The Law and the Prophets

MHA: It is Matthew who has most meticulously collected Jesus’ words about the relationship between his teaching and the law of Moses.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching, Vol.2 - The Sermon on the Mount, Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev

Matthew 5: 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The law is not at all mentioned in the Sermon until this point.  Through the Beatitudes – a weighty description of the Christian – Jesus makes no mention of the law.  Yet, in this passage, Jesus makes clear the enduring value and nature of the law:

MHA: Jesus is embarking on an analysis of the Old Testament regulations and, before contrasting his own teaching with that of the Old Testament, he speaks of the significance of the latter.

In these verses, Jesus tackles head-on the criticisms of His departure from the law (as the Pharisees would describe it).  There is much to unpack here, so I will go through the verse one at a time – hopefully without losing what is meant by the whole.

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Matthew 5: 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

DMLJ: The real meaning of the word ‘fulfil’ is to carry out, to fulfil in the sense of giving full obedience to it, literally carrying out everything that has been said and stated in the law and in the prophets.

Filling it to the full, in all aspects and manners.  This is the picture I have of the word “fulfil.”

At the time, oral tradition was the main means of transmitting information.  In the synagogues, people would absorb the regulation of the law along with the interpretation.  They had no real means or ability to differentiate the two.

MHA: …interpretations were often confused in people’s minds with the text itself and became inseparable from the text.

It was often the tradition of the elders that Jesus would criticize and condemn.  He wasn’t criticizing or condemning the law; it was the interpretation, the teaching, the tradition that was in His sights.

MHA: …for the Evangelist Matthew, Jesus is not so much a new Moses as the one who has come to fulfill the Old Testament prophetic expectations, announcing the kingdom of heaven and making it a reality in human history.

Jesus came to fulfil the law – this means both to fulfil and to complete.  But it was the law as it was meant to be understood – not the law as the scribes and Pharisees would teach.

MHA: Irenaeus says that Christ “did not abrogate…but extended and fulfilled” the commandments of the law.

Lloyd-Jones offers a review of the law, and how Jesus’s life and teaching related to this.  He offers that there are three parts to the law: the moral, the judicial, and the ceremonial.

The moral law: the Ten Commandments, laid down once and forever.  This is permanent. Jesus summed it up as follows:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The moral law is a permanent condition, describing our relationship to God and our relationship to man.  It remains in force, fulfilled in Christ.  Per Metropolitan Hilarion, even the Ten Commandments are to be read in the light of Christ and the New Testament.

The judicial law: this was given specifically for the nation of Israel.  As there is no longer a theocratic nation, this has been fulfilled – brought to completion.

The ceremonial law: this is concerning burnt offerings, sacrifices, rituals, etc.  In Christ, all of the ceremonial law has been fulfilled – brought to completion.

DMLJ: everything that is in the law and the prophets culminates in Christ, and He is the fulfillment of them.  It is the most stupendous claim He ever made.

God’s law is absolute, it cannot be changed.  It will not pass away until every detail is fulfilled. Jesus came to give the law perfect obedience.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

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18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

DMLJ: He says that everything He is going to teach is in absolute harmony with the entire teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures.

Metropolitan Alfeyev offers an interesting interpretation: compare this statement with what Jesus says in the Olivet discourse, when Jesus offers: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

MHA: [In verse 18] The twice-used word heōs (till) indicates that the two events will take place at the same time: the end of heaven and earth, and the fulfillment of the law.  This law continues to be in effect until the end of heaven and earth, but its effectiveness does not extend beyond this event.  In contrast, Jesus’s words “shall not pass away” even after heaven and earth pass away.

The law of Moses has value exclusively from the perspective of earthly history; the law as described by and fulfilled in Jesus has a timeless value.

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19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Metropolitan Alfeyev notes that both groups will see the kingdom of heaven.  He points out, however, that some early patristic fathers like John Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria didn’t see it this way – least in the kingdom of heaven meant damned.  But I am not sure how the verse can be understood this way, and Metropolitan Alfeyev does not read it this way in any case.

This verse relates to the next directly…

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20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Such as these are fully excluded.  The statement is more about the scribes and Pharisees than it is about those whose righteousness will or won’t exceed theirs.  Their righteousness is not sufficient to get them into the kingdom of heaven.

What Jesus is teaching is in disharmony with and an utter contradiction of the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees.  Jesus had no problem speaking negatively of someone when it was necessary.  Jesus will do this to show that they lack in righteousness and holiness.

In the four Gospels, there is nothing that called forth such wrath from Jesus than the very religion and the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees.

The Pharisees enacted a ceremonial code even more rigid than the law of Moses, beyond anything seen in the OT.

DMLJ: In a sense, the one thing our Lord had to do was to show the hollowness of their teaching, and then present the people with the true teaching.

Their religion was external and formal, not a religion of the heart.  It was more concerned with the ceremonial than the moral.  It was based on many man-made rules, some of which were designed to evade God’s commandments.  They were concerned about their own righteousness, while holding a tragic attitude toward others.

DMLJ: The kingdom of God is concerned about the heart; it is not my external actions, but what I am inside that is important.

Metropolitan Hilarion compares the statement of Jesus in this verse with that of the prior verse:

MHA: In this way, the superficial righteousness of the Pharisees essentially differs from the righteousness of those who fulfill the entire law of Moses but break one of the least of its commandments.

Those who break one of the least commandments still have a place in the kingdom of heaven; false righteousness has no place in the kingdom of heaven.

The righteousness that exceeded that of the Pharisees is to be found when Jesus answers the question of the greatest law:

MHA: Jesus draws out the very essence of the law from the multitude of Old Testament regulations, while the Pharisees and teachers of the law prided themselves on being experts in the law’s many stipulations.

Jesus basically said, it’s not that complicated: when you boil it all down, love the Lord your God, love your neighbor.

Conclusion

DMLJ: We must have this new mind and disposition which leads us to love the law and desire to keep it; and by His power He enables us to fulfil the law.