How does Deuteronomy 6:3 connect with Jesus' teachings in the New Testament? Deuteronomy 6:3 — the Original Call “Hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe them, so that it may go well with you and you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you.” (Deuteronomy 6:3) Key notes • Listen attentively • Obey completely • Expect blessing and multiplication • Receive an inheritance in the promised land Jesus Picks Up the Same Pattern • Hearing: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Mark 4:9) • Obedience: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) • Blessing: “I came that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” (John 10:10) • Inheritance: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) “Hear, O Israel” on His Lips When asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus began exactly where Moses did: “Jesus replied, ‘This is the most important: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.’” (Mark 12:29) By quoting the Shema’s opening, He demanded the same wholehearted attention Moses required, now focused on Himself as Lord. Obedience That Brings Stability “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24) • Echoes Deuteronomy’s “be careful to observe” • The promised “it may go well with you” becomes a life that stands firm amid life’s storms Multiplication, Now Global Moses promised physical increase in Canaan; Jesus promises spiritual increase worldwide. • “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19–20) • “You will receive power… and you will be My witnesses… to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) • Early church: “the number of disciples was multiplying greatly.” (Acts 6:7) From Milk-and-Honey Land to Eternal Kingdom • Moses points to a fertile territory; Jesus points to an eternal realm: “Come, you who are blessed by My Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34) • Physical inheritance foreshadows a “better country—a heavenly one.” (Hebrews 11:16) Continuity and Fulfillment • “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17) • The same progression—hear, obey, be blessed—still stands, now centered on Christ. • Blessing is no longer limited to a strip of land but expands into abundant, everlasting life (John 10:10). |
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