What to do with the OT

Verse 17

Among the many nuances suggested for plērōsai, ‘fulfil’, the following are the main options: (a) to accomplish, obey; (b) to bring out the full meaning; (c) to complete (‘to bring to its destined end’, Davies, p. 100), by giving the final revelation of God’s will to which the Old Testament pointed forward, and which now transcends it (cf. the double meaning of Rom. 10:4, ‘Christ is the end of the law’: he both completes and transcends it). It is doubtful if any single translation or even paraphrase can do justice to plērōsai here, but (c) points in the right direction.

France, R. T. (1985). Matthew: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 1, p. 119). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

The law and the prophets is a regular Jewish name for the entire Old Testament (cf. 7:12; 22:40; Acts 24:14; 28:23; Rom. 3:21) and occurs again in 11:13, with the verb ‘prophesied’. So the whole Old Testament, the law as well as the prophets, pointed forward to what Jesus has now brought into being. His ministry brings them to full measure (cf. plēroō in 23:32), by supplying the final revelation of the will of God

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

In the background may be the Jewish expectation (based on e.g. Isa. 2:3; Jer. 31:31ff.) that the Messiah’s role would include the definitive exposition of the law, sometimes amounting virtually to the promulgation of a new law (see Davies, pp. 183–190). This complex of ideas then lies behind plērōsai: Jesus is bringing that to which the Old Testament looked forward; his teaching will transcend the Old Testament revelation, but, far from abolishing it, is itself its intended culmination.

Verse 18

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

Truly (Greek Amēn), I say to you is Jesus’ own signature: no other teacher is known to have used it. Matthew records it 31 times, John (with a double Amēn) 25 times. It serves, like the prophets’ ‘Thus says the LORD’, to mark a saying as important and authoritative.

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

till heaven and earth pass away. (Jesus’ own words will remain even longer: 24:35! But the expression is probably less a specific note of time than an idiom for something inconceivable.

Verse 19

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

19. Like the previous two verses, this one warns the disciples against altering or setting aside any part of the law, however small. (Relaxes is from the same root as abolish in v. 17, and means to ‘set aside’ or ‘teach against’ a commandment, rather than to disobey it;

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

disrespect for the Old Testament makes a poor Christian. (Least is used chiefly for its rhetorical effect echoing the least commandment, though clearly within the kingdom of heaven there are those who are more or less consistent and effective in their discipleship; the thought is of quality of discipleship, not of ultimate rewards.) The good disciple will do and teach the commandments: he will go beyond lip-service, to be guided by them in his life and teaching. Does this mean literal observance of every regulation? Not if we may judge by vv. 21–48 and e.g. Jesus’ attitude to the laws of uncleanness (15:1–20; cf. Mark 7:19). The question of interpretation and application remains open: it is the attitude of respect and obedience which is demanded, and to this no single commandment can be an exception.

Verse 20

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

This verse dispels any suspicion of legalism which v. 19 might have raised. The scribes (professional students and teachers of the law) and Pharisees (members of a largely lay movement devoted to scrupulous observance both of the Old Testament law and of the still developing legal traditions), whose obedience to ‘the least of these commandments’ could not be faulted, do not thereby qualify for the kingdom of heaven (whereas the disciple who relaxes the commandments does belong to it, though as the ‘least’). What is required is a greater righteousness (see on 3:15; 5:6, 10), a relationship of love and obedience to God which is more than a literal observance of regulations. It is such a ‘righteousness’ which fulfils the law and the prophets (v. 17), and which will be illustrated in vv. 21–48 (in contrast with the legalism of the scribes) and in 6:1–18 (in contrast with the superficial ‘piety’ of the Pharisees).

Conclusion

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary iv. Jesus’ Attitude to the Old Testament (5:17–20)

The main points of vv. 17–20 may now be paraphrased as follows:

‘17I have not come to set aside the Old Testament, but to bring the fulfilment to which it pointed. 18For no part of it can ever be set aside, but all must be fulfilled (as it is now being fulfilled in my ministry and teaching). 19So a Christian who repudiates any part of the Old Testament is an inferior Christian; the consistent Christian will be guided by the Old Testament, and will teach others accordingly. 20But a truly Christian attitude is not the legalism of the scribes and Pharisees, but a deeper commitment to do the will of God, as vv. 21ff. will illustrate.’