The Law Fulfilled

Introduction

Intro- OT 1, during covid-19 and I’m on Zoom and our professor asks a question. What does Matthew 5:17-20 mean for us when it comes to the law? In other words, WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THE LAW? (Lens example)

Deacon night- 23rd, pizza with the pastor

Main Point: Jesus did not ABOLISH the Old Testament, JESUS FULFILLED the Old Testament.

Sub-Point: The OLD TESTAMENT IS A FUNDAMENTAL FOUNDATION FOR UNDERSTANDING OUR NEED FOR JESUS!

Structure- Opening statement (vs. 17-18), WHAT THIS MEANS- vs. 19, HOW SALVATION IS IMPACTED- vs. 20

Body

As we start off today, we are going from Jesus telling us HOW TO LIVE to now JESUS TELLING US ABOUT HIS ROLE!

See, in verses 13-16, Jesus tells us that WE ARE TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! Jesus told us OUR PURPOSE, OUR ROLE, OUR JOB!

Now in verses 17-20, Jesus tells us WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE HAS DONE!

Matthew 5:17

Matthew 5:17 CSB

17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

Jesus makes a very clear statement about WHO HE IS in verse 17.

JESUS IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW and the PROPHETS!

And Jesus also is making HIS PURPOSE CLEAR!

His purpose is to FULFILL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS!

The statement is simple, but WHAT DOES THIS MEAN.

That’s really the MEAT OF OUR MESSAGE TODAY!

See, you might hear someone say- “Well, as a Christian you pick and choose what you obey.” And then, they’ll inevitably cite an obscure verse from Leviticus and you’re left thinking- “Yeah, we don’t do that, but why don’t we?”

Well, we don’t because of what JESUS IS TEACHING IN VERSES 17-20!

And to start simply, we need to establish this- JESUS DID NOT ABOLISH, or end the law and the prophets.

Here’s what that means- Jesus did not come to “unhitch” us from the Old Testament, or to make the OT pointless!

When I was in college a famous pastor made that claim. He made a big deal out of whether or not we even needed the Old Testament because as he put it, “Peter, James and Paul elected to unhitch Christian faith from the Jewish scriptures.”

Here is the problem. A- the early church never did that. In fact, we know the opposite. Peter, James, Paul, Stephen and Philip all teach VERY CLEARLY FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES! Philip for instance teaches the Ethiopian Eunuch from ISAIAH 53- part of the so-called Jewish scriptures. So let’s be clear- this statement is false in practice.

But secondly, and I would say MORE IMPORTANTLY, is that this statement is antithetical to what JESUS HIMSELF SAID!

Jesus did not come to ABOLISH THE LAW OR THE PROPHETS- instead HE CAME TO FULFILL!

Therefore, we should not “UNHITCH OUR FAITH,” but instead, I want to argue today that we should approach the OLD TESTAMENT WITH A NEW LENS!

Because, the Prophets and the law show us so much more than just some rules that we should live by.

Let’s consider the law for a minute now. The law is built to show us our sin.

This isn’t just Daniel’s thought- Romans 3:20, Romans 7 (Consider the war that is being waged at the end of Romans 7- this is a war between the FLESH and JESUS! It is a war that we understand BECAUSE OF THE LAW)

Romans 3:20 CSB

20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.

Romans 7:7 CSB

7 What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! But, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

See, the law points out our sin! In other words, the law shows us OUR NEED! Every human is fundamentally facing the same NEED!

WE ALL NEED A SAVIOR! AND THE LAW SHOWS US THAT!

The law also was instituted to protect the Israelites. We could almost think about it as guard rails. It was established by GOD TO GUIDE THE ISRAELITES!

And even for us, there is use and purpose- that we’ll talk about in a minute.

The second part of this is the prophets. We could look at Isaiah as an example of a FORETELLING PROPHET He had a ministry of FORETELLING, or passing along what GOD WAS GOING TO DO IN THE FUTURE!

Let’s consider this together. Consider Isaiah 53 with me as an example- this is a FORETELLING prophet’s writing. Isaiah 53:7-8

Isaiah 53:7–8 CSB

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion.

That’s the prophets teaching! And do you know what we see in this? We see PROMISES AND PROPHECIES ABOUT OUR COMING SAVIOR!

And that’s just one example. But that’s the point Jesus is making. He didn’t come to abolish the prophets and the law, He came to FULFILL THEM!

The law and the prophets writing was designed to show us something. It shows us how we are SINNERS IN NEED OF SOMETHING GREATER- THE PERFECT SAVIOR!

But that wasn’t the only type of prophet. There were also prophets like Haggai, or like Nathan who CALLED OUT SIN! THYE WERE FORTHTELLING PROPHETS!

Forthtelling prophets called out sin and declared that ISRAEL NEEDED TO FOLLOW GOD!

And Jesus came with something very similar. Listen to Mark’s summary of Jesus’s teaching in Mark 1:15

Mark 1:15 CSB

15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

That’s a FORTHTELLING PROPHECY!

It calls out OUR NEED and challenges us to put our faith in JESUS AND TO FOLLOW HIM! It challenges us to put our faith in JESUS AND TO FOLLOW HIM!

But we can’t miss this- Jesus didn’t just come talking about salvation, JESUS CAME BRINGING SALVATION!

JESUS FULFILLED THE PROPHETS AND THE LAW AND JESUS SAVED US!

This was only possible because Jesus was TOTALLY SINLESS!

Matthew 5:18

Matthew 5:18 CSB

18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.

Now as Jesus continues to speak, HE GIVES A REASSURANCE AND A PROOF OF WHAT IS TO COME.

Jesus tells the crowd that NOTHING WILL PASS AWAY FROM THE LAW- or we could understand this to be SCRIPTURE- until THE END OF TIME!

Until all believers are united with GOD IN HEAVEN THERE WILL BE NO LETTER THAT WILL PASS AWAY- quite literally, scripture will remain the same!

Scripture will not change over time, it will not evolve, it will not differ.

Jesus says “smallest letter or one stroke of a letter.”

Jesus is specifically referring to a letter called an iota. An iota was the smallest Greek letter and often times it was written UNDERNEATH OTHER LETTERS!

Can I tell you the significance of this?

JESUS IS SHOWING US THAT GOD’S WORD IS RELIABLE!

GOD’S WORD IS TRUSTWORTHY!

And not only that, GOD IS RELIABLE AND GOD IS TRUSTWORTHY.

Friends, GOD IS NOT EVER GOING TO OVERLOOK ANYTHING.

Let me apply this. Do you ever find yourself thinking, “WHERE IS GOD RIGHT NOW?”

Well, let me reassure you of something- God is listening and God is THERE FOR YOU IN THAT TIME! GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU AT ALL!

Friends- let me also make this clear- YOU CAN COUNT ON GOD’S WORD! IT IS NEVER GOING TO CHANGE! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!

Matthew 5:19

In Matthew 5:19 Jesus switches gears a little bit. He goes from telling us WHO HE IS TO NOW TALKING ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS FOR US!

WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THE LAW? WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THESE DIFFERENT THINGS?

Matthew 5:19 CSB

19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus gives us a challenge. It’s really simple- if you abandon scripture, if you teach others to do that, if you ARE PURPOSEFULLY LEADING PEOPLE INTO SIN, THEN LOOK OUT!

On the other hand- if you follow scripture, if you OBEY GOD, if you TEACH OTHERS TO DO THE SAME, then YOU WILL BE BLESSED!

Listen- it’s this simple. At all times in life we are making disciples of the people around us. The question is, how are we discipling them.

Either we are discipling someone to help them GROW CLOSER TO GOD, or we are discipling them to BE MORE LIKE THE WORLD.

Let me give you this as an example- it fees fitting on Super Bowl Sunday. When I was growing up, I used to watch Lions games with my Dad, my Grandpa’s and my uncle.

Over time, I learned to love the Lions. And I learned to suffer through losing season after losing season. I didn’t grow up being taught to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan, or a Jacksonville Jaguars fan.

This is a pretty harmless thing obviously. But, my point is this- I was TAUGHT HOW TO SEE THE WORLD of the NFL! I was taught to not be surprised when the best WR in the league retired instead of playing for us anymore, or when Rob Gronkowski retired to avoid becoming a lion. My VIEW of the NFL was shaped by the people who POURED INTO ME!

In the same way- when I was in KC watching the chiefs every sunday with friends from church who were diehard chiefs fans, I began to root for the chiefs!

And this same idea is true for how we raise children and how we influence the people around us.

Either we influence them and point them towards JESUS, or we point them AWAY FROM JESUS! Either we help the people around us SEE JESUS, or we help them see WHAT NOT TO DO!

I know it sounds reductionistic and overly black and white, but it’s that simple. 2 Timothy 4:3 is a famous verse that really is talking about just this!

2 Timothy 4:3 CSB

3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.

See, Paul is fundamentally saying that people will ABANDON truth! They will ABANDON GOD’s TEACHING!

And that’s what JESUS IS WARNING ABOUT!

If I could challenge you with one thing- GUARD YOURSELF! KNOW TRUTH!

And as we know truth, we need to understand how to look at TRUTH!

There’s a word in theology- it’s HERMENEUTICS. It’s about how we LOOK AT SCRIPTURE AND STUDY SCRIPTURE!

And it’s important to understanding what Jesus is saying in this passage. See, we fundamentally have to answer the question- HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW?

A helpful way to look at this is glasses. Before I got glasses, i thought that the world was perfectly clear.

Then, I put glasses on and immediately I said, “I CAN SEE AGAIN!”

See, the lenses had changed how I saw the world.

And the same thing is true with the law.

The law is how the Israelites saw the world under the Old Covenant.

But now we approach the law with a NEW LENS!

We approach the law with the LENS OF JESUS!

So when we read through Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, even the back half of Exodus, do it through the LENS OF JESUS!

Here’s how you do that- as you read the books of law, ask yourself this question- “How does knowing Jesus impact this law?”

Fro some laws- like laws about sexual immorality, the answer is simple- FLEE FROM SIN! STAY PURE!

For other laws, like laws about sacrifices, the answer is- WE CAN REJOICE BECAUSE JESUS HAS PAID THE PRICE!

See- we no longer need to offer sacrifices because JESUS IS OUR ONLY SACRIFICE AND HAS FULFILLED THAT PART OF THE LAW!

Let me summarize verses 18-19 like this.

JESUS HAS FULFILLED THE LAW and if you point people to Jesus, then WELL DONE HIS GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT!

But, on the other hand, if you are leading people into sin and away from Jesus, then WOE TO YOU! REPENT!

We could say it like this- verse 19 is a WARNING! IT’s a warning to FOLLOW GOD AND IT IS A CALL TO LIVE A RIGHTEOUS LIFE WHERE WE FOLLOW JESUS AND THROW OFF SIN!

Matthew 5:20

Matthew 5:20 CSB

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus ends with one of my favorite statements from all of the Sermon on the Mount. See- Matthew 5:20 shows us HOW WELL Jesus knows the people He is preaching to.

To put this another way- we see that JESUS IS INVESTED IN THESE PEOPLE! HE LOVES THE PEOPLE HE PREACHES TO AND THAT IS FUNDAMENTAL FOR US AS WE MINISTER! WE MUST LOVE THE PEOPLE WE MINISTER TO!

For the people of Israel, the scribes and the Pharisees seem like the most HOLY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!

Understand- as the priesthood was profaned and was sold for political purposes and as the Israelites were scattered, the pharisees, scribes, and another group called the Sadduccees became the leaders of the Jewish people.

They were the ones who taught scripture, they led the people to God, or at least that was the goal.

But over time the Pharisees and Scribes became filled with self-serving pride.

The big secret? They weren’t actually holy. They were sinners just like everyone else. And Jesus calls that out.

UNLESS YOU ARE MORE HOLY THEN THE PHARISEES YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED!

And Jesus is making a very important point- see, Jesus is saying that WE WILL NEVER BE HOLY ENOUGH TO SAVE OURSELVES!

The law shows us our sin (HEAR THAT THIS MORNING! THE LAW AND THE OT SHOW US OUR NEED FOR A SAVIOR!) like we saw in Romans and then we need a savior! James 2:10 says something very similar:

James 2:10 CSB

10 For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.

Each one of these Pharisees and scribes stumbled at some point! That meant that they could not save themselves.

But there is a way to be HOLIER AND MORE RIGHTEOUS THAN THE SCRIBES AND THE PHARISEES.

The way is really simple actually.

And it is our first application point today: JESUS HAS FULFILLED THE LAW FOR US!

Application

Jesus has fulfilled the Law for us

GOSPEL!

What is the OT PURPOSE? (SHOW US OUR NEED FOR JESUS!)

REPENT AND BELIEVE TODAY!

We need to train people to obey God

One of the most clear focuses of this passage is without a doubt the importance of how we TRAIN PEOPLE!

Think about verse 19. Matthew 5:19

Matthew 5:19 CSB

19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

This verse is talking about HOW WE DIRECT PEOPLE!

Do we DIRECT PEOPLE TO GOD, or do we DIRECT PEOPLE AWAY FROM GOD!

And so today, that’s what I want to end our time together talking about.

Specifically, I want us to consider something that we looked at last week.

You might remember that last week we talked about 4 things we can do to help people come to know Jesus.

We said we could: INVEST, INVITE, INVOLVE, IGNITE!

And last week we spent some time talking about how we could INVEST IN PEOPLE TO EARN THE RIGHT TO INVITE THEM!

In other words, how we can CARE FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND US!

Then we said that we can INVITE PEOPLE INTO OUR LIVES AND TO CHURCH!

This week, I want to emphasize this “Involve” step.

Involve

Involving is really all about HELPING PEOPLE GROW CLOSER TO GOD!

And I want to challenge us with something very true- we will NEVER MAKE SOMEONE CLOSER TO GOD! That isn’t our job. But, we ARE called to help point people in that direction.

And like we said earlier today, either we are pointing people to God- or discipling someone to be closer to God- or we are discipling someone for the WORLD!

Those are our two options.

When we talk about INVOLVING SOMEONE, we are talking about helping them grow closer to God!

And so there are 3 ways this morning that I want us to consider how we can INVOLVE SOMEONE TO LIVE OUT VERSE 19!

Community Groups (BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU!)

Sunday Morning’s: (we can share the importance of going to Church- not as legalism, but as what it is- a DISCIPLESHIP OPPORTUNITY- it’s RELATIONAL AND CAUSAL)

Individual Discipleship: Do you remember how I challenged us to INVITE PEOPLE INTO OUR LIVES? We can INVOLVE PEOPLE in our walk with God by BRINGING THEM WITH US!

(Explain discipleship- get together, share life, BE IN GOD’S WORD TOGETHER- INCLUDING THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT shows us WHY WE NEED JESUS!! ALL THE TIME, POINT PEOPLE TO JESUS AND TO FOLLOWING JESUS!)

(Discipleship is FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE KNOW JESUS AND HELPING THEM HELP OTHERS! IT’S ABOUT MULTIPLICATION!)

Verse 19- this is POINTING PEOPLE TO FOLLOW GOD RATHER THAN SIN!

(Discipleship- this is an INVOLVE- mention that we invest, invite, INVOLVE- This also involves MULTIPLYING DISCIPLEMAKERS)

We need to MULITPLY DISCIPLEMAKERS (THIS IS OUR GO- we train people to obey God and then we need to also train them to TRAIN OTHERS)