Sabbath School Summary
By ELDER DR MASIMBA MAVAZA
Deuteronomy in the New Testament
Lesson 12
Memory Text: “ It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” ’ ” (Matthew 4:4, NKJV).
INTRODUCTION.
The New Testament is saturated with the Old. That is, the inspired writers of the New Testament quoted the inspired writers of the Old as a source of authority. Jesus Himself said, “It is written” (Matt. 4:4), meaning, “It is written in the Old Testament;” and He said that “ ‘the Scriptures must be fulfilled’ ” (Mark 14:49, NKJV)— meaning the Scriptures of the Old Testament. And when Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus, instead of doing a miracle to show them who He was, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself ” (Luke 24:27, NKJV).
Whether direct Old Testament quotations, or allusions, or references to stories or prophecies, the New Testament writers constantly used the Old Testament to buttress, even justify, their claims.
And among the books often quoted or referred to was Deuteronomy (along with Psalms and Isaiah). Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Hebrews, the pastoral epistles, and Revelation all go back to Deuteronomy.
SABBATH: Perfect harmony exists between the OT & NT. One is not complete without the other. There is no radical difference between the two. The OT sheds light on the NT, & vice versa. The NT authors quoted often from the OT. Jesus said; “it is written” in the OT & that all “Scriptures must be fulfilled” all alluding to the OT. The 4 gospels, Acts to Revelation all quoted from Deuteronomy (& Psalms & Isaiah).
SUNDAY: Jesus teaches us that the Word of God is the weapon against Satan (Matt. 4:1-11, Heb. 4:12). When tempted, He simply quoted from the OT (in each case from Deuteronomy). Thus, He took texts given to Israel to overcome the devil. In the detours of Israel, God thought the nation spiritual lessons (Deut. 8:3, 6:16, 6:13). The texts are what Christ referred to when tempted (see Exod. 17:1-7).
MONDAY: God is not a man to take a bribe or judge falsely. He does not “lift up faces” (means “shows no partiality”). In the past, it is said that a king sees the face of people on trial & execute judgement using social status. God is the maker of all men. He’s fair with all. In his talk on how to treat slaves, Paul alludes to Deuteronomy (Acts 10:34, Rom. 2:11, Gal. 2:6, Eph. 6:9, Col. 3:25, 1 Pet. 1:17 & compare; Deut. 10:17).
TUESDAY: We’re to walk in God’s law but we’re not saved by the works of the law. Yet, we can’t be saved without obedience. In his epistles, Paul reiterates this truth. Sadly, some misuse these letters to tag keeping the Sabbath as legalism & not the other nine (Gal. 3:1-14; Deut. 27:26, 21:22, 23). We’re saved to obey. We don’t obey to be saved. Rely not in the law but only in Christ (PP, p. 63).
WEDNESDAY: In every age, God has raised up a prophet to share His holy Words with men. Moses was God’s voice to the Israelites. The clear commands of God were given to Israel for her to be a light to other nations. Peter & Stephen referred to this truth (Acts 3:22, 7:37; Deut. 4:6-8, 18:9-14, 15-19). When Israel craved for a mediator, God promised them Jesus (Exod. 20:18-21, 18:15, 18, see Acts 6:11).
THURSDAY: Hebrew is known for its chapter on faith. The whole book can be summed up as an exhortation to the Jewish believers to “stay faithful to the Lord!” Love is the basis for this faithfulness. We have to love God for the love Christ gave on the Cross. In the end, refusing God’s love leads to eternal death (Matt. 22:13, Heb. 10:28-31; Deut. 17:6). Paul warned the Jews (Deut. 32:35, Rom. 8:1).
FRIDAY: The OT & NT are linked. The OT alludes to itself & the authors of the NT made several direct quotes & allusions to the OT/ Septuagint (the earliest known Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible called the “Greek Old Testament”). We should learn to compare Scripture with Scripture just like the NT inspired authors. They raised no doubts about the OT books unlike today’s scholars.
Keywords
OT- Old Testament
NT- New Testament
PP- Patriarchs and Prophets
Septuagint- Abbreviated as LXX. It’s the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew Bible. The first 5 books of the Bible is known as the Torah/Pentateuch (translated in the third century B.C. & the rest in the second century B.C.)
Texts for the Sabbath lesson; Matt. 4:4, Mark 14:49, Luke 24:27
Captions
SUNDAY- “It Is Written”
MONDAY- “Lifting Up Faces”
TUESDAY- Cursed On A Tree
WEDNESDAY- A Prophet Like Unto Thee
THURSDAY- A Fearful Thing
Discussion Questions
? Considering all the light that we have been given as Seventhday Adventists, what should it teach us about the great responsibility upon us to be faithful to the truths that we have been given?
? Read again Deuteronomy 18:9-14. What modern manifestations of these “abominations to the Lord” exist today, and how can we make sure that we avoid them?
? Why, of all people, should Christians, who understand the universal application of Christ’s death on the cross, never “lift up faces” (see Monday’s study)? How can we recognize in ourselves the tendency to do just that (and don’t we fool ourselves if we deny that there is at least some tendency in us to do just that?)? How can the cross, and keeping the cross before us, cure us of this wrong attitude?
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