Matthew 5:17-20
April 30, 1995
by J. David Hoke
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to
abolish, but to fulfill. 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. 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. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew
5:17-20 NASB)
The LAW. What images and feelings come to your mind when you hear about the law?
Are those images and feelings positive or negative? How do you respond to the law? How
does it affect you?
We live in a society of laws. Our lives are governed by laws. Whether we like it or
not, laws must be dealt with by every individual in our society. Sometimes we are
frustrated by laws. This generally happens when we are given a ticket for speeding or
parking in the wrong place. Who decided that 35 should be the speed limit on this road, or
that you couldn't park between the hours of 4 and 6 PM on this side of the street? Our
blood pressure tends to rise in these circumstances. At times I have been frustrated by
zoning ordinances developed by zoning boards which seem to hinder any kind of development
of land that you supposedly own. And I suppose that all of us have been and are frustrated
by laws that we conclude are just plain stupid.
But would we live in a society with no law? Think about what kind of society that would
be. It would be a society with no authority outside of the individual. Judges 21:25
describes such a situation: "In those days there was no king in Israel;
everyone did what was right in his own eyes." When there is no objective
authority or law, each individual must develop his or her own law. The problem you have,
of course, is that someone may decide that it is right to steal your possessions and kill
you. Who is to say he is wrong, if there is no objective law?
This is where the idea that there is no absolute truth ultimately leads. This point of
view is known as relativism. Taken to its extreme and ultimate conclusion,
relativism permits everyone to do what is right in their own eyes. In that system, laws at
best are only a reflection of the group in charge at the time. But who or what is to say
they are right if there is no authoritative law?
Most of our laws in western society are derived from the Bible, God's Law. Of course,
there are many who would like to do away with the Bible - with any concept of God and His
law. They do not want to be governed by God, or anyone else for that matter. In A
Sermon Preached Before the House of Commons in Parliament at their Public Fast, November
17, 1640, Steven Marshall illustrates the importance of God's law, both to a
society and to individuals. He said to that governing body:
This is the Scepter whereby Christ rules: The dwelling of his Word with a people, is the greatest proofs of their owning him for their Prince, and his acknowledging them for his owne Subjects. Is any Country esteemed a part of a Prince's Dominion, that it is not ruled by his Lawes? Neither can any Land be accounted Christ's Kingdome, where the preaching of the Word, which is the Rod of his power is not established. And the Lord hath ever esteemed the hinderers of his Word, to bee the men that would not have Christ rule over them.
Normally we think of unbelievers when we think of people who reject the law of God.
Sadly, even many Christians can be guilty of this same offense. Under the rubric of
"we are not under law, but under grace" many Christians, who profess to be under
the Lordship of Christ, practically establish a religion of doing their own thing
in the name of Jesus. They perceive following Christ means that they only have to obey
their own subjective impressions of what Christ is saying to them. Or, they rip the Old
Testament out of the Bible and only look at the New Testament (or their favorite parts of
it) for objective guidance. Others discount subjective feelings and become legalists as
they observe only the letter of the law.
But Christ said that He came to fulfill, not destroy the law. So it seems that we must
understand what He meant when He said this. Did He mean that He was going to fulfill the
law in order to do away with it? Not according to this scripture.
Where are you in relation to God's law? Are you a legalist or a law keeper? Do you have
God's opinion of His law, or an opinion you have derived for yourself? Having God's
opinion concerning His law is vital lest you find yourself standing before Him at the
judgment answering for your rebellious life. Let's examine the two categories of people
depicted by Jesus' words.
Legalists
It is important to understand what Jesus meant when His used the word law. The
Jews meant several things when they used that word. They used it to mean the Ten
Commandments. They also used it to mean the first five books of the Bible, which is known
as the Pentateuch-which literally means The Five Rolls. This
was the most important part of the Bible to the Jews. They also used the phrase The
Law and the Prophets to mean the whole of Scripture-what we would call the Old
Testament. And finally, they used this word to mean the Oral or the
Scribal Law.
In Jesus day the last of these meanings was generally understood as the meaning in use.
But this was not what Jesus had in mind when He used the word law. We
know this because Jesus utterly condemned most of the Scribal Law.
What was the Scribal Law? The Scribal Law became a vast system of rules and regulations
that were intended to define and apply the true law of God to every situation in life. It
first began as an oral law, handed down by the Scribes over many generations. This was its
state in Jesus day. Around the middle of the third century A.D. a summary of it was
written which is known as the Mishnah. This book contains sixty-three
tractates on the law, and in English runs about eight hundred pages. Jewish scholarship
went on to make commentaries to explain the Mishnah. These were known as the
Talmuds. The Jerusalem Talmud consists of twelve volumes. The Babylonian
Talmud consists of sixty volumes. This Scribal Law sought to extrapolate from the
principles of God's law found in Scripture the practical application of them for every
situation in life. Take the Sabbath day as an example. The principle God gives us is that
we should have a day of rest. We should do no work on that day. But the Scribes were not
satisfied with that. After all, what is work?
One thing which was classified as work was to carry a burden. But what is a burden? The
Scribal Law says that a burden is:
. . . food equal in weight to a dried fig, enough wine for mixing in a goblet, milk enough for one swallow, honey enough to put upon a wound, oil enough to anoint a small member, water enough to moisten an eye-salve, paper enough to write a customs house notice upon, ink enough to write two letters of the alphabet, reed enough to make a pen
On and on these regulations droned. Hours were spend arguing whether someone could move
a lamp from one place to another or if someone could lift his or her child.
Their rules became very elaborate. Writing was forbidden as work on the Sabbath. But
what is writing?
He who writes two letters of the alphabet with his right or with his left hand, whether of one kind or two kinds, if they are written with different inks or in different languages, is guilty. Even if he should write two letters from forgetfulness, he is guilty, whether he has written them with ink or with paint, red chalk, vitriol, or anything which makes a permanent mark. Also he that writes on two walls that form an angle, or on two tablets of his account book so that they can be read together is guilty . . . But, if anyone writes with dark fluid with fruit juice, or in the dust of the road, or in sand, or in anything which does not make a permanent mark, he is not guilty . . . . If he writes one letter on the ground and they cannot be read together he is not guilty.
You can see why Jesus opposed this kind of law. It is not the law of God at all. We are not talking here about God's Commandments found in the Old Testament. These laws are petty and extend far beyond the principles found in God's law.
You see, for these Scribes, the law was the means of salvation. So it was very
important that nothing be left to chance. The problem which this kind of thinking results
in is that the principles behind the laws are lost while only externals are emphasized.
Viewing the law as the means of salvation produces legalism and legalists. This is the
result. It produced legalists in Jesus' day and produces them today as well. You see, in
the contemporary church we have our legalists today. Even though they may espouse a
theology of salvation by grace, they seem to be very much concerned with man-made rules
and regulations. Like the Scribes of old, they seek to explain what God really meant when
He said what He said.
The problem with legalism, however, is that it produces law breakers. It focuses on
trivialities and misses the real principle that God is seeking to emphasize.
Law-keepers
Jesus was not a legalist, He was a law-keeper. He said that He did not come to
abolish the law or the prophets. On the contrary Jesus said that He came to fulfill
the law. Here Jesus was not referring to the Scribal Law, but to the principles of
divine law contained in God's word.
Notice how He emphases the importance of the entirety of God's law. He says, in verse
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. The smallest letter
to which he referred was a Hebrew letter about the size of an apostrophe. The stroke of
the pen to which he referred was what we would call a serif, the little projection at the
foot of a letter. The message is clear. Not even the smallest part of the law will be
abolished while the heaven and earth exists.
He goes on to warn against the idea that God's law is unimportant. He says in verse 19,
Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others,
shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he
shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. It is clear that Jesus thought the law
was extremely important - important enough to obey.
You see, Jesus understood that the law was not a means of salvation. This is not what
He is teaching. But God's law reflects God's heart. And God's law has never been repealed.
Now, the idea that the law is a means of salvation has been done away with. The ceremonial
laws pertaining to Israel have been fulfilled and replaced by the sacrifice of Christ. But
the moral law of God remains as much in effect today as it was before Christ came.
You see, the law itself is righteous but the law cannot make you righteous. If you are
righteous, however, you will keep the law. You will keep it not in letter only, but also
in spirit. The Scribes were concerned in keeping the letter of the law. But Jesus goes on
to say in verse 20, For I say to you, that unless your righteous surpasses that of the
scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Being concerned with only the letter of the law produces people who do less
than God requires, for God always requires more than our interpretation of
His law demands. We will see this as we continue in the Sermon of the Mount in the next
few weeks.
It might also be said that those who say "we are not under the law, but under
grace" in order to do less are not only mistaken about the nature of
the law but are also hypocrites. Where did Christ ever require less than the
law demanded?
Here is the key. Christ is both the law-giver and the law-keeper. In His life, He
totally fulfilled the law in all aspects. By His death, He paid the penalty for our sins
against the law of God. Through His resurrected life He imparts His righteous to those who
believe in Him as their only hope for salvation. He makes us righteous through His
imparted righteousness. Being made righteous in Him, we now walk in His righteousness
through His life lived in us. Therefore, we desire to obey Him. We desire to obey His law
because the law-giver and law-keeper lives in us.
The issue is one of being under authority, something that has been a problem for people
since the beginning of time. Our attitude toward God is reflected in our attitude toward
His law. Understanding His law (word) and submitting to it brings us under His authority.
And only under His authority do we experience His power and grace. God says (Isaiah 66:2),
"But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and
who trembles at My word."
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