"I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name." Deuteronomy 18:18-19
Who is that Prophet?
Early in the Gospel of John, we find this jubilant declaration from Philip:
“We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law (and so did the prophets): Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” John 1:45
Clearly, these men were not ignorant of what all Israel was awaiting, especially in the light of the Roman Occupation of their Land.
And Jesus did not disappoint them. He explains how He fulfilled that Deut 18 prophecy in John 12:49-50,
"For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a command as to what I should say and what I should speak. I know that His command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
Let's break down further how Jesus fulfilled YHWH's prophecy to the letter:
YHWH in Deut 18: "... I will put My words in his mouth"
Jesus in John 12: "... the Father ... has given Me a command as to what I should say and what I should speak"
YHWH in Deut 18: "... he will tell them everything I command him."
Jesus in John 12: "... His command is eternal life... the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
YHWH in Deut 18: "I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to My words that he speaks in My name."
Jesus in John 12: "The one who rejects Me and doesn’t accept My sayings has this as his judge: The word I have spoken will judge him on the last day."
Again, in what scholars call Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17, He "reports" the following to the Father,
7 "Now they know that all things You have given to Me are from You,
8 because the words that You gave Me, I have given them. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from You. They have believed that You sent Me." John 17
As the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18 and the Perfectly Obedient Son Who was to be our Exemplar of sonship for all time, Jesus never did anything on His own. (See John 8:28-29)
This prophetic fulfillment is confirmed for us by the Apostle Peter (italics mine for emphasis):
"... and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah. Heaven must welcome Him until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning.
Moses said: The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers.
You must listen to Him everything He will say to you.
And everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people...
In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days.
God raised up His Servant and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.” Acts 3:20-24, 26
Jesus fulfilled all of these prophecies completely. No one else could.
But Jesus has this challenge for those who would reject His claim,
"For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:46-47
To make things even clearer, YHWH said this in Deuteronomy 18:20,
"But the prophet who dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or WHO SPEAKS IN THE NAME OF OTHER GODS—that prophet must die.’
Jesus came in the name of YHWH. Had anyone brought a message to Israel in the name of another god, Moses would have immediately had him put to death. YHWH did not tolerate the presence of false prophets among His People.
See also http://www.letusreason.org/islam2.htm
Addendum:
Despite all of the above evidence and in clear contradiction of Scripture, some are now claiming that either Muhammad or John the Baptist is the prophet of Deuteronomy 18.
But we shall yet again see how this belief is in error, as we find an additional indicator as to Who The Prophet of Deuteronomy 18 was in Deuteronomy 34:
10 No prophet has arisen again in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.
11 He was unparalleled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do against the land of Egypt—to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to all his land,
12 and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Two signs are mentioned:
1) knowing God face to face
- neither Muhammad nor John the Baptist knew God face to face. Muhammad spoke to an "angel" called Jibril, while John the Baptist was led by the Spirit of God but never saw YHWH face to face
2) signs and wonders
- neither Muhammad nor John the Baptist did any miracles at all.
Comments