In the Old Testament, to be a prophet usually meant sufferings and a difficult life filled with sorrows. Many times the prophets were punished for preaching against the sinful ways of the people and even of those in authority. Since both the people and those in political office rarely took heed to the word of God as spoken by the prophets, frustration and mental anguish became the lot of these holy and persecuted men. The pain and pressure that the prophets experienced drove some of God’s chosen vessels to cry unto the Lord to take their life. When overwhelmed with the task of shepherding the children of Israel, Moses pleaded with God to kill him (Numbers 11:14,15). Elijah would also implore God to take his life after he had to flee into the wilderness in order to escape the clutches of Jezebel (I Kings 19:4). Now although the office of prophet-hood is quite a lofty calling, it also calls for much responsibility. As the saying goes, “heavy is the head that wears the crown.”
Initially, many of the prophets ran from the calling of God and from speaking the words that God gave them. For example, when Moses met the Lord God at the burning bush Moses protested the task of delivering the Hebrews and didn’t believe that he had what it took to stand before Pharaoh (Exodus 3:11). When the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, he too insisted that he was unable to fulfill the mission God gave him (Jeremiah 1:6). And most famously the prophet Jonah ran from the calling of God and ended up in a whale’s belly as a result of his disobedience. In contrast, Isaiah was the only one of the Old Testament prophets to volunteer his services to the Lord. For after his lips were purified by the help of an angel, Isaiah boldly accepted his prophetic calling saying: “Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8).
In the New Testament Jesus Himself testifies that John the Baptist was a prophet, and even more than a prophet. For John was the one who prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus would go on to elevate John to such a degree, that the Lord even said, “among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:9-11). Jesus Himself was a prophet, and I believe it is safe to say that Jesus Christ is the prophet of all prophets. For Christ spoke as the prophets spoke, for it was the spirit of Christ speaking through the prophets. And in I Corinthians 12:28 we see that some in the Church age do indeed hold the title of prophet. For as it has been revealed to us in the book of Revelation 19:10 that, “…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
References:
ABC’s Of The Bible. (Pleasantville, NY: The Readers Digest Association, Inc., 1991).
The Lives of the Holy Prophets. (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent, 1998).