FOURTH QUARTER 2021
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #12
DECEMBER 18, 2021
“DEUTERNOMY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT”

 

The Sabbath School lesson this quarter is not a study on the Book of Deuteronomy. The Sabbath School lesson this quarter is the study of “Present Truth in Deuteronomy”. The burden then of this quarter is to focus on identifying “present truth” in “The Book of the Law” or “The Book of the Covenant”. Adventists have been raised up, a movement with a present truth message. One aspect that is important is to recognize and affirm the continuity of the Old Testament with the New, to see the fulfilment of the Old Testament in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, and to present to the world the indivisible nature of the entire Book, Old Testament and New Testament. I was listening to a local Christian radio station, a station that has just preaching, no music, this week when a statement from the speaker caught my attention. He said, “Jesus came and replaced the Old Testament.” Matthew’s gospel more than any other uses the word “fulfill” as it relates to Jesus Christ. Christ Himself said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:12. The message from Genesis to Revelation is a consistent ever deepening unfolding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation. To say one is a New Testament Christian and not an Old Testament Christian is to fail to recognize the purpose of Jesus Christ throughout history and to handicap the work that God desires to perform in His children. Luke 24 is a great example of this. To the two on the road to Emmaus He said: “Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:25-27. And to His disciples: “Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴⁵ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And you are witnesses of these things.” Luke 24:44-48. Jesus Himself in John 5:39 said, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” The books of Moses and all the Prophets, the Scriptures, are about Jesus Christ.

 

What is present truth today anyway? Sadly, many of our people would not know how to answer that question. In addition to the unity of the Old and New Testaments, we believe that God has given His people a special message for these last days, the Three angel’s messages.

 

“The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. [See Appendix.] This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure. TM 91.2. The Three Angel’s Messages include the passages in Deuteronomy we are studying this week as well as the ones we have already studied.

 

Our first point is from Wednesday’s lesson, Deuteronomy 18:15-18. Looking just at verse 15 & 18 it says, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear…I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.” Moses was about to lay down his duties as leader. The people would have been concerned as to who would take over so Moses made an inspired prediction that “The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst”. Let us note that there is a principle of predictions of OT prophets that can be divided in 4 categories, one of which is the dual application, which means that there is a local/historical application as well as an application to the Messiah and His kingdom. Based on the context, Moses was directing them to the future prophetic leadership of Israel following his death, yet Christ alone could fully meet the conditions in Moses’ prediction. After the miracle of the feeding of the 5000, witnesses to the miracle said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:14. But note the similarity of the last part of Deuteronomy 18:18 (bolded in italics above) to what Christ said in several places. “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. John 14:10. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” Jesus is alluding to Deuteronomy 18:18. “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself”… “that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

 

Point #1: Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy, showing that He was the fulfilment of the Scriptures. He is central to the entire Bible.

 

Our second and third points come from Sunday’s lesson, “It Is Written” based on Matthew 4:1-11. In these verses, we have a record of the wilderness temptations of Jesus where 3 times He was tempted by Satan, and where 3 times He responded by quoting 4 verses from Deuteronomy preceded by the declaration, “It is written”. This alone should make us sit up and take notice. It is interesting to note that the passages Jesus chose to give Him strength for the temptations, occurred during the wilderness experience of national Israel. In was in that trying situation as they were to journey to the promised land that they were urged, “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.” Deuteronomy 4:9. Israel “forgot” God and “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3. See also Deuteronomy 6:13,16 and Deuteronomy 10:20 which Jesus also quoted in His wilderness experience. Israel was to be a kingdom of priests, a light to the Gentiles, they were called in righteousness. “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.” Isaiah 42:6,7. These verses have a dual application both to literal Israel and to Christ. Simeon quoted these verses and applied them to Christ in Luke 2 and Jesus applied similar verses in Isaiah 49 and 61 to Himself. Israel was to represent the character of God and failed in the wilderness. “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3. However, Jesus would enter the wilderness, be tempted, and prevailed by “It is written”. Jesus succeeded in the wilderness where Israel failed. He was totally committed to the will of His Father. He lived by faith. Jesus had to be victorious over temptations. In victory, He would stand in contrast to national Israel who failed their test in the wilderness and to Adam who failed his test in the Garden of Eden. Israel failed because they lacked faith and failed to submit to God’s will.

 

“When Christ said to the tempter, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,” He repeated the words that, more than fourteen hundred years before, He had spoken to Israel: “The Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness.... And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” Deuteronomy 8:2, 3. In the wilderness, when all means of sustenance failed, God sent His people manna from heaven; and a sufficient and constant supply was given. This provision was to teach them that while they trusted in God and walked in His ways, He would not forsake them. The Saviour now practiced the lesson He had taught to Israel. DA 121.1

 

Point #2: God will have a people who prevail on the borders of the heavenly Canaan by faith in the Word through the faith of Jesus.

 

“When Adam was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him. He stood in the strength of perfect manhood, possessing the full vigor of mind and body. He was surrounded with the glories of Eden, and was in daily communion with heavenly beings. It was not thus with Jesus when He entered the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, and in moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of his degradation. DA 117.1

 

Many claim that it was impossible for Christ to be overcome by temptation. Then He could not have been placed in Adam's position; He could not have gained the victory that Adam failed to gain. If we have in any sense a more trying conflict than had Christ, then He would not be able to succor us. But our Saviour took humanity, with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man, with the possibility of yielding to temptation. We have nothing to bear which He has not endured. DA 117.2

 

“Christ knew that the enemy would come to every human being, to take advantage of hereditary weakness, and by his false insinuations to ensnare all whose trust is not in God. And by passing over the ground which man must travel, our Lord has prepared the way for us to overcome. It is not His will that we should be placed at a disadvantage in the conflict with Satan. He would not have us intimidated and discouraged by the assaults of the serpent. “Be of good cheer,” He says; “I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. DA 122.3

 

 “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15, 16.

 

Point #3: We have a Saviour nigh at hand, touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

 

“In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. “Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8… in Christ we become more closely united to God than if we had never fallen. In taking our nature, the Saviour has bound Himself to humanity by a tie that is never to be broken.”

 

We come to our final point from Tuesday’s lesson, Galatians 3:1-14. This passage alone could take up the whole class time however the point we want to make is that Paul is using Deuteronomy to make an important present truth point.

 

Galatians 3:13,14, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ¹⁴ that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

 

This idea was not new to Paul, but comes from Deuteronomy 21:22, 23. “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, ²³ his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.” The question is, what is the significance of these verses? Jewish law was well known by those who demanded the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion. The Romans had a completely different view of crucifixion than did the Jews. To the Romans it was the most horrific type of torture, but to the Jew this meant the curse of God, the wages of sin which was eternal death. Recall the story of the five Amorite kings in Joshua 10, where “Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees”. Joshua 10:26. They were already dead before they were hanged on the trees, but Joshua and the people wanted the curse of God to be upon them. Note that this incident closely follows the instruction of Deuteronomy 21:22, 23. When Jesus cried out in distress using two languages in Psalm 22, “My God, My God why have You forsaken Me”, He understood what death by crucifixion meant. Listen to Ellen White describe His experience of the Cross.

 

“Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation…. Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father's acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal.” DA 753.

 

Jesus understood Deuteronomy and knew these verses. The Cross represented the curse of God, the wages of sin, eternal death and separation from His Father. Pilate the Roman wanted to “chastise Him and release Him”, but the Jewish chief priests and rulers and the people, knew Deuteronomy 21:22, 23 very well. They said, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabas”, a criminal! Pilate tried to reason with them but they said, “crucify Him, crucify Him.” Three times Pilate pleaded with them but each time they became more vehement.

 

Point #4: In order to understand the full meaning of the uplifted Saviour, we must understand the Cross of Christ from a Jewish perspective.

 

This is present truth. The Cross is not just the horrific torture instrument, the physical pain, but the wages of sin, the second death.

 

Jesus Christ knowing the Scriptures well, used them to full advantage that we may see, understand and believe.

 

“The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. …. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.”

 

The present truth of the uplifted Saviour is: “It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent.”

 

May God grant us all the Divine eyesalve.

 

~Lyndi Schwartz