01.04. The Sermon on the Mount (12)
"The Sermon on the Mount" (12)
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 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 (Matthew 5:17-18) The teaching and works of the Lord Jesus were so entirely different from those of the scribes and Pharisees that some of His audience might have thought He would put an end to everything they had known as Jews. The Lord counters these thoughts in this passage of the "sermon on the mount," only recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, in which He speaks about the law (Matthew 5:17-48). The Law Of Sinai
Before entering upon the contents of these verses, I want to occupy you briefly with the term "law," which often occurs in the Old as well as in the New Testament. Apart from meaning "human rules or orders" (Daniel 6:8; Romans 7:1-2) the word "law" occurs in the New Testament meaning "the legal principle" (Romans 7:21; Romans 8:2). Also, in view of the divine law in the Old Testament, there are differences in meaning.
1. The law of Sinai (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:17).
2. The five books of Moses (the Torah), according to an old division, the first of the three parts of the Old Testament (Luke 24:44).
3. The entire Old Testament (John 10:34), several times also called the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 11:13).
God gave the Sinaitic law to His people Israel after their liberation from Egypt. With its juridical, ceremonial and moral commandments it was from the beginning meant for that people only (Deuteronomy 4:8; Romans 9:4), just as the Old Covenant was only made with Israel. Christians often overlook this fact. The law of Sinai was a God-given system of claims on, and promises for, His earthly people. The moral laws were, so to speak, God’s minimal claims on natural, unregenerate men. The ceremonial laws regulated the worship and service of the people and were at the same time a shadow of things to come which became reality in Christ (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1).
Since the law was from God, it was holy and just and good (Romans 7:12). If the Israelites had been able to keep it, it would have led them to life and righteousness (Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 5:29). But this was impossible since natural man lacks the power to fulfil God’s claims. Thus the law could only bring knowledge of sin without imparting the power to overcome it (Romans 3:20). It revealed sin and this led to death and condemnation (Romans 7:10; Romans 8:3). The Lord Jesus took upon Himself the curse of the law when He died upon the cross. In this way He has redeemed from its curse all those who believe in Him. Every believing Jew is therefore no longer under the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), and he is also free from the law because Christ is the end of the law for righteousness (Romans 6:14; Romans 7:4; Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:24-25).
It is contrary to God’s revealed will if Christians put themselves under the law. Usually they do not mean the whole law including its judicial and ceremonial orders, but only its moral commandments, i.e. the 10 commandments. For the observance of these the reason given is that a Christian is not allowed to kill, steal, etc. But a believer will avoid these and all other sins, not because he observes the law, but because he has received a new life and possesses the Holy Spirit as a source of strength which enables him to go beyond the minimal requirements of the law.1
Yet again and again it is taught in Christendom that although the law was given to the people of Israel, it is still valid for all peoples and therefore also for Christians, since God would not operate a double standard for mankind. Apart from Matthew 5:17-48, Scriptures such as Deuteronomy 4:5-8, Isaiah 2:2-3 and Romans 3:19 are quoted as reason, but, among other things, history and prophecy are being mixed up. God is unchangeable in His nature but His relationships to men are not at all times and in all circumstances the same.
Destroy-Fulfil In Matthew 5:17 the Lord Jesus spoke to those belonging to the earthly people of God. His disciples and the multitudes of men surrounding Him were Jews. The kingdom of heaven had been promised to the "sons of the kingdom." Therefore He first turned only to this people (Matthew 15:24). As we saw when considering the beatitudes, we can apply His words also to the present time of "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." But we must not forget that the Lord Jesus first of all addressed only His own people, to whom God had once, at Sinai, given His law.
"Think not that I am come to make void the law or the prophets; I am not come to make void, but to fulfil" (Matthew 5:17). The preaching of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, and his call to repentance, as well as the words of the Lord Jesus Himself, announced something completely new. But this did not mean that everything that preceeded this had become invalid. The law and the prophets (i.e. the entire Old Testament) were not destroyed by Christ. Quite the opposite, He was come to fulfil them. "Fulfilling" does not only mean obedience to the Word of God, because this could only have referred to the law, and not to the prophets. "Fulfilling" therefore means here "to confirm" and "to bring to fulfilment." The entire Old Testament testified of Christ and He was its fulfilment (John 5:39).
1 The fact that the literal fulfilment of the fourth commandment, which demands the observance of the Sabbath, is not required, is a peculiar inconsistency of Christian supporters of the law. This shows that one does not want to put oneself completely under the system of the law, but in this point resorts to the grace of God.
Iota And Tittle
"For verily I say unto you, Until the heaven and the earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all come to pass" (Matthew 5:18; cf. Luke 16:17). In this verse the Lord Jesus speaks only of the law. This does not, as in Matthew 5:17, mean the five books of Moses, but the commandments of the law of Sinai.
Heaven and earth will pass away after the end of the thousand-year reign of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3:11). Then there will be a new creation with new heavens and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). But before this, during the millennium, Israel as a people will be accepted again by God on the ground of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-35; Ezekiel 36:24-27). God will put His law into their inward parts and write it on their hearts, and Israel, in contrast to previous times as well as today, will be happy to observe it. Also the instructions for the feasts and the sacrifices will again be followed. But instead of being apart and separated from the nations, as previously, Israel will be the centre and model for all peoples (Isaiah 2:2-4; Zechariah 14:16). The iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (like the yod in Hebrew), and the tittle is a hook-shaped mark which in Hebrew distinguishes various letters which would otherwise be the same. If according to the words of our Lord not even the smallest parts of the written law will pass away, how much less the instructions once given by God! What a testimony to the verbal inspiration of this part of the Word of God, the Bible! Nothing of the law will pass away until it has been fulfilled in the millennium in a way that has never before been the case in the history of Israel. The words "till all be fulfilled" (cf. Luke 21:32) point to the future time of the glorious reign of Christ as King, in which all the Old Testament prophecies will be fulfilled and all the words of the law will be observed.