The priests and Levites from Jerusalem question John: “Who are you?” He confesses plainly, “I am not Mshikha” (v. 20). He identifies himself as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of Mar-Yah, as said the prophet Isaiah” (v. 23).
This passages echoes Deuteronomy 18:15–19, where Mar-Yah promised a Prophet like Mosheh. The leaders of Jerusalem sought to discern whether John was that Prophet. John denies this for himself, pointing instead to the One “standing among you, whom you know not” (v. 26).
The significance is twofold. 1) True Authority is recognised by humility. John does not usurp the title of Mshikha, but bears witness to Him. This humility reflects the principle of Shoftim—that rulers and prophets must serve Aurayta, not exalt themselves. 2) Yeshua as the Prophet like unto Mosheh. John’s role is preparatory, a herald, whereas Yeshua is the fulfilment of Deuteronomy’s prophecy. He embodies the righteous Judge, King, and Prophet anticipated in Aurayta.
Thus, John 1 situates the arrival of Yeshua within the framework of Shoftim, that is, Israel is searching for the true authority, and John points to Him who alone bears it.
Matthew 26:47–27:26 — The Trial of Yeshua
Our passage records the betrayal, arrest, and trial of Yeshua before Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, and Pontius Pilate. It is the Gospel’s darkest depiction of corrupted justice.
The Sanhedrin sought “false witness against Yeshua, to put him to death” (Matthew 26:59). This directly violates the statutes of Deuteronomy 17, which require two or three true witnesses and forbid false testimony. The very body entrusted with upholding justice perverts it, showing the collapse warned against in Shoftim when leaders turn from Mar-Yah.
Pilate himself said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person” (27:24). Yet he delivers Yeshua to be crucified. This recalls Deuteronomy 21:1–9, where the elders sought atonement for unsolved murder lest innocent blood pollute the land. In Yeshua’s case, the innocent blood is knowingly shed. The rite of the heifer foreshadowed this moment, where only the Mshikha’s blood could truly cleanse the land from defilement.
The people cry, “We have no king but Caesar,” rejecting the Davidic Messiah foretold in Deuteronomy 17. The Aurayta commanded that the king of Israel be one who fears Mar-Yah and meditates on His Aurayta daily. Yeshua alone fulfilled this perfectly, yet He is mocked with a crown of thorns and a reed sceptre. The irony is stark indeed; the true King is enthroned upon the Cross.
Correlations in our Aurayta and Haftara Readings
a) Shoftim commands justice; Matthew reveals injustice done to the Righteous One.
b) Shoftim calls for a king humble under Torah; Matthew shows that king rejected by His own people.
c) Shoftim promises a prophet like Moses; John 1 identifies Yeshua as that Prophet.
d) Isaiah 51–52 proclaims comfort, deliverance, and good tidings; the Gospels show how this comes through the suffering and vindication of Yeshua.
Thus, Aurayta, Prophets, and the New Covenant Scriptures converge. Israel’s judges, priests, and kings are found wanting, but the true Judge, Priest, King, and Prophet stands revealed in Yeshua, the Son of David, the Son of Man, and the Son of Mar-Yah.
The Brit Chadasha readings illuminate Shoftim in very deep ways. John the Baptiser, humbly bears witness to Yeshua, the fulfilment of Deuteronomy’s promise. Matthew’s Gospel shows the depth of Israel’s failure to uphold justice, culminating in the unjust condemnation of the only Innocent One. Yet in this very act of injustice, Mar-Yah’s justice is revealed…through His blood, the world is redeemed. Parashat Shoftim therefore becomes not only a call to earthly justice but a proclamation of the heavenly justice manifested in our Messiah.