follow it. That’s the nature of truth.” (Keller, 33:45)

8. Jesus: The Final and Supreme Prophet

• [37:00 - 46:00]

  • Jesus does not merely point to God but reveals God directly.

  • “He is not just the one who brings the truth. He is the truth.” (Keller, 39:00)

  • Buddha, Mohammed, Moses: “Don’t look at me, I am pointing to God.” Jesus: “I am pointing to me… I am the way, the truth, the life.” (Keller paraphrasing, 39:28)

  • Hebrews 11’s contrast: previous prophets brought pieces, Jesus brings the full, unsurpassable disclosure.

9. Prophet, Priest, King United in Christ—Culminating in the Cross

• [42:00 - End]

  • The cross is where Jesus’ prophetic (revealing), priestly (redeeming), and kingly (ruling) nature meet.
  • Jesus uniquely reveals how God’s justice and love come together: “Only on the cross, God is both just and justifier of those who believe. Only there is God’s heart, His essence revealed.” (Keller, 44:08)

• Keller’s exhortation: Only Jesus as all three—prophet, priest, king—offers the balanced, true vision of God; otherwise, you reduce Christianity into legalism or license.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On incomplete versions of Jesus:
  “You can’t have Jesus only as priest and not prophet or king... he’s all prophet and all priest and all king. You just can’t have one piece of him.” (10:40)

• On the human longing for truth:
  “We all know that some things are right or wrong regardless of what people believe. Isn’t that right? …But if you don’t believe in a God who speaks through the prophets, you’ve got no basis for that… and yet you can’t help but believe it.” (36:44)

• On Jesus as uniquely supreme:
  “Jesus is the only one who comes, not pointing over his shoulder, but pointing to his own heart. He’s the one that comes and says, they can tell you a lot about God, but I can show you God.” (40:16)

• The cross as the convergence:
  “The one place in history, the one place in the universe where the holiness and the love of God shine out with equal brightness is on the cross.” (44:18)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Series Context: 00:29 – 07:00
• Dangers of One-Dimensional Jesus: 07:00 – 13:00
• Acts 3—Jesus as Prophet: 13:00 – 21:50
• Human Longing for Communication with God: 18:40 – 22:50
• Bible’s Definition of a Prophet: 21:50 – 29:30
• Worldview Contrasts (Naturalism, Pantheism, Christianity): 24:26 – 36:18
• Supremacy of Prophetic Truth: 33:00 – 37:00
• Jesus as the Final Prophet—Hebrews 1: 37:00 – 46:00
• Prophet, Priest, King & the Cross: 42:00 – End

Conclusion & Takeaway

Keller’s teaching asserts:

• To know Jesus truthfully, you must embrace him as Prophet, Priest, and King—never separating these roles.
• Jesus the Prophet is not just a messenger but is himself the message—the living, unsurpassed Word of God.
• Submitting to Jesus’ prophetic truth is a call to let God’s objective revelation reshape life, even when it cuts against personal preference or popular culture.
• Only in the unity of Christ’s roles, culminating at the cross, do God’s love and righteousness meet in full brilliance.

Call to Action:
“Do you want him to redeem you?… You have to hear Him. You have to listen to Him. You’ve got to let his hard, unyielding, objective truth into your life.” (Keller, 46:00)