Do You Hear Moses and the Prophets?

A wealthy man dressed in royal purple feasted every day. At his gate lay a starving beggar, covered in sores. Then both men died—and their roles reversed.

Jesus Christ told this parable in Luke 16. The rich man, who “fared sumptuously” during his life, suddenly found himself shut out of the Kingdom of God. Lazarus, a beggar who lay in the dirt and was licked by dogs, was glorified and received by Abraham, the father of the faithful.

Overwhelmed by his fate, the rich man pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his family to repent: “I pray you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (vs. 27-28).

His request was denied. As in our modern age, God is not in the practice of raising people from the dead to deliver warnings. But Abraham’s response offered an alternate solution, and it can help us today. He pointed the rich man to other long-dead individuals: “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (vs. 29).

Abraham’s statement did not mean God would bring Moses, Nahum or Elisha out of their graves in place of Lazarus. The rich man’s family could have avoided torment by listening to what Moses and the prophets preached during their lifetimes.

This is the Old Testament. Nearly every book was written or compiled by Moses or another prophet. Their words, inspired by God, tell us how to achieve salvation and avoid torment.

The rich man protested: “Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent” (Luke 16:30). Abraham again emphasized: “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (vs. 31).

It is easy to overlook this climax of the story. Most people focus on the first part, often used to support a popular yet false belief in an ever-burning hell. For an in-depth explanation, read our booklet The Truth About Hell. The main lesson here is that anyone who wants to enter God’s Kingdom can do so by hearing Moses and the prophets.

Digging into the meaning of this phrase reveals the timeless relevance and spiritual authority of the Old Testament. Through Scripture, Moses and the prophets still speak—calling on us to listen, learn and live by their words.

What Does It Mean to Hear?

Moses and the prophets were well-known to Lazarus, the rich man and all Israel. Yet from God’s perspective, hearing them means much more than just audibly hearing words or a general familiarity.

In Matthew 11:15, Jesus said, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.” Every human being is born with two ears on their head. But some understand while others do not.

We have all had times when friends, family or co-workers tried to tell us something but we did not “get it.” We might have been distracted by a passing thought or a notification on our phone and we missed the point even though the words came into our ears. This is even more true of God’s words. Human nature wants to resist what He says, not embrace it. Read Romans 8:7.

The prophet Ezekiel illustrated how people can hear without truly hearing: “Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!’” (33:30, New Living Translation).

These people seem very interested in God’s words, even in their own private conversations. The problem emerges as the passage continues: “So My people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you [the subject here is an end-time prophetic figure]. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say” (vs. 31, NLT).

How should we listen? In Deuteronomy 6:4, Moses recorded: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.”

When Moses told Israel to “hear,” he meant far more than sound waves hitting eardrums. The Hebrew term here, shama, carries the sense of hearing with attention, understanding and readiness to obey. It can also mean perceiving, discerning, considering, giving ear, declaring, reporting, witnessing or regarding what is heard (Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon).

Clearly, the form of hearing God wants requires action.

What about us? Do we truly hear Moses and the prophets—or just nod along? Hearing without doing is as silly as reading a recipe and expecting the cake to bake itself. We have to apply the knowledge to benefit.

Thousands of years ago, people did not own personal Bibles. They had to walk to a synagogue to hear scrolls read aloud, since few had access to read them personally. Today, we have countless resources to hear God. There is an abundance of Bible translations, other helps and tools—hardcopy and online—as well as sermons, articles, World to Come videos and more. We have a huge advantage.

Even so, we can slip into the same trap Ezekiel described if we are not careful. We need to maintain “ears to hear.” That means actively listening with a teachable attitude, ready to apply what we learn to our lives.

The Old Testament Is Enough

The New Testament is vitally important. But according to Jesus Christ’s words in the parable, Moses and the prophets are enough to guide someone to eternal life.

Moses explained the choice Lazarus, the rich man and everyone today must face: “For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off…But the word is very near unto you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it…I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live” (Deut. 30:11, 14, 19). God’s words offer us everything we need to choose life.

Today, many in popular Christianity disregard the Old Testament. Various arguments are made to minimize it, including that the Law is done away or that the God of the Old Testament was cruel and harsh. Others may find the Old Testament harder to approach. It is longer, sometimes symbolic, and packed with genealogies and prophetic imagery.

The prophet Hosea wrote, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (4:6). The flip side is that if we have God’s knowledge, we will not be destroyed. We will endure forever.

The Old Testament should be central to a Christian’s life. The sheer number of verses in the New Testament that are quotes or paraphrases of verses already found in Moses and the prophets underscore its importance.

King David, also a prophet, described how God’s words benefit our lives: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psa. 19:7-8). Downplaying or ignoring the Old Testament leaves these promises out of reach.

Readers of The Pillar would never outright reject the Old Testament. But we all know how easy it is to stick to familiar passages while avoiding certain harder sections of Scripture. With demands on our time and challenges in life, it can be easy to stay within our scriptural comfort zone.

But we should be willing to challenge ourselves during Bible study. While we will all have personal memory verses or certain chapters or books that really resonate with us, everything in this living Book is inspired by God and should be taken advantage of.

Valuing the whole Bible is necessary to truly understand God’s will and plan. See the inset for several specific themes and warnings from Moses and the prophets that can help stimulate your Bible study.

Miracles Cannot Guarantee Repentance

The rich man thought the shock and awe of seeing a dead man walking could get his brothers to change. He said: “If one went unto them from the dead, they will repent” (Luke 16:30).

Humanly, we could agree with the rich man—something like that would make anyone stop and consider. Jesus knew this might sound reasonable, which is why the parable clearly rejects this thinking. Remember, “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (vs. 31).

We all think we would change if we saw a resurrection. But Christ says something else: The real miracle is when someone listens and thinks differently.

Miracles cannot replace personal repentance. No amount of supernatural attention-grabbing can make someone change their ways if they do not want to.

The story of ancient Israel shows this. Psalm 95 records how the Israelites “saw My [God’s] work,” which included many miracles, such as bread from heaven, water from a stone and the Red Sea parting. Yet they still remained “a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known [God’s] ways” (vs. 9-10). Read Hebrews 3:7-12 for more of Israel’s story.

The account of a different Lazarus, Lazarus of Bethany, the brother of Mary and Martha, also applies. Take time to read John 11:1-53 and 12:9-11. In this account, Jesus actually did raise a man named Lazarus from the dead, but the immediate reaction from the Pharisees was to seek Christ’s death! They were not interested in repenting.

You can probably think of people you have known in the faith who experienced a miraculous healing or deliverance but went on to leave God’s Way sometime after that. Miracles can help strengthen our faith, but whether we stay on the right path depends on us.

Ezekiel wrote, “Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations” (14:6). In Psalm 51, David beseeched God: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence; and take not Your Holy Spirit from me” (vs. 10-11).

God does not perform big miracles like raising people from the dead to get us to change. Instead, as David said, God works in us through His Spirit.

Real change—godly sorrow leading to repentance—must come from the heart and the Word of God, not from awe-inspiring experiences (Rom. 10:17; II Cor. 7:10). Miracles may accompany faith, but they cannot create or replace it.

Within the instruction to hear Moses and the prophets, God is telling us something remarkable—that the plain words of Scripture are more powerful than the most jaw-dropping supernatural event.

Moses and the Prophets Pointed to Jesus Christ

Imagine walking down the street with Jesus Christ. If He wanted to share His life story with you, where would He start?

This scenario really happened in Luke 24. Just after His resurrection, Jesus walked with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. The topic of conversation? “Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (vs. 27).

The story of Christ does not begin with the New Testament gospels—it is deeply rooted in the writings of Moses and the prophets. These men foretold both Jesus’ earthly ministry and His future reign in the Kingdom. Their words help us grasp the full scope of who Christ is and what He came to do.

Later in the chapter, Jesus revealed Himself to all His disciples. What did He talk about then? “These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me” (vs. 44).

To encourage them after His death and resurrection, Christ pointed back to what He had taught them previously, “while I was yet with you”—the words of Moses and the prophets.

The apostle Philip made this connection immediately when he met Jesus in John 1:45: “We have found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And long after Christ’s ministry, the apostle Paul also linked Moses and the prophets to Christ in Acts 26:22-23 and 28:23.

Moses and the prophets foretold what the Messiah would endure and accomplish while in the flesh. If the rich man and his family had heeded, they would have been ready to listen to and obey Jesus when He appeared.

Jesus Christ’s first coming fulfilled many specific Old Testament prophecies. He was born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14) and in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2). Isaiah 53 describes His suffering and death in remarkable detail, while Psalm 22 foreshadows His crucifixion. Zechariah 11 describes the price paid to His betrayer, just before Christ paid the ultimate price for our sins.

The prophets also pointed to Christ’s second coming and the dramatic events that will precede it. Daniel 7:13-14 reveals the “Son of man” receiving dominion from the Father, the “Ancient of Days.” Isaiah 9 adds, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever” (vs. 6-7).

Jesus Christ’s first coming made salvation possible. And the Kingdom of God on Earth will see vast numbers of people coming to learn the truth and ultimately entering God’s family. Moses and the prophets pointed to both—calling us to believe, repent and look forward to that coming government.

Will You Hear Them?

Christ’s parable of Lazarus and the rich man is about what we hear and whether we will act on it. It is not enough to admire Scripture—it must change us.

It was too late for the rich man in this story. He had the opportunity throughout his lifetime to hear and heed, but did not take it. He ended up in torment. Lazarus, although he did not have a lot of physical blessings or fame in his physical existence, did hear and heed. He went from longing for crumbs from the rich man’s table to rejoicing with Abraham in the Kingdom of God.

We all want the second scenario to be our eternal outcome. We want to join Abraham, Moses and all the prophets in rulership. Those who truly hear God are preparing to walk with Christ in the Kingdom they foretold—a world of justice, peace and joy.

In Luke 11:28, Christ said, “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” Our eternal reward depends on both. Also read John 13:17 and Romans 2:13. We must hear God’s Word and then follow through with action.

If we do, we can claim the promise in Proverbs 1: “All who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm” (vs. 33, NLT).

The rich man begged for one risen from the grave. We have something greater: the voice of God, speaking through His Word—clear, living and ready to be heard. Will you listen?