Matthew 5:17 ( ESV )
17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I
have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
·
At the very beginning of this section Jesus
wants these men to know that He came not to abolish the Law but rather to
fulfill everything it stated. The Law refers to the Torah, while the prophets
referred to the historical books as well as the minor and major prophets or the
rest of the O.T.
·
Many of the priests, scribes and Pharisees came
to believe that Jesus wanted to destroy it by their views of how he did not
keep the Sabbath and how he would associate with “sinners” but all this was
based on their traditions and oral laws which to them had become more important
than the Word of God. Jesus would not please them by putting their man made
traditions above the Word of God.
·
We could never keep the Law and its purpose for
us was to show us our need of a Savior. The Bible makes it clear that if we
broke just one of the Laws then we are guilty of all and according to the
Scriptures We have all done this. There is only one who has ever fulfilled it
and that is Jesus alone. By the Law none of us as humans will ever be justified
before God. Jesus though proved that He was God in flesh and perfect therefore
He can declare to all that He is the Savior of the world.
·
Jesus fulfilled the moral law, the ceremonial
laws and the judicial laws of the Word of God, no man or rabbi has or ever will
do this.
·
I now quote from Scofield. “Christ was made
under the Law-Gal. 4:4, lived in perfect
obedience to the law-I Peter 2:21-23, fulfilled
the types of the Law by His holy life and sacrificial death-Heb. 9:11-28 and with Him was the Father pleased. Matt. 3:17. Jesus was and is the only one who
lived with perfect righteousness and in Him alone will we find our way home to
Heaven. We need His righteousness as He alone has fulfilled the Law of God.
Matthew 5:18 ( ESV )
18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an
iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
·
Now Jesus makes a promise to all with the
following statement about His mission and the Word of God.
·
Let’s look at some of the words used here.
Iota-or tittle like a tiny extension of a Hebrew letter or like the serif in
modern type face of the best example would be like the bottom of the letter j.
A dot-or jot the smallest mark in Hebrew like an apostrophe. According to this statement as well Jesus
indicated that the inspiration and authority of the O.T. extended to the actual
words and even the smallest of letters. II Tim.
3:15-16.
·
What does He mean by until all is accomplished?
I believe the following three things to be true. 1. He would fulfill them all.
This would also indicate the surety of Him fulfilling the future prophecies
about Himself as well. 2. That the Word of God itself in that every bit of it
will come to past just like He had prophesied. 3.He will preserve the Word of God throughout all of time.
·
MacArthur makes a good point on this verse, “Jesus
fulfilled the ceremonial laws thus there is no need for Christians to observe
them today.” Col. 2:16-17 All of the scriptures
remain intact and will remain preserved through the ages. We can trust that He
will preserve them completely through the ages.
Matthew 5:19 ( ESV )
19Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of
heaven.
·
Jesus now gives His view about those who would
mess with the Word of God both in word or deed.
·
The word relaxes here would probably be better
translated because of the context Destroy or to Break. Jesus is telling them
once again about how He feels about the charges of Him trying to abolish the
Law even with what seemed to be the smallest of commandments. It is a serious thing when we make little of what the Word says or how we act in light of it.
·
We should be known as those who hold the Word of
God in High esteem both in teaching and in our lifestyle here on earth.
·
Of what importance is the Word of God in your
life? It should be of the highest priority.
Matthew 5:20 ( ESV )
20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the
scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
·
Now bear with me for a little and let me try to
go through what is going on in this verse. These are truthful and harsh words,
as Jesus was telling the average person in order to get to Heaven your
righteousness will have to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. This would also have been an even heavier
slam to the Scribes and Pharisees about their moral righteousness and them
thinking they would get to Heaven by their own righteousness and the keeping of
the Law. YET, the ONLY WAY we can be right with God is to believe in Him alone
to save us. All our righteousness are as filthy rags. We cannot go to Heaven by
our righteousness or the Law just like the Pharisees and Scribes could
not. Through Jesus sinless and perfect
life He alone could save us and place His righteousness upon us. Self-righteousness will not get us into the
gates of Heaven, we as a people need Jesus. Romans
4:5 puts it best. “And to the one who does not work but trusts Him who
justifies the ungodly, his Faith is counted as righteousness.” Not our works we
must put our Faith in Him alone.
The Big Picture:
Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the
Prophets. Is. 53, Ps. 22….
1.
Jesus taught the Word of God would remain
intact.
2.
Jesus teaches us the importance of each word and
that it is truly inspired and preserved.
3.
He would fulfill the Law itself.
4.
He taught the importance of the Word in our
lives and our teachings.
5.
Traditions are never to be put on the same level
as the Word of God.
6.
He slams man’s righteousness as a way to enter
into Heaven. (All who will try, will fail. This is something that only Christ
can do and it is only through Him and His righteousness that we can enter into
our new home. He fulfilled it all. IT IS FINISHED.
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