Christ Fulfills The Law
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Matthew 5:17-20
Matthew 5:17-20
English Standard Version Chapter 5
17 “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. 18 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. 19 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. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
story about breakfast club and chris brousard
in this story the people were ignorant of Gods word
in paricular they misused the old testemant
one of the worst things about modern day christianity is our ignorance of the old testemant.
today we are going to see how Jesus views the old testemant
Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and prophets
Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and prophets
vs 17 - 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.
Law and prophets are the old testament and all the commands in them.
Jesus is saying that He is not undermining or doing away with the old testament.
Q. Why would Jesus need to say this?
A. obviously had been accussed of such charge.
His teaching seemed so radical and different than what the Pharisees where teaching.
but whos teaching was more accurate?
The pharisees led the people so far from the principles of truth that are in the law and the prophets.
So when Jesus came they thought He was Wiping away the principles laid down in scripture for a new way.
He wasnt” He was unfolding the true meaning of the old testament.
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
pointing at the 613 commandments given to Israel by way of moses.
Gods law was a benchmark of perfect righteousness.
exposed our inability to be righteous and ultimately exposed our need for Jesus.
When Jesus taught, He pointed to the heart and principle of Gods law.
Pharisees pointed to the external works and extra traditions.
Because the views on Gods law were so different The religious leaders questioned Jesus about His loyalty to the scripture.
In v 17 Jesus makes it clear where he stands.
he says not one Jot (smallest hebrew letter) or one tittle (small accent used in the hebrew alphabet) will pass from the Law until all is fulfilled.-
established the importance of Gods law.
pause
Jesus also said this to the jews who questioned His teaching
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
The old testemant prophesied of Jesus who is the promised messiah.
This is but one way He has fulfilled the law and prophets.
Another example of Jesus fulfilling the law and prophets is by perfectly obeying all of Gods law on our behalf.
In doing so He was the only one worthy to pay by sacrafice for our sin.
A true Lamb without blemish. Just like the old testament says.
Now that we Know that Jesus did not abolish the old testemant we have to understand Gods commands in light of its fulfillment.
Do and teach Gods law
Do and teach Gods law
MAtthew 5:19
Matthew 5:19 (ESV)
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.
relaxing Gods commands does not get you the boot from the kingdom.
Jesus encourages a strong adoration for His commands that are laid down in the old testament.
But some will say we are not under law but under grace.
and this is true but Jesus said until heaven and earth pass away not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law.
so how do we harmonize this.
the first thing you need to understand is that In Christs fulfillment of the law the commands in the old testament do not apply to us in the same way.
We do not keep the jewish dietary laws, festivals, or sacrificial offerings.
all of these things pointed to Jesus and He has come.
We now look at these laws as a picture and shadow of what was to come.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Gods laws have not passed away but find their fullfilment in Christ
With regards to Gods moral aspects of the law such as the 10 commandments,
These aspects we are to uphold and they do not change because they are the very character of God.
So we must understand that Gods saves us from the penalty of breaking these laws not from obeying them.
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
So we look to Gods moral law to know what sin is.
and because we are under grace by faith in Jesus, when we sin we are forgiven.
but we echo
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
woooow.
so your telling me we need to uphold the law.
how do we do this? ....... BY FAITH
we place our faith in Jesus who obeyed the law on our behalf perfectly.
by faith we receive His perfect life.
by faith he takes away all of our guilty stains.
By faith you desire to love God and Love your neighbor
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
It is not as burdensome as you once thought now is it.
When you love God and neighbor you uphold the law.
This is the realization you come to when you understand that Jesus has fullfilled the law and prophets.
When you understand this, We want to do and teach Gods law.
Enter the kingdom by Faith
Enter the kingdom by Faith
English Standard Version Chapter 5
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Dear friend the pharisees had the most strict adherence to the law of God and they did not even come close to righteous.
They had an outward adherence to the law ,
Jesus is looking for an inward change of heart.
(rhetoric)- even when you see Jesus has changed your heart and you are obeying his word more frequently.
(rhetoric) you are defeating sin and learning more about God. GROWING.
Q. How many times do you still notice you are falling short?
This is when the Gospel is so sweet.
Q. How can you know that your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes pharisees?
A. When you understand that your righteousness comes from Jesus. Not yourself
He has given you His righteousness and has taken all of your sin.
Romans 3:21-22
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
the only way to enter the kingdom of heaven is through faith in Jesus.
This is because Christ has fulfilled the law on your behalf. and has credited you righteousness
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Thomas Cranmer -
Christ is now the righteousness of all those who truly do believe in him. He for them paid their ransom by his death. He for them fulfilled the law in his life.
The great exchange.
Pharisees thought they were the best examples of Godly men and they taught people to enter Gods kingdom by the way of good works.
Jesus said to the pharisees that they are blind guides leading others into the pit.
Jesus teaches that right standing with God comes by faith in Him alone.
Outro
Outro
When you understand these truths, you will see that your righteousness comes from Him.
Jesus fulfilled the law on your behalf.
His law is good.
When you Rightly understand that the old testament points to Jesus.
we still look to it to understand the principals and truth of God in light of the new testament.
Q. do you understand the magnitude of Jesus fulfillment of the law.
Q. You can recieve His perfect life today.