Week 13, March 22–28: John 13–21; Deuteronomy 1–12

• Sun      Mar 22 John 13–15
• Mon     Mar 23 John 16–18
• Tue      Mar 24 John 19–21
• Wed     Mar 25 Deut. 1–3
• Thu      Mar 26 Deut. 4–6
• Fri        Mar 27 Deut. 7–9
• Sat       Mar 28 Deut. 10–12

As in the first three Gospels, the narrative arc of John’s Gospel moves towards the cross. Then, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, John’s account ends with the important reminder that we are just getting one small piece of all that could be said. If everything about Jesus was included in his Gospel, John says, “The world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) Like the statement in John 20:30–31, this highlights the idea that the narratives of the Bible are selective. The authors of Scripture, guided along by God’s Spirit, wrote down just the things that were important for us to know; and they arranged them in such a way that communicates the message they wanted us to know just as they, and God, wanted it to be communicated. John was keenly aware that he was being selective in his writing, and he helps us as readers by articulating this and highlighting the principle of selectivity.

It is important to keep this in mind as we read along through the Bible. This principle helps us resist the temptation to focus on things we may be interested in but the author is not. We are often curious about something that is just not there in the passage we are reading. John was the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. He walked with him and talked with him. We can trust that he was in an excellent position to decide what parts of Jesus’ life we should be able to read about, especially since he was writing inspired Scripture, carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21).

My prayer is that one result of reading through the Bible regularly is that we would be increasingly aware of our tendency to be drawn away from the text of Scripture, and that we would be attentive to the things that are the main concern of the human author and the divine Author. As we seek to cultivate a healthy habit of sticking to Scripture, let us diligently remember to look at the Bible itself to find not only the answers to our questions but also to find which questions we should be asking.

After finishing John, we move back to the OT and the Pentateuch. We pick up where we left off after Numbers and read through the first part of Deuteronomy this week. Just remember, there is an important context here. We are in the middle of the story. Deuteronomy is the fifth part of the Pentateuch, which is a continuous narrative that started with creation and continues through the end of Deuteronomy with the people of Israel getting ready to go into the Promised Land.

It is helpful to get our bearings a little as we jump into Deuteronomy. The text gives us some key pointers to locate the timing of the narrative. These also help us see what this book tells us about God and his desires for his people. Back at the beginning of Numbers, we were told the Israelites had been out of Egypt for a little over a year (Num. 1:1). At the beginning of Deuteronomy, it says this is the fortieth year since they left Egypt (Deut. 1:3). A lot has happened in those forty years between the beginning of Numbers and the beginning of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy opens by telling us these are Moses’ words to the people of Israel, spoken to them in the wilderness across the Jordan river from the Promise Land (1:1). Then we are given this additional piece of information: “It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb [which is another name for Sinai] by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea…” (1:2) This seems like a simple geographical comment, but for the Israelites, and for anyone who has read the first four books of the Pentateuch, it is a poignant reminder. Kadesh-barnea was the border location where the previous generation of Israelites camped at the edge of Canaan. They should have gone into the Land God had promised to give them, but they failed because of their lack of faith (see Numbers 13–14). So when verse 3 goes on to say, “In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them” (Deut. 1:3), it is a painful reminder of Israel’s faithless, rebellious history and the 40 years of wilderness wandering and death they experienced as a result.

But here they are now, the next generation, about to cross the Jordan and enter the Land. This is a momentous and long-awaited occasion, and Deuteronomy is a book of Moses’ words, and God’s words, to the people. They are being prepared for life in the Land.

We preached through Deuteronomy a couple years ago, and it may be helpful to go back and re-listen to some of those sermons. And as you read, be encouraged, Gresham Bible Church. Your investment of a few minutes each day in God’s word is time very well spent.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:4–9)

The Lord calls his people to love him with their whole being. To love him we must know him, and to know him his words must be on our hearts, and God’s word cannot be written on our hearts if we do not read it. Reading Scripture is the way to grow in our love of God.

Throughout Deuteronomy, the message to the Israelites is that the way to gain the Lord’s favor is to obey him and follow his instructions. The opposite is true too. Failure to keep his commandments would result in serious consequences. One of many statements to this effect occurs in chapter 11.

“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.” (Deut. 11:13–17)

As Christian readers, this could sound like it is almost exactly the opposite of the glorious gospel of grace we read in the NT. We are not able to earn God’s favor by our obedience or good works. It is his unmerited grace that saves us, that gains us God’s favor. We receive forgiveness and Christ’s righteousness granted to our account as a gift, earned not by us and our efforts but through Jesus’ death on the cross.

So then, is the message of Deuteronomy a message that contradicts the gospel? Short answer: No! Keep reading Deuteronomy to see how it points to the same gospel we read in the NT; and in next week’s write up we will consider how Deuteronomy’s message is message that anticipates the good news of Christ and his new covenant.