The opening verses of Deuteronomy 13 aren’t well-known to most readers. However, they played a significant role in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus from a religious standpoint.
“If prophets or those who divine by dreams appear among you and show you omens or portents, and the omens or the portents declared by them take place, and they say, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (whom you have not known) ‘and let us serve them,’
You must not heed the words of those prophets or those who divine by dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you indeed love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.
The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast.
But those prophets or those who divine by dreams shall be put to death for having spoken treason against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to turn you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk.
So you shall purge the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
When Jesus attended the Festival of Booths during his ministry, there was considerable discussion about his actions. This quote from John shows that people were unsure about him.
And there was considerable complaining about him among the crowds. While some were saying, “He is a good man,” others were saying, “No, he is deceiving the crowd” (John 7:12).
The chief priests sent the temple police to the festival to arrest Jesus. When the police didn’t arrest him, they had an exchange with the religious authorities.
This conversation highlighted one of the issues from Deuteronomy 13 that influenced how the religious authorities viewed Jesus.
Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?”
The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you?
Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed” (John 7:45-49).
We get a sense of how the religious authorities viewed Jesus when they asked Pilate to place guards at the tomb after the crucifixion. They believed Jesus’ disciples might steal the body and claim he had risen from the dead.
Notice they referred to him as “the deceiver.”
The chief priests and Pharisees come to Pilate after Jesus’ death and say, “Sir, we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again'” (Matthew 27:63).
There were two approaches to “legally” charging Jesus worthy of crucifixion.
- The religious leaders claimed Jesus was using magic (miracles for His followers) to lead the people away from faithfulness to God.
- The Roman authorities saw Jesus as a threat to the Emperor. Anyone who was a rebel in the Roman empire was crucified.
The Value of Deuteronomy 13
Combining insights from Deuteronomy 13 with Jesus’s message about false prophets gives us a tool to avoid being misled by those who use religious language to turn people away from God for their own gain.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus you will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20).
It’s essential to examine our motives when determining whether someone is a true or false prophet. Taking a serious look at our inner thoughts can guide us well.
The religious leaders in Jesus’s time saw him as a threat to their power and authority. They were wealthy because they worked with Rome, and Jesus challenged that. Their estimate of Jesus was the biggest error in history.
However, we should focus on not being deceived by false prophets. A prayerful look at our motives and an analysis of the so-called prophet’s words will ensure that we don’t waste our time and energy on something untrue.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 