Jesus steps in and heals him, performing a mighty work indeed. But there’s one problem, as some saw it: he healed the man on the Sabbath. No good deed of the Son goes unpunished. Thus ensues a conflict between Jesus and the religious authorities over what Jesus did. “Who does this man think he is?” the religious elite wonder.

When you read Deuteronomy, does your mind reach forward in grasping the Gospel of John? Or when you’re reading John’s Gospel, do his words recall themes and parallels in Deuteronomy? Unless you’re a Bible commentator, or you’ve preached through these books, I don’t expect you to say yes to these questions. I’ve been a student of the Bible for many years, my favorite New Testament book is the Gospel of John, and I’ve read Deuteronomy and John countless times—and, yet, it wasn’t until last year that I began to notice what appear to be more than coincidental connections between these two inspired books of the Bible. Granted, a real possibility is that I’m slow in seeing these truths! My perspective, however, is that as God’s people study more and more his Word, they see more and deeper connections.

I want to share what I see are some fairly clear connections between Deuteronomy 15-18 and John 5-9. There are other parallels (between Deut. 22-23 and John 12, and likely more). I’m not writing another dissertation. Instead, in this five-part series, I’d like to highlight the clearest connections between these chapters in hopes that the reader will see that the connections are concentrated especially in Deuteronomy 16-18 and John 6-9.

As a teaser, do you remember that scene in John 8 in which Jesus writes something on the dirt? He does this twice (vv. 6, 8). What was he writing? Inquiring minds inquire! Well, our reading of Deuteronomy will actually provide some interpretative insight into what he was writing. But the answer to that question will need to wait a tad longer (part 4).

The goal in this series isn’t just to identify the inter-textual relationship between the two books, but it is to see how God reveals the identity of his Son to both Jew and Gentile: to the world. To focus our attention, then, let’s ask the same question that is asked of Jesus time and again in the Gospel of John: “Who is this man?” Here’s what we will see:

John 5: Jesus Christ is the Sabbath Rest (cf. Deuteronomy 15)

John 6: Jesus Christ is the Passover and Eternal Manna (cf. Deuteronomy 16)

John 7: Jesus Christ is the Judge (cf. Deuteronomy 16)

John 8: Jesus Christ is the Compassionate King (cf. Deuteronomy 17)

John 9: Jesus Christ is the Prophetic Mediator (cf. Deuteronomy 18)

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