Matthew 5: 17 - 20
"Don't assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Throughout the New Testament, in the Gospel accounts we read of Jesus constantly defending himself against accusations such as; trying to destroy the law. The Pharisees (ancient Jewish sect that adhered to strict interpretation and observance of the Mosaic Law) and Saducees (High priest and Chief priests, tended to the wealthy, more concerned with politics) would constantly douse him with questions, trying to depict Christ as a rebel and trying to destroy the traditions and teachings of the Old Testament Prophets and Law. Jesus being who He is, counteracts these claims by stating that he came to Fulfill both the Law and the Prophets, which this would include the entire Old Testament. What does Jesus mean when says that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets? The word "fulfill" in the original text is the word "pleroo" which means to complete, to carry through to the end, to accomplish. If you render the Old Testament as not the Word of God, if you throw out its relevance to the fulfillment of God's promise, then you truly miss the total implication of Jesus Sacrifice. Why then did Jesus come? He did not come to show man how to live peacefully with each other, although He did teach us how to live with each other. He did not just show us how to be a good example, although He did teach us how to live a righteous life. These teachings are not the totality of why He came, humbling Himself as a servant to man. The reason why Jesus came was to fulfill the law. We should not focus so much on just the cross and what He did while He was a man on earth but, we need to focus on Who He is. He is the Son of God, coming to serve man and be a perfect sacrifice, because of our sin. Jesus came to complete the law. The Laws that were given in the Old Testament were only temporary, until the fulfillment of Christ sacrifice. If you eliminate the Old Testament then you take out the reason why Jesus came. If you eliminate the Old Testament then you truly miss the total story of Salvation History and the history of man's depravity which leads to selfish work righteousness. You miss understanding the Grace of God because, you do not understand where you came from. "Jesus confirms the Old Testament in Matthew 5: 17 - 20 and states its importance in His illustration of "not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter." Jesus states that until the heavens and the earth pass away, He will fulfill all of the Old Testament prophecies and obey all its commandments. Why would Jesus include stating the phrase, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter? What is its implication? When we look at the Hebrew Alphabet, the smallest letter in the alphabet is "yod", which looks like an apostrophe. The stroke of a letter is the slight pen stroke that distinguishes similar letters (HCSB, 2010)." This information is important, as we revert back to the text; "Jesus is telling us that the whole totality of the Old Testament is important, reliable and accurate even to the basic details of Hebrew writing (HCSB, 2010)." What is even more important to understand in this text of scripture is what Jesus states at the end of the passage. Jesus explains, "that the loyalty or faithfulness to the Old Testament witness determines a disciple's (followers) stature in God's Kingdom. True loyalty or faithfulness to God's commands is made possible only by God's work in the heart of a disciple (man is totally depraved) (HCSB, 2010)." "The least of these," means, "Jesus will hold in lowest esteem those who hold His Word in lowest esteem. Jesus does not refer to loss of Salvation but, whoever teaches and upholds God's word will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (John MacArthur Bible Commentary, 2005)." The last verse, verse 20 tells us that our righteousness needs to surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, or you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus of course it talking about work righteousness in this passage. The Pharisees focused a lot on external obedience to the law but, not so much on internal conformity, or the heart. In the New Testament the important focus was on the circumcision of the heart not on the external obedience to the law. We read in Isaiah 64:6 "All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind."Works are not enough to inherit salvation. Salvation requires the realization of man's total depravity and repentance (turn from) our sin. Salvation requires an inner work of the spirit of God, imparted to us by God's Grace. We have to conform, which is only through the work of God in our lives. As Romans 4: 1 - 5 states, "What then can we say that Abraham, our physical ancestor, has found? If Abraham was justified by works, he has something to brag about - but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness. Now to the one who works, pay is not considered as a gift, but as something owed. But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who declares the ungodly to be righteous, his faith is credited for righteousness."
Information was taken from:
Holman Christian Standard Bible. (Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers. 2010). Matthew 5:17 - 20.
MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Bible Commentary. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2005). Matthew 5: 17 - 20.
