Jesus is the life of the people of God and, once more, at the empty doorway of His tomb He is the Word of everlasting life because He is not dead but alive forever.
The context for our familiar reading this week deals with who Yahweh is and what He does for His people. This text is a fairly straightforward Hebrew narrative and is part of Moses’ second and longest sermon (4:44-26:19) in the book of Deuteronomy. The geographic location for this event can be found in Numbers 21:21-35 which was just east of the northern most part of the Dead Sea.
A sermon on this text has ample opportunities for Gospel development. Three moments will serve as the Law/Gospel dynamic for preaching. The first area of Gospel development is in verse 2 when it speaks of “fearing” and “keeping” all of the Lord’s statutes and commandments from generation to generation. The Hebrew is better here because it has it as, “your son and your son’s son.” Homiletically, if you trace this point all the way down through time, you will see a Gospel moment. Minimal reflection on Israel’s keeping and fearing the Lord’s commandments will prove how God’s chosen people failed miserably at this. Perhaps you could even site some glaring examples from their desert dwelling. It will be rather easy for us, as well, to see how we have not kept this command of God’s Law. Nevertheless, God had a long-range plan for His people which accounted for their sins and failures. As this confessing word has been passed down from son to son and from generation to generation, it came to be a word that was eventually kept for us by God’s only Son. It is there our sins would be accounted for. You can trace the whole human race from Adam to Jesus (Luke 3), or from Abraham to the Christ (Matthew 1), and you will see that, for a “son’s son” problem, God sends His Son to enact His plan for all those who fall short of keeping His commandments.
Another place in our text for potential Gospel development comes from verse 3 of our reading. To this day, Judaism practices what they call the three H’s: Head (hearing the word), Heart (guarding the word), Hand (doing the word). Our text is a big proof to them that this is God’s intention for His people (see this Facebook blog ).[1] In Deuteronomy 6:3, God commands that we “hear with our ear” His Word and then we “guard with our heart” that truth and, finally, we “do with our hands” all He desires for us. The three verbs, שׁמר, שׁמע, and עשׂה, are the key to the disclosure of this clue. They were to hear with their ear the Word of the Lord and obey, but they did not. They were to guard this Word in their heart, but they did not. They were to do the Word with their hands, but they did not. They multiplied sins instead of faithfully serving God. In grace the Lord enacted a long-range plan to send the Prophet greater than Moses (Hebrews 3:3; Deuteronomy 18:15). Here, Jesus the Messiah would do what the Father has spoken and fulfill every command (John 12:49). Jesus guards the Word and does not falter (Matthew 4:1-17). Jesus does all the Father commanded Him to do (John 14:31). Jesus is one with the Father (John 10:30) in a way we never were because of sin. What is more amazing is how Jesus did this all out of the great love of God (John 3:16).
In grace the Lord enacted a long-range plan to send the Prophet greater than Moses. Here, Jesus the Messiah would do what the Father has spoken and fulfill every command.
The final place for Gospel development in this text comes in verse 9. It has to do with the “doorpost.” The Shema, this creedal confession from the Old Testament, was to be a witness to God’s people every time they went home and every time they went out into public. It was also to be a public witness to anyone who passed by their homes that this household belongs to the Lord. The Word was on the doorpost in the form of a mezuzah (the Hebrew word for doorpost). The modern practice of having a mezuzah scroll on your doorpost often identifies Jewish Christians or Jews in a neighborhood. How this can preach as Gospel has to do with the curious detail of Roman Crucifixion. Josephus recounts that there was a scarcity of wood in Jerusalem (Jewish Wars 5.522-523)[2] for crucifixions which led to a practice in public executions of only the crossbar being carried for people sentenced to death in this way. The upright pole for the cross was set in a permanent place where it was used for subsequent executions. A great visual of this is from the movie “Risen” with Joseph Fiennes. Here, the site of a Roman crucifixion seemed more of a lattice work than three sentimental crosses alone on a hill far away. Ever the machine, Rome made these fixed poles a permanent structure for continued use. If you were to have a view of the site, you would see in the negative space between crucified people what resembles a doorway between the crucified. There is Jesus, hanging on the cross, being both the blood of the Passover lamb on the lintel and the post marking the way to eternal life, while also being the Word on the mezuzah (doorpost) which serves as the witness for you and to the world that you belong to God. He is the seal and the sign of the covenant of God. He is the life of the people of God and, once more, at the empty doorway of His tomb He is the Word of everlasting life because He is not dead but alive forever.
Since we are walking through the text, it may be good to use a “Verse-by-Verse” structure to organize your sermon:
“This structure uses the versification of the text to lead the hearers sequentially through the reading. Rather than follow the arbitrary division of the text into verses, however, the preacher often divides the verses into sections that can be considered according to their content, their form, or their function.
The sermon can open deductively by highlighting a topic that will be addressed for the hearers through a close reading of the text or inductively by communicating a need on the part of the hearers which will be answered by a closer reading of this particular text. The introduction is important because it communicates the value of walking slowly through the text and invites the hearers to join the preacher on that journey. The preacher then focuses on one portion of the text, offering textual exposition and hearer application before moving to the next selection of verses. Ultimately, the preacher seeks to trace a consistent theme throughout the sequence of verses for the hearers and relate this theme to the proclamation of God’s gracious work in Christ. This approach should not simply offer the hearers random exegetical comments and various reflections without a coherent theme.”[3]
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Deuteronomy 6:1-9.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Deuteronomy 6:1-9.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Deuteronomy 6:1-9.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
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[1] https://reformjudaism.org/blog/three-hs-jewish-life-head-heart-and-hands#:~:text=The%20idea%20is%20that%20there,kindness%20and%20service%20to%20others.
[2] https://lexundria.com/j_bj/5.491-5.526/wst
[3] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/textual/verse-by-verse/
