Matthew 5:17-20: “Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount: About Not Abolishing The Law And Prophets /
Righteousness Must Exceed That Of The Scribes And Pharisees”
by
1.
INTRO: In this next section, we see how that
Jesus viewed the Old Testament scriptures
1.1.
Jesus knew that by Him in this sermon elevating God’s
Law to a new high level that there would be some who would be wondering if He
was also teaching that it was no longer important to obey the Law of Moses, so
Jesus decides here to clear up any confusion about where He stands on this
1.1.1. People’s
confusion about Jesus’ stand concerning the Law was made greater because of the
fact that He didn’t follow the traditions of the Jewish elders concerning
washings, special tithes, extreme Sabbath observance, etc., so therefore many
probably thought that He was also advocating the abolishing of the Mosaic Law
altogether
1.1.1.1.Jesus never
disobeyed any of God’s command’s, either of the Moral Law or Ceremonial, just
the commandments and traditions of men
1.2.
Jesus constantly referred to the Old Testament
scriptures in His teaching, making at least 64 references to them, and in every
case He referred to the scriptures as containing truth and being inspired by
God, never once questioning their authority as the infallible Word of God
1.2.1. In John
10:35 Jesus said, “The scripture cannot be broken”
1.2.2. John
MacArthur writes about the Old Testament scriptures which Jesus referred to in the
gospels and thus confirmed, “He confirmed the standard of marriage that God
established in the Garden of Eden (Matt. 19:4), the murder of Abel (Luke
11:51), Noah and the flood (Matt. 24:38-39), Abraham and his faith (John 8:56),
Sodom, Lot, and Lot’s wife (Luke 17:29), the call of Moses (Mark 12:26), the
manna from heaven (John 6:31, 58), and the bronze serpent (John 3:14)”
1.2.3. If Jesus
taught this about the scripture, then that should be enough for us to believe
in the infallibility of God’s Word.
Likewise, if we are to accept Christ’s authority in our lives, then we
must also accept the authority of God’s Word over our life and actions, for to
accept Him implicitly implies accepting also the authority of the Old and New
Testament scriptures
1.3.
But then, what about the statements in the epistles
about us as Christians not being under God’s Law anymore?
1.3.1. We will
attempt to answer the question as to how it could be that Jesus said that He
did not come to abolish the Law, and yet the New Testament epistles (especially
those written by Paul) teach that we are not under the Law now that we are in
Christ
2.
VS 5:17-18 - “17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or
the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to
you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall
pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished”” - Jesus teaches His disciples that He did not come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets
2.1.
When we refer to
the Law it can mean the following things:
2.1.1. In the broadest sense the Law referred to the first
five books of the Old Testament, which are know as the Penteteuk
2.1.2. What is called the “Moral Law”
2.1.2.1.That which is contained primarily in the 10
Commandments
2.1.3. What is called the “Ceremonial Law”
2.1.3.1.That which is outlined in the laws of the Penteteuk
which had to do with ordinances, ceremonies, and sacrifices under the Old
Testament covenant
2.2.
It is the “Moral
Law” to which Christ is primarily referring here in this verse as that which He
did not come to abolish
2.3.
God Himself
announced and instituted the destruction of the “Ceremonial Law” when Christ
died on the cross, for at that moment the scripture records that the veil of
the temple was rent in two which symbolized that there was a new economy now
established by God
2.3.1. The book of Hebrews goes into great depth explaining
in what ways the various aspects of the temple worship were types of that which
Christ has procured, and how that now He has once for all entered into the Holy
of Holies in heaven and there He intercedes for us and invites us to come
directly into God’s presence through His blood, without the hindrance of the
curtain, that once kept all people out of the Holy of Holies where God dwelt
2.4.
But, Jesus says
that He did not come to abolish the “Moral Law” nor the “Prophets” (the major
and minor prophetic books), and in saying this He is really referring to the
Old Testament as a whole, even though as I mentioned, the “Ceremonial Law” was eventually done away
with through the Lord’s intervention
2.5.
Strong’s Greek
Dictionary has the following entry for this word translated as “abolish”, “2647
kataluo { kat-al-oo’-o} from 2596 and
3089; TDNT - 4:338,543; v AV - destroy
9, throw down 3, lodge 1, guest 1, come to nought
1, overthrow 1, dissolve 1; 17 GK - 2907 {
kataluvw }
1)
to dissolve,
disunite
1a) (what has
been joined together), to destroy, demolish
1b) metaph. to
overthrow i.e. render vain, deprive of success, bring to naught
1b1) to subvert,
overthrow
1b1a) of
institutions, forms of government, laws, etc., to deprive of force, annul,
abrogate, discard
1c) of travellers, to halt on a journey, to put
up, lodge (the
figurative expression
originating in the circumstance that, to
put up for the night, the straps and packs of the beasts of
burden are unbound and
taken off; or, more correctly from
the fact that the traveller’s garments, tied up when he is on
the journey, are unloosed at it end)”
2.6.
The Old Testament
still serves a puropose and thus Jesus teaches us here that it is not His
purpose to abolish the Moral Law as given by Moses
2.6.1. Paul writes in Rom. 7:14 that the law is holy, righteous, and good,
“12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and
good”
2.6.1.1.The law is good, however there is a problem with us
and our inability to keep God’s Law in our own strength
2.6.1.2.In Gal. 3:24, Paul writes that the Law has become “our
tutor to lead us to Christ”
2.6.1.2.1.It shows us that we are in need of a Savior for we
cannot keep the Law in and of ourselves
2.6.1.3.Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Tim. 1:8-11 that the law
was for the transgressor, “8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses
it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous man, but
for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the
unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers
10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and
whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, 11 according to the glorious
gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted”
2.6.1.3.1.The law then will always have a purpose for us in our
sinful state while upon this earth, for it convicts us of sin when we
transgress its commands
2.7.
In Rom. 8:3-4,
Paul writes that when we are walking filled with the Spirit that we are at that
time filling the requirement of the Law, “3 For what the Law could not do,
weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness
of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in
order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”
2.7.1. Paul wrote in Gal. 5:18 that when we are being led of
the Spirit we are no longer under the Law, “18 But if you are led by the
Spirit, you are not under the Law”
2.7.1.1.Being led of the Spirit does not mean that now we can
go and break the Moral Law of God, for the Spirit would never lead us to do
that
2.8.
We now have to
answer the question as to what does Jesus refers when He says that He came to
“fulfill” the Law?
2.8.1. Some say Jesus meant by this that He obeyed the
Law
2.8.2. Some say Jesus meant by this that He taught the
true interpretation of the Law as well as expanded it in His teachings
and in the Sermon On The Mount
2.8.3. Most Bible commentators have believed that what He
primarily meant here was that He was what the Law pointed to and in
that way He fulfilled it
2.8.3.1.This is why Paul wrote of Christ in Romans 10:4, “4 For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”
2.8.3.2.In order to have God’s acceptance, one must be
righteous, however no one can be righteous before God on the basis of his
works, yet when a person accepts Christ’s sacrifice on His behalf, then Christ
becomes his righteousness, and thus he can know God and be in His presence
2.8.3.2.1.Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 1:30 about how Christ is now our
righteousness before God, “30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who
became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and
redemption”
2.8.3.2.1.1.What a blessing it is to stand before the Lord in
Christ’s righteousness fully accepted and justified in Him
2.8.3.2.1.2.In Rom. 3:20, Paul writes that by all or any of our
good deeds we will never be able to be righteous enough in order to be
acceptable to God, “20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be
justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin”
2.8.3.2.1.2.1.In order to establish our righteousness before God
based upon our own works, we would have to obey God’s Law perfectly at every
moment during the entireity if our lives, and thus Paul writes about the curse
of the Law in Gal. 3:10 , “10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are
under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all
things written in the book of the law, to perform them””
2.9.
So, Jesus teaches
us here then that not even the smallest Greek letter, nor even the smallest punctuation
mark in the language, will ever pass away from any of the Old Testament
writings until that time in the future when ‘heaven and earth shall pass away’
and ‘all is accomplished’
2.9.1. By saying this, Jesus really shows us the true way to
look at the inspiration of God’s Word.
It is not general concepts that God inspired, nor is it great ideas or
creative inspiration such as an artist has when creating a painting, for
instance, but the very words, parts of speech, and verb tenses themselves are
inspired and come directly from God.
2.9.1.1.As an illustration of the extent to which Jesus
believed this, once when arguing with the Saducees, Jesus turned the entire
argument against them and their lack of a belief in the afterlife and the
resurrection by the tense of one verb when God told Moses that was the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus says,
“He is not the God of the dead but of the living”, Matt. 22:32.
2.10. One day this world will pass away, for in Rev. 20:11,
21:1, we see what Jesus is referring to when He mentions a point in time when
heaven and earth are going to pass away, “11 And I saw a great white throne
and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no
place was found for them. ...21:1 And I
saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
passed away, and there is no longer any sea”
3.
VS 5:19 - “19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these
commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven”” - Jesus
warns those who would annul even the least of the Old Testament commandments
3.1.
The Jewish
religious leaders of Christ’s day are really a lot like all of us, for people
tend to think that the breaking of a commandment here and there was not really
that bad, and thus they justify their breaking of some of God’s commandments
3.1.1. However, this is foolish for James wrote in Ja.
2:10-11 that if a person breaks one of God’s commands that he really has broken
all of them, for the same God gave them all, “10 For whoever keeps the whole
law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For He who
said, “Do not commit adultery,” also
said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you
do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of
the law”
3.1.2. Many people are trying to assume that because they are
basically a good person that they have God’s favor and that when they die they
will surely go to heaven, however what they have really done is lowered God’s
standard enough so that they feel they will be justified before God
3.1.2.1.People tend to compare themselves to others, and since
they can always find some people that are much worse than themselves, they feel
that they must be ok when it comes to their standing before God, but the
problem with their thinking is that they are using the wrong standard. They should instead be looking at the perfect
righteousness of the Lord and comparing themselves to Him, for if they did that
they would realize what the scripture says that there “all have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), and “there is none
righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10)
3.2.
What are some of
the ways that we might ‘annul’ God’s commands?
3.2.1. By not believing that God’s Word is inspired and
infallible
3.2.2. By ignoring God’s Word instead of studying it
diligently and carefully
3.2.3. By refusing to obey even one of God’s commands
3.3.
The warning that
Christ gives is dual, for it is a warning against annuling God’s Word in your
own life as well as teaching others to annul His Word in their’s
3.3.1. There is a very strict warning in James 3:1 for those
who would be teachers of God’s Word, “3:1 Let not many of you become
teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment”
3.3.2. We can teach others to annul God’s Word by the way
that we live whether or not we formally are teachers or not
3.4.
Jesus implies in
this verse by using the phrase ‘the least commandment’ that some parts of God’s
Word are weightier than others, though all are important and should be kept
3.5.
The negative
warning given here by Jesus is that the person who annuls even the least part
of God’s Word and teaches others to do the same will be called ‘least in the
kingdom of heaven’
3.5.1. Evidently they will make it to heaven (if they have
truly come to know Christ as Lord and Savior)
3.6.
The positive
encouragement for those who keep all of God’s commandments and teach others to
do so is that they will be called ‘great’ in the kingdom of heaven
3.7.
We see from this
how important it is to teach the Old Testament, and yet so many churches across
our land these days will not teach God’s Law because they think that the people
will get bored or not want to hear it, so they teach the people what they want
to hear
3.7.1. Is this not what Timothy prophesied about happening in
the last days is people resisting sound doctrine and wanting to have their ears
tickled?
4.
VS 5:20 - “20 “For I say to you, that unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter
the kingdom of heaven”” - Jesus
states that in order to enter heaven one’s righteousness must exceed that of
the scribes and Pharisees
4.1.
First of all, we
see here from Jesus’ words that ‘righteousness’ is required in order for anyone
to be able to spend eternity in heaven with God
4.1.1. God is totally holy and He will not allow anything
that is sinful to be in His presence, therefore in order for a person to be
able to come into His presence he must be either ‘totally’ sinless and holy
himself, or trusting in Christ’s atoning sacrifice by which a person may now
come into God’s presence and have Christ’s righteousness imputed to him
(knowing he has done nothing to merit or earn it)
4.1.1.1.When a believer is trusting Christ for his salvation,
God sees that believer and sees the righteousness of Christ on his behalf, and
thus God’s righteouness is fully satisfied because of Christ in his behalf
4.2.
There were very
possibly some scribes and Pharisees who were Christ’s disciples, and when
Christ said this He was speaking not of individuals really, but of a system of
righteousness, a system that was based upon righteousness through works, and a
system which valued only ‘external’ righteousness, not the righteousness which
is internal and of the heart
4.2.1. “True righteousness” must be of the heart, and no
matter what good work or act that a person might perform, if the motive or
intention of the person’s heart is not righteous, then the work itself is not
righteous in God’s eyes, but unrighteous and evil
4.2.2. In Psalm 66:18, the Psalmist writes that if in our
hearts we are not right with God, but are regarding iniquity, then the Lord
will not hear us when we call on Him, “18 If I regard wickedness in my
heart,The Lord will not hear”