Over the last 15 years or so, I have enjoyed studying the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament. For the majority of the New Testament, you have Jewish authors deeply familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures, writing with their history and heritage in mind. In fact, I would argue that a lot of what we read in the New Testament is often misunderstood if we don’t understand the Old Testament context the authors have in mind.
I have been spending a lot of time reading the Gospel of Matthew this year and am realizing that Matthew uses the Old Testament in so many unique and fascinating ways. One of the major goals for Matthew is to demonstrate how Jesus is the True and Faithful Israel. Whether it is the genealogy of Jesus, who is present at his birth, the places he visits, to his baptism, it is clear as day that Matthew wants his original readers, who were primarily Jewish, to conclude that Jesus is the True and Faithful Israel.
Deuteronomy in Matthew 4:1-11
One particular passage that stands out to me is Matthew 4:1-11. I want to highlight Jesus’ own use of the Old Testament in this passage and why it is important for us. Immediately after his baptism, the Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, while Jesus fasts for forty days and forty nights (4:1-2). Matthew is alluding to Deuteronomy 8:2-3 when the people of Israel, after 40 years in the wilderness, were reminded of God’s provision for them. While they were tested by God, he provided manna in the wilderness. Yet, Israel grumbled, complained, and disobeyed their God. So, when Matthew starts to talk about Jesus going through the waters of baptism and then being tested in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, he would have expected Jewish hearers of his Gospel to immediately understand that Jesus is doing what Israel failed to do.
Hungry and tested, Jesus then comes face-to-face with the tempter (4:3). The evil one hates Jesus and his people. In his attempt to tempt the Son of God, he focuses on three particular areas:
First, after 40 days of fasting, Satan tempts Jesus to use his divine power to transform stones into bread. Jesus could have responded in so many different ways, but quotes Deuteronomy 8:3. In a moment where he could use his divine power to serve himself, he instead shows he is the True and Faithful Israel by trusting his Father to provide. I wonder how many of us, if we had the ability, would use this power for our own good?
Second, the devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. Being wise to what Jesus did in the first temptation, now Satan quotes Scripture himself. He tells Jesus to jump off the temple and then quotes Psalm 91:11-12, a passage about how angels will protect God’s chosen king from evil. How do you think Jesus responds? He quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 by saying, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.” Here, Jesus is referring to the time Israel grumbled at God in the wilderness because they were thirsty. God eventually provided a body of water to drink from. However, Israel had tested God and failed, while the True Israel is passing every test and trusting his Father.
Third, Satan took Jesus up on the high mountains and offered him all the kingdoms of the world if the Son of God would bow down to him. This temptation alludes to Deuteronomy 3 when Moses was on a mountain looking into the Promised Land, but was prohibited from entering because of his own sin. Matthew alludes to this to show that Jesus isn’t only retracing the steps of Israel to be the True and Faithful Israel, but he is also the True and Greater Moses, who is allowed to enter because of his perfect righteousness. In an integral moment, with the righteousness of his people resting on his performance, Jesus responds to the evil one by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, which reads, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The devil immediately leaves him, and angels actually obey the Psalm quoted earlier and come to the Holy One of God and minister to him (4:10-11).
The New Israel
Throughout this passage, Matthew is trying to make absolutely clear that Israel is no longer Israel. The True and Faithful Israel is no longer in the Middle East, but at the right hand of God. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he has made all who believe in him, by faith, descendants of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). We are now united to the True and Faithful Israel, making us part of the True and Faithful Israel. As one commentator writes about Matthew 4, “By demonstrating himself as the true and faithful worshipper of God and refusing to bypass suffering and death, Jesus proved himself to be the true Son of God and the victorious, faithful, and true Israel” (Michael Daling).
This matters because Jesus not only lived where Israel failed, but he lived in our place as well. In him, we have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:21). We have a perfect righteousness, and it is gifted to those who are a part of his heritage. He stands in our defense when the tempter attacks us. Rather than having to withstand every temptation perfectly, we point to the one who is our righteousness. The devil has no defense against the righteousness of the True and Faithful Israel.
Old Testament Allusions 