"When the rabbis learned of the presence of Jesus at Matthew's feast, they seized the opportunity of accusing Him. But they chose to work through the disciples. By arousing their prejudices they hoped to alienate them from their Master. It was their policy to accuse Christ to the disciples, and the disciples to Christ, aiming their arrows where they would be most likely to wound. This is the way in which Satan has worked ever since the disaffection in heaven; and all who try to cause discord and alienation are actuated by his spirit. DA 275.1"
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
The EGW passage draws a parallel between the rabbis' attempts to create discord and alienation and Satan's actions, linking it to the nature of the devil as described in John 8:44. While not a direct quote, the underlying principle of sowing discord is a thematic connection.
"“Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” questioned the envious rabbis. DA 275.2"
"And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?"
The EGW passage directly quotes the question posed by the rabbis, which is found in Matthew 9:11.
"Jesus did not wait for His disciples to answer the charge, but Himself replied: “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The Pharisees claimed to be spiritually whole, and therefore in no need of a physician, while they regarded the publicans and Gentiles as perishing from diseases of the soul. Then was it not His work, as a physician, to go to the very class that needed His help? DA 275.3"
"But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick."
The EGW passage directly quotes and interprets Jesus's words from Matthew 9:12, making it a clear and explicit allusion.
"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
The EGW passage directly quotes Matthew 9:13.
"But although the Pharisees thought so highly of themselves, they were really in a worse condition than the ones they despised. The publicans were less bigoted and self-sufficient, and thus were more open to the influence of truth. Jesus said to the rabbis, “Go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” Thus He showed that while they claimed to expound the word of God, they were wholly ignorant of its spirit. DA 275.4"
"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
The EGW passage directly quotes Matthew 9:13.