Jesus said, “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. For 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.” (Matthew 5: 17-18)
This is an important concept to grasp; That Jesus is in congress, or in unison with, that the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, agree 100% with the Law and Prophets of Jehovah. It’s a common misconception that there is a different theology or different attitude of God in the Old Testament and the New Testament. “For I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6) And “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) In this passage (Matthew 5:17-18) Jesus is clearly stating that He is not abolishing the Law or disagreeing with the Prophets, however He is here to fulfill them. Jesus states His purpose here, which is similar to a parable told in Matthew 21:33-44.
“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “They said to him, ‘He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him fruits in their seasons.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
Naturally, the Law and the Prophets are symbolized here as the servants sent to the tenants. And obviously the son represents the Son. The tenants represents specifically the “chief priests and the Pharisees” (as the next line of the parable reveals.) Jesus did not come to abolish the work of the Law or the Prophets, He came to complete their work. Jesus is not against Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and so on. Jesus is in agreement and in congress with the Law and the Prophets. In fact Jesus is here to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, Jesus is what the Law and the Prophets was talking about to start with. All things involving the Law and the Prophets point to Jesus and He follows up with an assurance of the Law and Prophets by adding, “For 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.” When Christ mentions an “iota” and “dot” He’s basically talking about “dotting your “i’s” and crossing your “t’s.” Hebrew is obviously different than English, but the point here is not even a dot off of an “i” will be removed from the Law.
Jesus continues His sermon with: “Therefore 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. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Christ adds to this thought that whoever slacks from their spiritual responsibility and/or teaches others to do the same will be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. He continues, teaching that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. This is a scripture that insinuates that even with the sacrifice of Christ we still have a cross to bear ourselves. Jesus later in the book of Matthew says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) While some might call it the “bad news gospel” I can’t help but call it… the Gospel. There is a responsibility that Christian have in following Christ. He said for our righteousness to “exceed” that of the Pharisees, in the next few passages He explains how.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:21-26)
Jesus starts explaining how to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees by using Law itself. Again Jesus had not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. Exodus 20: 13 says “You shall not murder.” Deuteronomy 5: 17 says “You shall not murder.” The Pharisees added to this and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. Christ says why stop there! Whoever is angry with his brother, with his neighbor, is liable to judgment. Whoever insults another makes them liable to judgment. In this passage Jesus links outwardly murder to inwardly anger. The Law is deeper than do not murder, it is do not hate, and hating willing have one liable to the hell of fire.
Jesus adds to this that before coming to the altar, if your brother has something against you, be reconciled with him first. Paul comments, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27) Jesus would desire that you come to terms quickly with your accuser, if not you may be handed over to the judge, and the judge will deal with you. If you have transgressed the Law and sinned before God toward another person, quickly go and make that offense right. Then come before the Lord with a clean heart. Jesus continues his lesson with the concept of lust.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5: 27-28)
Another reference to the Law, the seventh commandment, but Jesus says, similar to the concept of murder, it’s not just outward sin, but inward sin that condemns us. We sin first in our hearts and our minds. How do we deal with things that inspire us to sin? Christ touches that subject next.
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your member than that your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5: 29-30)
This concept is paralleled in Matthew 18:7-9 and Mark 9:43-48.
“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and thrown it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.” (Matthew 18:7-9)
And the same concept is found with Mark 9:43-48, the only real difference being in the description of hell; “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
The idea is simple and straight forward here. If there is something in your life causing you to sin, shear that something away from your life. Earlier Matthew 16:24 was quoted, but let’s put it in context for a deeper understanding.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will if profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” (Matthew 16:24-27)
If you have a friend that influences you to sin, cut off that relationship. If your job causes you to sin, cut it off. If anything in your life causes you to sin, you desperately need to change something to stop that sin. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”(Matthew 5: 31-32)
As I write this, I am a divorced man married to a divorced woman. This is a situation that I’ve prayed very hard, on several occasions for forgiveness of my ignorance. And regardless of my situation, this verse points out the fact that marriage and divorce is very serious to God, with sexual immorality and adultery being equally offensive. Now I’m not saying that divorce is an eternal sin, but it is a serious sin. I feel justified about my divorce because I’ve mournfully prayed for forgiveness and have repented of my sin. I take my marriage seriously and believe my marriage to be anointed. But I believe that before people consider divorce they should really pray hard on the situation. Divorce should never be taken lightly, nor should marriage.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5:33-37)
To me this passage rings clarity of the futility of the plight of man. Here, there is an undertone of “just who do you think you are?” It’s interesting and relative to this passage, to witness people who get outraged when things don’t go according to plan. When our flights get delayed, or the weather halts certain events, anytime when things do happen as we desire or have scheduled. Jesus makes the statement about making oaths in regards to by what power to make your oath, or do you swear? This verse reminds of a verse found in the Epistle of James.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:13-17)
It is uniquely arrogant to swear or make oaths, because we are by a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. We have no real power to assure anything other than by “If the Lord wills.” As our man made oaths crumble we fail to see that our self reliance was as reliant as a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Regardless of the tangent, let our answers be yes or no.
“You have heard that is was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:38-42)
First and foremost, the phrase “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is a commonly misused verse. Many people have taken that line from the Law and declared it as their right to take vengeance on their foes. This verse obviously speaks negatively about that thought. However, the Old Testament had a very specific use for this phrase. For example “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was not a freedom or power of the public. First, the right to use this power was solely reserved for judges and leaders of the people. Second, this law also protected the accused of being overly punished. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” not “an eye and an ear for an eye and two fingers, three teeth and a toe for a tooth.” Hypothetically, if I stole twenty dollars from my employer, he has the right to get twenty dollars back from me. He can not take fifty dollars from me, beat me with a stick, and take my car. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
Christ says to not even worry about being righted when done wrong. He says to turn the other cheek, to give your tunic as well as your cloak, to walk two miles when asks to do one, to give to the one who begs. In the next set of verses He gives His reason, but first let’s jump to the Gospel of John to see a story where Jesus is slapped.
“The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teachings. Jesus answered him, ‘I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.’ When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, ‘Is that how you answer the high priest?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?’ Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”(John 18: 19-24)
It’s interesting to me that Jesus took this man’s slap and turned it against him. Now on to Jesus’ reason for doing right when wronged.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward to you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)
You shall love your neighbor is the Law, but hating your enemy was added by the scribes. The parable of the Good Samaritan explains what your neighbor is. Essentially your neighbor is everyone, even your enemy. The use of a Samaritan in that parable was a direct insult to the Jewish Pharisees as Samaritans where third class citizens of the day. A modern relation to the parable is the idea of a free black man carrying a wounded confederate soldier into a southern city populated with slave owners. The Good Samaritan shamed the Jews by being better than them. Christ adds that “he makes the “sun rise on the evil and on the good” showing that we all share the same needs at times, and sometimes the evil gets blessed solely because of the good. Jesus mentions tax collectors here as well, which were the scum of the earth of the day. He takes notice that even the scum of the earth are good to those they love. If our righteous is to exceed that of the Pharisees it must first exceed that of the scum of the earth. Be good to our enemies, pray for them, and give them no reason to find fault in you. For in your righteousness, Jesus is exalted.
“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3: 13-17)
Amen.
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