S.O.T.M. Christ and the Old Testament [Matthew 5:17-20]

So we come to a new section in the sermon on the mount today and we will be in these few verses for a few weeks because of the immense content therein. Ultimately we are going to learn what Jesus believed about the bible…namely the Old Testament because the NT had not been written yet. So this is very important in a day when many Christians don’t know what to believe about the Old Testament. Is the OT binding on the Christian? If so how much is binding? Is the OT relevant to the Christian? Should we even read and study the OT? If so why? All these are very good questions and questions I have heard from believers uncertain how the Old and New Testament go together in the age in which we live. All of these I’ll attempt to answer, that’s why we’ll be in this section for a few weeks, because it’s going to take a little time to answer those questions without overwhelming you. So get ready as we dive into another remarkable section of this amazing sermon by our Lord.

Stand for the reading of the word of God [Matthew 5:17-20]

Up to this point in the sermon on the mount our Lord has told what a Christian is in the Beatitudes, that is the mark of what we are in Christ, poor in spirit, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, etc. that is the mark of kingdom children. Then after telling us what kingdom children look like he goes into what those kingdom children’s function in the world is… to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. So i.e. our Lord says in essence, ‘this is what you are as a child of God in Christ, the beatitudes, what you are to do then is reflect what you are in the world in which you live.’ It’s like the parent saying to the child who is going to a party, “as you go to this party with all it’s influences and pressures that will surround you..remember who you are and reflect that to the honor of your family.”

As Christians in the world, and we are in the world though not of the world, we are to remember who we are in Christ Jesus and reflect that, manifest those characteristics of kingdom children to the glory of God. Ultimately that’s the deal, we are Christians because of what Christ has done for us and we reflect those characteristics of Jesus followers to bring glory to God for what He has done. So, naturally the question then arises…how do we do this? The answer can be put like this: we are to live a life of righteousness. There is one word that sums up Christian living, ‘righteousness’. And the theme of the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount is in many ways just that, the kind of life of righteousness which the Christian is to live.

What is this righteousness which we have to manifest, what is its character? That’s what we get in the rest of the sermon. Verses 17 to 20 in this fifth chapter are a kind of general introduction to that subject. Here our Lord introduces this whole question of righteousness and the righteous life which are to characterize the Christian. You’ll notice His method. Before He comes to the details, He lays down certain general principles. He has an introduction before He really begins to explain and expound His subject.

It is always vital to start with principles. The people who go wrong in practice are always those who are not sure of their principles. It seems to me that this is most vital today. We live in a day where man is so lost in details that he often forgets principles. Most of the breakdown in life today is due to the fact that certain basic principles have been forgotten. If all men, believers or not, lived according to godly principles how different would our world look?

So before Jesus gets into the practice of hatred, adultery, what marriage looks like, etc. He lays down two basic principles that we’ll develop over the next few weeks.

The first, in verse 17-18, He says that everything He is going to teach is in absolute harmony with the entire teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. There is nothing in Jesus’ teaching which in any way contradicts them.

The second, in verses 19-20, is that this teaching of His which is in such harmony with the Old Testament is in complete disharmony with, and an utter contradiction of, the teaching of the Pharisees and scribes of the day.

Those are the two great principles our Lord introduces and we must understand them in order to truly grasp the gospels and the record of our Lord’s life. This is why there was such antagonism towards Jesus by the religious leaders…they didn’t get these two basic principles. Our Lord Jesus was not just content on just stating His doctrine, he also criticized the doctrine of the religious leaders of His day which had reduced the word of God to a lower standard. So not only did Jesus bring to light the scriptures, he exposed the false teachings of His day that were popular. This is very relevant for us today, as we live in a day with an enormous amount of resources and teachings on the bible…but some of it is absolute trash.

This idea that just because something is labeled ‘Christian’ that we just look past the faults in it and pull together and just all get along is dangerous and irresponsible. Just because something is called Christian doesn’t mean we should not expose it if there is corruptness or errors in it, Jesus did. We must be like the Bereans of Acts 17 searching the scripture to make sure something is true. I say it all the time, don’t just take my word for it…search the scripture to see if what I say is true.

So, why does the Lord insert this section on the OT here? In short there had been a exodus from the true understanding of the Law of God [OT] the religious leaders of Jesus day had developed this elaborate system of rules and regulations of keeping their oral traditions…which were no longer the true word of God or the law of God…they were ideas of man. So they had in essence lowered the standard of the law of God, which we are unable to keep, to a level where man could keep them, sort of, it had become an outward working religion as opposed to an inward reality wrought by God. So right from the get go Jesus comes in and says, “you all have lowered the law of God to a corrupt level…I have come to raise it up back to where it should be.”

But, Jesus didn’t behave in a way the religious leaders of his day thought a righteous man should live. Instead of hounding a bunch of rules to further burden already burdened people, he preached repentance and grace and the love of God. Which was totally different from any of his contemporaries who preached rules and regulations. While the religious leaders were concerned with the outside Jesus was concerned with the inside. Jesus didn’t just seem to not observe all the rules and regulations; He actually seemed to be deliberately breaking them. Mixing with publicans, tax collectors, the sick, eating and spending all his time with sinners.

So the question that arose in that day was… did this Jesus, did this new teacher believe the Holy Writings? The Scribes and Pharisees claimed to be the keepers of the Holy Scriptures, yet Jesus came onto the scene and turned the whole religious system on its head....was he denouncing the law of God? Was he showing some new way of pleasing God? Was he turning his back on the past? Those were the questions…but we know the answer was NO! Not at all. That’s why he proclaimed… “think not that I have come to destroy the law and the prophets…I’ve come to fulfill them.”

This is just as important for us to understand today as well, as I stated earlier, with all the misunderstanding of the OT scriptures and how the Christian is to handle them and what is the Christian is to do with them. I heard popular teacher of today Andy Stanley said, just last year, “the Christian must unhinge from the OT.” I don’t know what he bases that on but we see Christ didn’t come to do away with the law…but to fulfill it. We will take that up next week, the fulfilling of the law, in more detail. Today I want to just more or less define some things so we fully understand what’s going on.

What is meant by “the law and the prophets”?

The answer is, the whole of the Old Testament. Whenever you see in the New Testament the term “law,” “law of God,” “law and prophets,” “Scriptures,” or, “Word of God,” they are synonyms for the Old Testament, in most cases. Unless the context gives you a narrower definition, the term “law and the prophets,” “Scriptures,” “law,” “Word of God” those terms refer to the whole Old Testament.

In Luke chapter 16, and verse 16, I’ll show you three passages in Luke: 16:16, “The law and the prophets were until John,” He says. “Since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone presseth into it.” In other words, He says, “The law and the prophets continued till John. But when John came, he preached the kingdom.” And, of course, Jesus himself was the one who fulfilled that kingdom.

Further on, Luke even gives you more insight in a more direct statement in chapter 24, verse 27. This is a great statement. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets,” – here we are with the law and the prophets again – “He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures.”

Notice this, people. The law of Moses and the prophets equal the Scriptures. Do you see it in that verse? The law of Moses and the prophets equal the Scriptures. “Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning” – whom? – “Himself.” Who is the theme of the prophets? Jesus is. Who is the theme of Moses? Jesus is. Who is the theme of the Scripture? Jesus is.

And over later on in verse 44, “He said unto them,” – Luke 24:44 – ‘These are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,” – listen, nothing set aside – “all things fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets, and in the writings concerning” – whom? – “Me.” You see it? Jesus is the fulfillment of it all. That’s what He’s saying in Matthew 5:17.

Tremendous concept, people, if you can just grasp this it’ll really open up the scripture to you. Every single thing in the Old Testament points to Christ. And so Jesus is saying, “Look, I know what you’re thinking. I know you’re thinking I’m going to set this law aside. I’m not. I’m going to lift it up higher than it is today, and I’m going to reveal the hypocrites. You’re thinking that I’m going to put it all away, and we’re not going to have any of this hassle anymore, and we can just be free and easy, and it’ll all be wonderful. I’m telling you, God’s standard hasn’t changed. No part of the sacred Scripture will ever be destroyed or annulled. It will be fulfilled, and I Myself will fulfill it.” Tremendous statement folks. Let’s break it down a little bit.

What is meant by “the Law”?

Well it means the entire law of God…now the law of God can be broken down into three categories, the moral law, the judicial law, and the ceremonial law. What are those?

The moral law consists of the 10 commandments. These great principles were laid down once forever. We are stilled bound by the moral law of God. Even society acknowledges these laws, well some of them anyway, there are laws against murder and stealing and such. But the more a society turns from God and His absolute authority over life the more society stumbles to define absolute morality. This is why you see the absolute perversion of our society…without an absolute moral compass you’ll never be absolutely sure what morality is, so people will just keep redefining what morality is according to what makes man feel good, everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Not to get side tracked by that.

Second, the Judicial Law was the legislative law given for the nation Israel. This was given to the nation of Israel in its peculiar circumstances at that time, which indicated how men were to order their behaviour in relationship to others and the various things they were and were not to do.

Finally, the ceremonial law was the offerings and sacrifices and rituals connected to worship. All the offerings, sacrifices, rituals, feasts etc. you find in the books of Exodus and Leviticus which connected worship in the temple and elsewhere. So when Jesus refers to ‘the law’ He’s referring to all of these things. We must remember also that the law includes everything that is taught by the various types, the different offerings and all the details that are given concerning them in the Old Testament. Many Christian people say that they find the books of Exodus and Leviticus so boring. ‘Why all this detail’, they ask, ‘about the meal and the salt and all these various other things?’ Well, all these are just types, and they are all prophecy, in their way, of what was done perfectly once and for ever by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So when we talk of the law we must remember that all this is included, moral, judicial, ceremonial. Not only the positive, direct teaching of these books and their injunctions on how life should be lived; but also all that they suggest and foretell with regard to what was to come. The law, then, must be taken in its entirety.

What was meant by “The Prophets”?

All that we have from the prophetic books of the Old Testament. Now this is not just the major and minor prophets, i.e. Isaiah-Malachi…remember there is much prophecy throughout the entire OT. For example if you look at Psalm 22 you’ll see the most detailed description of the crucifixion in the whole bible, but I thought the Psalms were just a bunch of poetry, there’s a lot of prophetic writings in the Psalms as well in all the OT.

There are two main aspects prophets. The prophets actually taught the law, and they applied and interpreted it. They went to the nation and told them that the trouble with them was that they were not keeping God’s law, their main endeavour being to call the people back to a true understanding of it. To this end they caused it to be read again and expounded. But, in addition, they did foretell the coming of the Messiah. They were ‘forth-tellers’, of the law of God, but at the same time they were foretellers of the Messiah of God. Both aspects are included in the prophetic message

What is meant by the term “fulfill”?

There has been a great deal of confusion with regard to its meaning, so we must point out at once that it does not mean to complete, to finish; it does not mean to add to something that has already begun. This popular interpretation is an entire misunderstanding of the word. It has been said that the Old Testament began a certain teaching and that it carried on so far and up to a point. Then our Lord came and carried it a stage further, rounding it off and fulfilling it, as it were. That is not the true interpretation. The real meaning of the word ‘fulfil’ is to carry out, to fulfil in the sense of giving full obedience to it, literally carrying out everything that has been said and stated in the law and in the prophets. So with those definitions in mind...

What is our Lord teaching us?

The first proposition is that God’s law is absolute; it can never be changed, not even modified to the slightest extent. It is absolute and eternal. Its demands are permanent, and can never be abrogated or reduced ‘till heaven and earth pass’. That last expression means the end of the age. Heaven and earth are signs of permanence. While they are there, says our Lord, nothing shall pass away, not even a jot or a tittle. There is nothing smaller than these, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet and the smallest point in the smallest letter. A ‘jot’ referred to the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, the ‘tittle’ referred to the smallest stroke of a letter, similar to our difference between the C and the G or the O and the Q.The point is Heaven and earth shall not pass away until every minute detail shall be absolutely and entirely fulfilled.

Jesus believed every part every jot and tittle. The law that God has laid down, and which you can read in the Old Testament, and everything that has been said by the prophets, is going to be fulfilled down to the minutest detail, and it will hold and stand until this absolute fulfilment has been entirely carried out. I do not think I need emphasize the vital importance of that any further.

Our Lord Jesus Christ in these two verses confirms the whole of the Old Testament. He puts His seal of authority upon the whole of the Old Testament canon, the whole of the law and the prophets. Read these four Gospels, and watch His quotations from the Old Testament. You can come to one conclusion only, namely, that He believed it all and not only certain parts of it! He quoted almost every part of it. To the Lord Jesus Christ the Old Testament was the Word of God; it was Scripture; it was something absolutely unique and apart; it had authority which nothing else has ever possessed nor can possess. Here, then, is a vital statement with regard to this whole matter of the authority of the Old Testament.

Our Lord is saying He has not come to destroy, or indeed to modify even to the slightest extent, the teaching of the law or the prophets. He has come, He tells us, rather to fulfil and to carry them out, and to give them a perfect obedience. There, we see the central claim which is made by our Lord. It is, in other words, that all the law and all the prophets point to Him and will be fulfilled in Him down to the smallest detail. Everything that is in the law and the prophets culminates in Christ, and He is the fulfilment of them. Everything in the OT, according to Jesus, is the word of God and it all points to HIM!

If the Jews of Jesus day would have been in tune they would have known that this is the one in which the OT is speaking of. Just think of the Old Testament its all about Jesus; and listen to this as I share it with you.

In Genesis, He is the seed of the woman.

In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb.

In Leviticus, He is the High Priest.

In Numbers, He is the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.

In Deuteronomy, He is the Prophet like unto Moses.

In Joshua, He is the Captain of our salvation.

In Judges, He is the Judge and Lawgiver.

In Ruth, He is the Kinsman Redeemer.

In 1 and 2 Samuel, He is the trusted Prophet.

In Kings and Chronicles, He is the reigning King.

In Ezra, He is the faithful scribe.

In Nehemiah, He is the builder of the broken wall.

In Esther, He is the Mordecai.

In Job, He is the ever-living Redeemer.

In Psalms, He is the Lord our Shepherd.

In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, He is true wisdom.

In Song of Solomon, He is the real lover and Bridegroom.

In Isaiah, He is the Prince of Peace.

In Jeremiah and Lamentations, He is the weeping Prophet.

In Ezekiel, He is the wonderful four-faced man.

In Daniel, He is the fourth man in the fiery furnace.

In Hosea, He is the eternal husband, forever married to the backslider.

In Joel, He is the baptizer with the Holy Spirit.

In Amos, He is the burden-bearer.

In Obadiah, He is the Savior.

In Jonah, He is the great foreign missionary.

In Micah, He’s the messenger with beautiful feet.

In Nahum, He is the avenger.

In Habakkuk, He is God’s evangelist pleading for revival.

In Zephaniah, He’s the Lord, mighty to save.

In Haggai, He is the restorer of the lost heritage.

In Zechariah, He’s the fountain opened in the house of David for sin and for cleansing.

In Malachi, He’s the sun of righteousness, arising with healing in His wings.

Jesus is the theme of the Old Testament; every bit of it is His story and he came to carry it out and fulfill every bit of it. The moment you begin to question the authority of the Old Testament, you are of necessity questioning the authority of the Son of God Himself, and you will find yourself in endless trouble and difficulty. So we must be careful what we say about the scriptures…all the scriptures..because they are all, from Genesis to Revelation, about Christ our Lord.

What you believe about Jesus will ultimately influence what you believe about the bible..the living word [Jesus] and the written word [bible] go hand in hand. Let us take great care then that we are indeed people of the book.