The Sermon on the Mount (10)
Notes
Transcript
Today we are looking at verses 17-20, and we are going to be talking about the Law. Jesus gives us a summary description of the radical righteousness of the Kingdom. Jesus amazed the people with the authority with which He always spoke. Here in this text He wanted to clarify His standpoint on the Law, and in the applications that follow this short discourse He switches to the first person with His phrase “But I say to you”. No scribe or Rabbi had ever spoken like this. He wants the people to understand the Law even better.
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.
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.
This verse seems pretty straight forward. Jesus came to fulfill the Law not to annul it. His use of “the Law and the Prophets” shows us He means the entire Old Testament. He wants to be very clear about what He is going to say next in verses 21-48, his statements would seem to the people as anti law, especially the religious leaders. The point He makes is that the only thing the Law can do is define sin. The Law cannot save even if one could keep it perfectly, which is an impossibility for us. Jesus reassures His listeners that He is anything but anti law. He came not to abolish but to fulfill. The word fulfill means to fill out or expand, to give true meaning. What Jesus was about to do was fully expand the Law, not bring it to an end. He was not adding to it, or taking away from it, but clarifying its original meaning, as well as fulfilling it. He fulfilled the Law through Messianic predictions, Jesus also fulfilled the Law when He died on the cross to satisfy the demands of the Law against those who believe in Him. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament prepared the people by instilling in them the condition reflex that sacrifices meant death, this prepared them for Jesus death. Jesus also fulfilled the Law in that He kept it perfectly . Paul tells us in Galatians 4:4 that Jesus was born under the Law. Jesus is the only one to keep the true Law perfectly. In order for us to understand the Law we must understand how it is fulfilled in Christ. Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets in a multifaceted, dynamic way and in no way destroyed the Law, he completely fulfilled it. The Law is still relevant today, the only difference is that Christ has fulfilled it.
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.
The opening phrase of verse 18 meant to call attention to what was being said next. It was true and they needed to listen. Not an “iota” is the word “yod” it was the smallest character, like an apostrophe in the English language. There are approx. 66,240 yods in the Old Testament. The “dot” is the “serif” it is an extension of the letter so it can be distinguished from similar letters. Think of a capital E and F the bottom line on the E would be the “serif”. Until the 66,240 yods and the enumerable serif are accomplished the Law will stand, right down to the smallest detail. This shows the importance of every aspect of the Law. Nothing will change the Law until it is completely and perfectly fulfilled.
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.
“Therefore” because the Law is perfect and it stands until it is completed. If anyone sets aside, or changes any of these down to the smallest yod or serif, and teaches others to do the same, they will be held in low esteem by God. He is speaking about believers— the reference to heaven. We must be very careful here, there are many who relax God’s commandments and do not have a saving relationship with Christ. Jesus is not saying that if you teach God’s Law that you are going to heaven. Once you have accepted Christ, if then you relax God’s Law you will be called the least. Here we also see Jesus call for us to be not just hearers but doers. These who follow the Law by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and teach others the same will be called great. Now I don’t want us to focus on the reward, but what precedes it. We must be very careful that we are rightly dividing God’s word. That what we are teaching is the accurate Word of God. We do not relax any of it and we do not change any of it. God’s Law is perfect, which is His Word. God’s desire is for us to be characterized by both internal (attitudes) and external (actions) obedience and holiness.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Here Jesus makes his thesis statement for the rest of His message (thesis statement is a summary of what He is going to teach in verses 21-48). The scribes and Pharisees were considered the ultimate example of righteousness in this time. This statement would have meant that no one could enter the Kingdom. If the religious elite were not good enough, than who is. No amount of Law keeping was good enough because the problem was and still is the human heart. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us “the heart is deceitful above all things”. Jesus tells us in Matthew 15:19 “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality”. Jesus’ point here is that no person could be saved by his or her own righteousness. This was what the Law intended to indicate all along, they had just missed the point. This point was hard for the self-righteous to sallow— NO ONE not even the super Law-keeping Pharisees could enter the Kingdom. All need a Savior. Jesus was showing them the impossibility of salvation apart from His grace. Christian discipleship requires a greater righteousness, and our hope is that Jesus did what we could never do, he fulfilled the Law. His righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees. So, how are we to do this, it is only through our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is not about the external action done in the name of religion, but the actions of the heart. The center of our entire being is to be focused on Christ (the greatest commandment), God changes us from the inside out. Let me ask you this, if you have a true saving relationship with Christ are you a sinner or are you righteous. Hebrews 10:14
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Jesus is the only way. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we are made righteous. This is the only way we can keep the Law, this is the only way we measure up to the standard. We must cling to Christ and His righteousness.
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount
As we close today I want to ask, are you trying to live under the Law with your own righteousness, or do you have a relationship with Christ and are you allowing His righteousness to cover you, putting your faith and trust in Him and Him alone. God’s word is unchanging, if we put our trust in our own hearts which are wicked, and changing, if we put our trust in our own thoughts that are also wicked and changing how can we follow the Law. We must put our trust in that which is unchanging, holy and righteous, The Word, Jesus Christ.
