Sermons on Deuteronomy 21:22-23

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 Interpretation:

God's Inclusive Grace: Sharing Jesus with Everyone (CrosspointCape) offers a notable interpretation of Deuteronomy 21:22-23 by connecting the Mosaic law’s curse on those hung on a tree directly to the crucifixion of Jesus. The sermon highlights the Greek term used in Acts (“tree” instead of “cross”) and explains that Peter intentionally uses this language to evoke the Deuteronomic curse, emphasizing that Jesus bore the curse reserved for the most heinous criminals. The preacher draws out the shocking nature of this association for both Jewish and Gentile listeners, especially Cornelius, by stressing that Jesus, though innocent, was treated as the ultimate outcast and curse-bearer, thus making salvation available to all, even those previously excluded from temple worship and sacrificial atonement.

Christ's Redemptive Work: From Suffering to Exaltation (Ligonier Ministries) provides a deeply theological and historical interpretation, focusing on the significance of Jesus’ crucifixion as a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 21:22-23. The sermon explores the linguistic and ritualistic background, noting that the Jewish method of execution was stoning, but Jesus’ death by crucifixion (a Gentile method) fulfills the Deuteronomic curse (“cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree”). The preacher uses the analogy of the scapegoat and the paschal lamb, explaining that Jesus not only fulfills the role of the sacrificial lamb but also that of the scapegoat—driven outside the camp, bearing the curse and defilement for the people. The sermon further notes that Jesus’ burial, rather than being discarded like a criminal, marks the beginning of his exaltation, in contrast to the shame and curse described in Deuteronomy.

God's Justice: Covenants, Consequences, and Christ's Sacrifice (David Guzik) offers a unique interpretation of Deuteronomy 21:22-23 by connecting the passage to the narrative in 2 Samuel 21, where the execution and public hanging of Saul’s descendants is seen as a deliberate fulfillment of Deuteronomy’s command. Guzik highlights that the method of execution—hanging—was chosen specifically to invoke the curse described in Deuteronomy, transferring the curse from the land (which suffered famine due to Saul’s broken covenant) onto the executed men. He draws a typological parallel to Christ, emphasizing the “innocent in the place of the guilty” motif, and notes the number seven as symbolizing fullness or completeness in bearing the curse. This interpretation is distinguished by its narrative application and typological reading, rather than a purely doctrinal or legalistic approach.

Choosing Life: The Redemption from Sin through Christ (Pastor Chuck Smith) provides a notable perspective by focusing on the prophetic and anachronistic nature of Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Smith points out that the law’s reference to hanging on a tree as a curse was given centuries before crucifixion was practiced, especially by the Jews, and thus sees it as a divinely inspired foreshadowing of Christ’s crucifixion. He also uses the passage to launch into a broad theological reflection on the curse of sin affecting all creation, and how Christ’s death on the cross (the “tree”) fulfills and absorbs that curse. Smith’s interpretation is unique in its emphasis on the historical gap between the law and its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, and in its detailed analogy between the curse of the ground (thorns) and the crown of thorns placed on Jesus.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 Theological Themes:

God's Inclusive Grace: Sharing Jesus with Everyone (CrosspointCape) introduces the theme of radical inclusion through the cross, arguing that Jesus’ bearing of the Deuteronomic curse breaks down all barriers between Jew and Gentile. The sermon uniquely applies the curse motif to the experience of Gentiles like Cornelius, who were previously excluded from the temple and sacrificial system, showing that Jesus’ cursed death opens the way for all people to receive forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, regardless of heritage or ritual purity.

Christ's Redemptive Work: From Suffering to Exaltation (Ligonier Ministries) presents the theme of Christ as both the cursed scapegoat and the innocent lamb, emphasizing the dual fulfillment of Old Testament sacrificial imagery. The sermon adds a fresh angle by highlighting the movement from humiliation (curse, exclusion, death outside the camp) to exaltation (honorable burial, resurrection, ascension), and how this pattern fulfills both the letter and spirit of Deuteronomy 21:22-23. The preacher also draws out the theological significance of being “outside the camp” as the ultimate expression of curse and separation from God, which Jesus endures on behalf of humanity.

God's Justice: Covenants, Consequences, and Christ's Sacrifice (David Guzik) introduces the theme of substitutionary atonement through the lens of Deuteronomy 21:22-23, not just as a legal or ritual matter but as a typological prefiguration of Christ’s work. Guzik uniquely emphasizes the public exposure and curse-bearing of the “innocent” as a means to remove judgment from the community, paralleling this with Christ’s public crucifixion and curse-bearing for humanity. He also explores the seriousness with which God regards covenants, both human and divine, and the delayed but inevitable nature of divine justice.

Choosing Life: The Redemption from Sin through Christ (Pastor Chuck Smith) presents a distinct theological theme by tracing the curse motif from Genesis through Deuteronomy to the New Testament, showing how the curse of sin pervades all aspects of creation—physical, spiritual, environmental, and social. Smith’s fresh angle is his detailed application of the curse to natural phenomena (weather, animal behavior, disease) and his assertion that Christ’s crucifixion (as “cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) is the cosmic reversal of that curse for those who believe. He also draws a unique connection between the thorns of the Genesis curse and the crown of thorns at the crucifixion, making the curse motif tangible and vivid.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 Historical and Contextual Insights:

God's Inclusive Grace: Sharing Jesus with Everyone (CrosspointCape) provides historical context by explaining the Jewish-Gentile divide in the first-century world, the exclusion of Gentiles from temple worship, and the significance of the Mosaic law’s curse for those executed and hung on a tree. The sermon details how the law required immediate burial to prevent defilement of the land, and how this background would have shaped the understanding of Peter’s message to Cornelius and his household.

Christ's Redemptive Work: From Suffering to Exaltation (Ligonier Ministries) offers extensive historical and cultural insights, explaining the Roman practice of crucifixion versus the Jewish practice of stoning, the legal and ritual implications of being executed “outside the camp,” and the public nature of Pilate’s judgment. The sermon also discusses the Jewish understanding of blessing as proximity to God’s presence and curse as exclusion, and how the Deuteronomic law shaped Jewish perceptions of shame, defilement, and atonement. The preacher further explains the normal Roman practice of discarding executed criminals in Gehenna, contrasting this with Jesus’ honorable burial as a sign of vindication.

God's Justice: Covenants, Consequences, and Christ's Sacrifice (David Guzik) provides significant historical context by explaining that public hanging and the punishment of a man’s descendants were not unusual in the ancient Near East, and that the disgrace of leaving a body exposed after execution was considered a fate worse than death. Guzik also details the cultural importance of covenant-keeping in the ancient world, noting that even a 400-year-old promise (to the Gibeonites) was binding in God’s eyes, and that delayed divine retribution was a recognized principle.

Choosing Life: The Redemption from Sin through Christ (Pastor Chuck Smith) offers historical insight by noting that crucifixion was not a Jewish practice at the time Deuteronomy was written, and that capital punishment in Israel was typically carried out by stoning. Smith highlights the remarkable foresight of the Mosaic law in referencing a form of execution (hanging on a tree) that would only become relevant centuries later under Roman rule, thus underscoring the prophetic dimension of the text.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 Cross-References in the Bible:

God's Inclusive Grace: Sharing Jesus with Everyone (CrosspointCape) references Galatians 3, where Paul explicitly connects Christ’s crucifixion to the Deuteronomic curse (“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’”). The sermon uses this passage to reinforce the idea that Jesus’ death fulfills the curse motif and provides redemption for all, Jew and Gentile alike. The preacher also references Acts 10 (Peter’s vision and encounter with Cornelius) and Acts 11 (the church’s response to Gentile inclusion), using these narratives to illustrate the practical outworking of the theological truth rooted in Deuteronomy 21:22-23.

Christ's Redemptive Work: From Suffering to Exaltation (Ligonier Ministries) draws on multiple biblical cross-references: Galatians (Paul’s exposition of the curse of the law and Christ’s redemptive work), Isaiah 53 (the suffering servant’s death and burial with the rich), the Day of Atonement rituals in Leviticus (the scapegoat and sacrificial lamb), and the priestly blessing in Numbers (the imagery of God’s face and presence as blessing). The sermon also references the New Testament’s use of Gehenna as an image of hell, and 1 Corinthians 15 (Paul’s argument for the necessity of resurrection), weaving these texts together to show the comprehensive fulfillment of Deuteronomy 21:22-23 in Christ’s passion, death, and burial.

God's Justice: Covenants, Consequences, and Christ's Sacrifice (David Guzik) references several biblical passages to expand on Deuteronomy 21:22-23. He draws from Numbers 35:33, which states that unpunished bloodshed defiles the land and requires atonement, reinforcing the idea that the curse must be addressed for the land to be healed. Guzik also alludes to the story of the Gibeonites in Joshua, the covenant with Jonathan in 1 Samuel, and the typological fulfillment in Christ as described in the New Testament (though not citing a specific verse, he echoes Galatians 3:13’s use of Deuteronomy 21:23). He further references Romans 13 regarding the role of government in punishing evildoers, and Revelation’s imagery of the rainbow as a symbol of God’s covenant faithfulness.

Choosing Life: The Redemption from Sin through Christ (Pastor Chuck Smith) explicitly references Galatians 3:13 (“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree”), using it to show the direct New Testament application of Deuteronomy 21:22-23 to Christ’s crucifixion. Smith also cites Genesis (the curse on the ground and thorns), Isaiah (the peaceable kingdom and the suffering servant), Romans (sin and death through Adam), and 2 Corinthians 5:21 (“God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin”). He references Deuteronomy 30 (“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life”) to frame the passage as a call to decision.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 Christian References outside the Bible:

Christ's Redemptive Work: From Suffering to Exaltation (Ligonier Ministries) explicitly references John Calvin’s interpretation of the descent into hell, noting that Calvin argued Christ’s true experience of hell occurred on the cross as he bore the curse and wrath of God, rather than in a literal descent after death. The sermon also alludes to the broader Reformed tradition’s debates on the meaning of the phrase “He descended into hell” in the Apostles’ Creed, contrasting Calvin’s view with Roman Catholic and other interpretations.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23 Illustrations from Secular Sources:

God's Justice: Covenants, Consequences, and Christ's Sacrifice (David Guzik) uses a detailed contemporary analogy to illustrate the seriousness of unpunished murder and the defilement of the land. He references the high murder rate in Los Angeles, the challenges of the justice system, and the rarity of the death penalty being carried out, drawing a parallel to the biblical principle that unpunished blood cries out for justice and brings a curse on the land. Guzik also uses the example of the entertainment industry’s reputation for dishonesty and broken promises to illustrate the importance of covenant-keeping, and the analogy of politicians’ campaign promises and commercial advertising to show how modern society has become desensitized to the seriousness of oaths and covenants.

Choosing Life: The Redemption from Sin through Christ (Pastor Chuck Smith) employs the law of gravity as a secular analogy for spiritual law and consequences. He describes a hypothetical scenario in which someone defies gravity by jumping off a building, only to suffer the inevitable consequences, paralleling this with the spiritual consequences (the “curse”) of defying God’s laws. Smith also references scientific discoveries about the prehistoric climate (mammoths with tropical vegetation in their stomachs, charcoal under Antarctic ice) to illustrate the dramatic changes brought by the curse of sin, and uses the concept of thorns as undeveloped blossoms to create a vivid image of the curse and its reversal in the new creation.