JESUS: THE MOSAIC OF ALL SCRIPTURE

Introduction

-{Matthew 5}—returning to our study of the Gospel of Matthew that I had put on pause for a while

-In 2018 a fire of controversy was lit in the Evangelical world when a famous megachurch pastor called for the church to unhitch itself from the Old Testament. In a sermon he said, “Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scripture, and my friends, we must as well.” He would later clarify in a statement (according to one article) “that the Old Testament should not be seen as ‘the go-to source regarding any behavior in the church.’ In his view, the first century leadership of the church ‘unhitched the church from the worldview, value system, and regulations of the Jewish Scriptures.’”

~In a book he wrote he would claim that the problem with the modern church is “our incessant habit of reaching back into the old covenant concepts, teachings, sayings, and narratives.” So, he asks church leaders: “Would you consider unhitching your teaching of what it means to follow Jesus from all things old covenant?” saying that it is necessary because “when it comes to stumbling blocks to faith, the Old Testament is right up there at the top of the list.”

-Well, as a church leader, I have an answer for him. No, I will not consider unhitching my teaching from the Old Testament, because I fully believe that ALL Scripture is inspired by God, including the Old Testament. And not only that, I believe what Jesus said about them when He confronted the religious leaders of His day and told them:

John 5:39 LSB

39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that bear witness about Me;

-This pastor has demonstrated that he doesn’t understand the inspiration of Scripture and how Scripture is to be interpreted. But most importantly, he has attempted to undermine the beliefs of the inerrancy and the authority of Scripture. By his statements he will cause doubt in people’s minds about how authoritative Scripture actually is.

-I think of the graduates that we recognized today, as they go out into colleges where they’re going to be confronted with professors and administrators who will do everything they can to undermine their trust of the Bible and cause doubt in their faith. We certainly don’t need pastors doing the same thing.

-So, what do we do with the Old Testament as Christian Scripture. In the passage that we are looking at today, Jesus makes it known that the Old Testament Scriptures are just as important for us today as when they were written. And what He tells us about them is that they testify about Jesus looking forward, just as the New Testament testifies about Him looking backwards.

-We might think of this as a mosaic. A mosaic is a picture that is produced by arranging small colored pieces of hard material like stone or tile or glass. The smaller pieces put together make the bigger picture. And that is the same with all of Scripture, including the Old Testament. The smaller pieces of Scripture put together give us a picture of Jesus.

-I want to lead us today to view all of Scripture as a united work that is still authoritative for all of our lives. This is what Jesus taught in today’s passage:

Matthew 5:17–19 LSB

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

-{pray}

-This passage is part of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus gives the values of the Kingdom of which all believers are a part. In it He shows what members of the Kingdom believe and how members of the Kingdom act and what members of the Kingdom are to value in their lives.

-And part of these values is seeing and living like all of Scripture is a united work that is authoritative in the life of the believer—interpreting the Old Testament in light of what has been revealed to us in the New Testament. But we most certainly do not unhitch the Old from the New.

-Strangely enough, this was the accusation raised by the religious leaders of the day against Jesus. They branded Him as someone who was trying to unhitch the faith from the Old Testament. And in our passage Jesus says that couldn’t be further from the truth. And He gives an explanation which then demonstrates for us how and why all of Scripture is united and authoritative for the believer. There are three lessons drawn from what Jesus says. First, Jesus points to:

1) The picture that is portrayed (v. 17)

-Jesus makes it abundantly clear in v. 17: DO NOT THINK THAT I CAME TO ABOLISH THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. The term law and prophets refers to the Old Testament. Sometimes those terms are also combined with the word PSALMS, but when you see some sort of combination of law and prophets and psalms it is talking about what we refer to as the Old Testament.

-Jesus was being accused of unhitching the faith from the Old Testament, and Jesus says not to make that claim: He is not abolishing, unhitching, or nullifying the Old Testament in any way. He was not trying to create some new religion that ignores the Mosaic law or the God-breathed words of the prophets.

-So, that means that in no way does Christianity believe in some sort of antinomianism. That is a fancy word for living without the law—you can get rid of the law / Old Testament because they have no more meaning in our day and age. Jesus says He did not come to do that.

-Then Jesus says actually what He does with the Old Testament—He didn’t come to abolish, but to fulfill. Jesus in essence is saying that every law, every prophecy, every narrative in some way shape or form points to Him and finds its completion in Him. He brings everything to its intended goal. When you take the pieces of the Old Testament and put them together in a picture, they make a mosaic of Jesus Christ.

-Jesus fulfills the law and prophets in that He gives a more complete revelation about God since He is God in the flesh. He reveals the person, nature, and character of God in a more thorough fashion, showings us that God is holy and just and loving and merciful and everything else.

-Jesus also fulfills the moral law of God in that Jesus, who was born under the law, was the only person to actually over obey the entirety of the law. The moral law must be good and just and right if Jesus believes that they should be followed.

-Jesus also fulfills the redemptive plan of God since He alone obeyed the entirety of the moral law, He was able to pay the price for those who do not—which is everybody else. Because He is spotless and blameless, He was able to die on the cross and receive the full brunt of God’s justice and wrath on behalf of those who are not spotless and blameless. That is why we harp on the exclusivity of salvation and forgiveness by Jesus alone. He’s the only morally perfect person, He alone could be our substitute.

-Jesus also fulfills the predictive prophecies of the Old Testament either through their direct words or through the types and shadows that pointed to Him, His person, and His work. For example of a direct word of prophecy, Jesus’ work on the cross was prophesied in:

Isaiah 53:5 LSB

5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.

-He was literally pierced for the sins of humanity, and He alone heals the wounds of sin and death. But then Jesus is also the antitype to the types and shadows demonstrated throughout the Old Testament. For example, think of the passover lamb in Exodus. The passover lamb was killed and its blood placed on the doorposts and death passed over that house. This points to Jesus who is the true passover lamb through whose blood/death condemnation and death passes over all who believe.

-Of course, this begs the question about how exactly do we integrate the old into the new—how do we read, interpret, and live out the Old Testament now that we are in the era of the New Testament. We most certainly do not ignore it or try to change it or unhitch from it.

-There was an old heresy in early church days from a man named Marcion. Marcion developed a theology that sought to expunge all Jewish elements from Christianity. He posited that there was a distinction between the God of the Old Testament, whom he called the Demiurge, and the Good God revealed in the New Testament. Marcion rejected the entire Old Testament and most of the New Testament, accepting only ten letters of Paul and an edited version of Luke, trying to get rid of any Old Testament influence.

-But just think of what it was he did—he got rid of most of the New Testament because it was so connected and intertwined with the Old Testament. That right there should tell us that there is no way of unhitching the Old Testament without doing major damage to the New. They all are united as one Scripture.

-But we have to take everything within its context and in light of what has been revealed in the New Testament. There is continuity and discontinuity between the two, but it is all based on what Christ fulfilled or has yet to fulfill. But since the whole of Scripture is a picture of Jesus, that means Jesus is the filter through which we look at the Old Testament. As one author stated:

Given the general pattern of the New Testament use of the Old, it seems...that, while the Old Testament provides the theological, verbal, historical, and literary background to the New Testament, it is nonetheless the case that, for the purpose of securing a Christian reading, one must finally interpret the Old Testament in light of the New Testament’s already “re-presented” interpretations of it.

-But just to be clear, this approach does not change the original meaning of Old Testament texts but rather reveals their fullest meaning in the context of Christ's revelation. So, for example, we know that the Mosaic system was full of different types of sacrifices and offerings to God: the sin offering, the burnt offering, the peace offering, etc. All of those offerings in some way pointed to Christ and His offering of Himself.

-And we are told in the book of Hebrews that all those offerings were never able to take away sin, but they pointed to the one offering that would come that could take away sin: the once-for-all offering of Jesus on the cross. So, why do we Christians not offer sacrifices anymore? Because Jesus offered the ultimate sacrifice and fulfilled the picture presented by those previous offerings.

-On the other hand, you have moral and ethical laws that are continued and upheld. The 10 commandments say what they say. And in the weeks to come we’ll see that Jesus not only upholds them, He actually gives the real spirit of those commands.

-So, trying to unhitch the Old from the New Testament is like trying to cut off the left side of your body because you still have a right side of your body. You are taking away the life of the whole and taking away the perfect picture that it portrays of a wonderful Savior. But then there is a second lesson where Jesus talks about:

2) The measure of its magnitude (v. 18)

-I mean really, how long are we to hold on to the Old Testament and how much of it really has anything to do with us? What is the measure of its magnitude over God’s people? Yes, there are some things that are specific to a nation of Israel in the Ancient Near East, an era that no longer exists. And yet, there are principles that can be found in light of Christ and the New Testament. So, Jesus wanted to make sure that His disciples understood that the Old still had a place in the era of the New.

-First, Jesus tells us exactly how long the Old Testament is good for. It says in v. 18 that nothing of the Old Testament will pass away until heaven and earth pass away. That doesn’t necessarily mean that when the current heaven and earth pass away and the new comes that we can just toss everything out. God does not change. What is true of God in Scripture will always be true of God for eternity. And yet, in the new heaven and earth we will have direct revelation of God because we will see Him face to face. So, we’ll actually be learning the fullness of Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament.

-But the point Jesus was making was that the Old Testament didn’t pass away with the coming of the New. The truth of the Word doesn’t become irrelevant over time. Just because cultures change, nations come and go, and the world becomes more of a melting pot, doesn’t somehow then mean we can do away with the Old. Just because some of the Old Testament was written about 3500 years ago doesn’t mean we get to exclude it or ignore it.

-How ridiculous it would be to say: WELL, YA KNOW, THAT WHOLE THOUGH SHALT NOT MURDER THING IS 3500 YEARS OLD, I THINK WE CAN DISPENSE WITH THAT. Nobody would say that. Then why do some try to say that God’s revelation of marriage between a man and a woman is now antiquated, so we can ignore that? No, heaven and earth would pass away before any of God’s Word would pass away.

-But then Jesus also talks about the magnitude of how much of the law is still relevant. The translation that I read said NOT THE SMALLEST LETTER OR STROKE SHALL PASS FROM THE LAW. Other versions might say JOT OR TITTLE. The first phrase refers to the smallest Hebrew letter—the yod, which looks just like an apostrophe. And the stroke or tittle or refers to a small, tiny projection on a Hebrew letter that allows you to distinguish it from another letter. If your Bible might show Hebrew letters (like before each stanza in Psalm 119), you might notice that some letters look very similar if it weren’t for just a tiny little line sticking out.

-But the point Jesus is making is that not even the smallest part of the Old Testament is to be ignored or overlooked or unhitched or abolished. Yes, there are commands that seem big and important and commands that may not seem so big, and yet the latter is as much a part of God’s Word as the former. Jesus is saying that whether big or small, every part of the Old Testament has something to say—even the smallest piece is still part of the mosaic.

-So, yes we know not to murder. But when the Old Testament says not to boil a young goat in its mother’s milk—what in the world? Who would do that anyway, and what does that have to do with me? Well, if you put some study into it, boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk was part of Canaanite fertility rituals. God was telling the Israelites not to copy the pagan/idolatrous behaviors and practices of the unbelievers. Guess what it means to us—don’t copy the pagan/idolatrous behaviors and practices of the unbelievers.

-Jesus says that not one part of the Old Testament will pass away until it is all accomplished. Some of it has been accomplished. Some is yet to be accomplished. But it is all leading to a life with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit unto eternity. But until we get there, whether big or small, the Old Testament will endure. And then Jesus gives a third and final lesson, which is:

3) The call for our conformity (v. 19)

-In v. 19 Jesus warns that anybody who would annul the least of the commandments found in Scripture will be the least in the kingdom. This is a call to obedience to the Word of God. Study the Word in its context. Know the Word in its context. Learn how it applies to you—and then do it.

-The way that Jesus frames this makes it apparent that Jesus is NOT saying that you obey in order to get into the kingdom. Often, if any pastor calls for obedience to God’s Word in any way, they are called a legalist. And someone asks, what about grace? Let’s be clear, you cannot save yourself keeping the Law. The Law exposes your sin and declares you guilty. We are told in Scripture that if you stumble in one place you are a lawbreaker. And everybody is a lawbreaker. And that is why we need the forgiveness given to us in Jesus Christ.

-However, grace doesn’t mean that we ignore the laws and commands either. The same Jesus that saved you by grace also said:

John 8:11 LSB

11 .... Go, and from now on sin no more.”]

-The Law is not a means of salvation, but it is a means of your sanctification—to lead a God-pleasing life. When you’re born again in Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 8:10 LSB

10... I will put My laws into their minds, And upon their hearts I will write them. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people.

-This is a call to a high view of the Word of God and a call to biblical fidelity. If you claim to be a person of the Word, then live by the Word.

Psalm 119:105 LSB

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

-But Jesus also gives the warning that if anybody teaches that the least of these commandments can be annulled or unhitched, then they too are least. Beware any teacher that tells you that you can ignore any part of Scripture. Beware any teacher that tells you to unhitch from any part of Scripture. There is a reason that James says:

James 3:1 LSB

1 Do not, many of you, become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment.

-If you find a preacher or teacher that is doing as much exegetical gymnastics as possible to twist Scripture to say something it doesn’t say, they aren’t heeding Jesus’ warning here.

-There was a video making the rounds lately of another megachurch pastor that did a whole lot of exegetical gymnastics to say that premarital sex actually isn’t a sin. He said:

“I am obligated as a preacher of the Word of God to preach the truth of the Bible and not to further myths, superstitions, and lies....There are very few Christians—especially Black Christians—who were introduced to the subject of sex in ways that were positive, open, honest, loving, accepting, and celebrated, and that experience, I believe, is why there is so much sexual ignorance, dysfunction, trauma, guilt, and shame in our community....The Greek word ‘fornication’ in the Bible does not refer to premarital sex....The entire context is fleeing prostitution, not fleeing premarital sex....The Bible is not saying that,....It is critiquing prostitution, the immoral and unjust sexual and economic exploitation of poor people, slaves, women, and young males who were oftentimes forced into prostitution in the first century.”

-The problem is that the testimony of all the rest of Scripture proves him wrong. Yes, all sexual sin outside of marriage is wrong, whatever form it might take. And woe to the teacher who teaches differently. WHOEVER THEN ANNULS ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE COMMANDMENTS, AND TEACHES OTHERS TO DO THE SAME, SHALL BE CALLED LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Conclusion

-Jesus didn’t annul any of the Word, He fulfilled it. That means it is still relevant today—all of it.

-If you have been relaxing God’s Word to accommodate your lifestyle, or if you know someone who has, come to the altar and pray.

-If you are looking for a church home that will not abolish or annul or unhitch any of God’s Word, consider joining us...

-But if you have not trusted the message of the entirety of Scripture, that you are a sinner separated from God but Jesus died to offer you forgiveness—He is the one pictured throughout...

-{Invitation}

-{Prayer for graduates and families}