Deuteronomy 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-19, 8:1-3
Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy extensively in his ministry. Although these are not prophecies about Jesus or symbolic verses, I wanted to stop and reflect as we pass by a lot of the laws found in Deuteronomy.
There are two particular instances that were documented in the gospels where Jesus quoted Deuteronomy that quickly come to mind. The first is found in Mark:
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’
‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’’” (Mark 12:28-30).
Jesus was debating with the Pharisees and Sadducees and one of them asked him which commandment was the most important. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
The second instance that comes to mind is when Jesus was fasting for forty days and was tempted by Satan. Three times Jesus was tempted by Satan and three times Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:1-11 records this interaction between Jesus and Satan. The Scriptures that Jesus quotes to rebuke Satan are from Deuteronomy 6:13, 6:16 and 8:3.
I think as I reflect on these verses, Jesus did a couple of things for me when he quoted from the Old Testament. The first thing is that he validated the Old Testament as still being relevant to us today. I think it’s often misunderstood that the Old Testament laws have been replaced by Jesus and they are no longer relevant for Christians today.
I believe God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If God gave Israel a law or commandment then we would do good to understand why He gave it and what it did for them. Often we will find that it would be good for us to follow today because God didn’t change and there is often wisdom in His words.
The second thing Jesus did for me when reciting the Old Testament is put skin on God’s laws. The big misunderstanding that doomed the Pharisees is that they put God’s law in front of people. They sacrificed the needs of the people in order to follow the law. Jesus constantly rebuked them for this and tried desperately to remind them that God gave these commandments for the benefit of the people. The people weren’t made to follow the commandments.
So when Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, it draws us back into that book to find our relevance today. And if you read the context, God is telling Israel to follow His commands because of everything He has done for them. They are to obey out of the blessings He has given them. Obedience is the proper response to God’s grace.
Jesus says to “love the Lord your God.” He is our God because He loves us and gives good gifts to us. God’s commandments are so that we can live life to the fullest. He doesn’t get satisfaction from us following His rules. He gets satisfaction from seeing us thrive and live full lives. He wants what is best for us and often that requires our obedience. And oh how hard that can be at times!
Christ in the Old Testament 
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