The Gospel of Matthew 5:17-20

¹⁷ “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. ¹⁹ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, 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. ²⁰ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Vs. 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

 If Jesus’ disciples (or anyone else) thinks Christ was going to destroy the Law or the Prophets they are totally mistaken. For the Lord Jesus Christ did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Therefore the everlasting morality that is contained within God’s Word does not and will not change, for it will be by God’s Word that the Lord Jesus Christ will judge the world. The question is then what does? In essence our relationship with God does not now come by our keeping the Law, rather by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who has fulfilled the Law for us. Therefore it is only by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect obedience to the Law and all its requirements that we now have a justified standing with God. For no one can keep the Law unto eternal life, (not Moses, not David, no one can, or ever has) and even if they could their own sinful condition (which we all inherit from Adam) would utterly disqualify them from being justified by God by their own persons, works, or righteousness. Therefore through the Law the Scripture clearly reveals the sinful condition of us all, and our own inabilities to keep it, so that we all might come to Christ who by His own sinless Person and Life and then by His own Death on the cross and Resurrection from the grave has not only fulfilled but He has also satisfied all of the judicial requirements of it, having paid the death penalty that the Law requires for all our sins and transgressions against it. Therefore it is only by our placing our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’s Person Crucified and Risen from the dead that we have remission of all our sins and everlasting life (John 3:15-16; Acts 4:12; Rom. 3:19-28; 4:4-5; 5:1; 6:14; 7:1-6; 10:3-4; 9-10, 13; Gal. 2:16, 19-21; 3:10-14, 19-25, 4:21-31, 5:1-4; Eph. 2:8-9 etc.). Therefore it was paramount that the Lord Jesus Christ uphold the Law and not diminish even the tiniest part of it, because it is by His own obedience to the Will of God the Father through the Law and Prophets that we now have His own Righteousness imputed to us the moment we believe and trust in Him, which then also immediately brings our receiving new birth and Spirit life and thus our having a justified standing before God forever (2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:13-14).

Vs. 18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

The importance THEN OF EVEN THE SMALLEST STROKE OR THE TINEST MARK OF A LETTER IN THE LAW is not to be lost on anyone. For as Jesus says not one jot or tittle will pass from the law until all is fulfilled. That said the Law does have an end in that our relationship with God is not now through it (Heb. 8:13), but only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our keeping His commandments, which He has given us both directly and through His chosen Biblical Apostles, all which are found in the N.T. and the Old.

Vs. 19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, 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.”

 

Therefore Jesus’ forewarning here is so that His disciples will now take to heart all that He is about to teach us. Now regarding this Jesus says that “…whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so will be least in the Kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The supreme importance then of our keeping Christ’s commandments and teaching all to do so is an ever present need and reality in every generation, because as societies and cultures degenerate and change their moral values and perspective of God and His Pre-eminence as Creator of all and Lord over all, we must not then let them dictate our moral conscience, or our faith In Christ by their godless values and degenerate ideas which only deny God above (Rom 1:5). Therefore though we live in this world, we must not be conformed to this world, if we want to continue on as Christ’s disciples, bearing His light which shines the hope of the Gospel of God in every recess of the world and earth.

 

Vs. 20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Jesus warning here is against all forms of religious hypocrisy that can infect and deceive anyone who looks to “religion” and trusts in their own observance of it, and not to Christ, for salvation from sin and death and ultimately the transformation of their persons. For though Bible based religion has a purpose in presenting and revealing God to people, all the Old Covenant ordinances were only in force until the Lord Jesus Christ came (Luke 16:16), who by His Crucifixion death and Resurrection from the dead has now fulfilled the Law and having fulfilled the Law He has ushered in the New Covenant by which we now have our relationship to God. And so sadly it is often through mans religious ordinances that they heap up on themselves, in mistakenly thinking that they will appease God in doing so, that people keep all kinds man made commandants and decrees about not eating this, or wearing this or not wearing that, or observing this day or that etc., (which may or may not be based on decrees in the Bible) but none of which is of any value against the sinful passions of the flesh, which is the true enemy of our souls (Matt. 5:29-30; Col. 2:20-23; Titus 1:14-16). For observance of manmade commands and decrees as the Pharisees so clearly reveal will only lead you to upholding those worthless things while denying the weightier matters in God's eyes (consider Matt. 23:23-36; Luke 11:39-44 etc.). And that is what the Jesus Christ is warning us all about here, living by "religion" and not by true and transforming faith in God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore beware of the doctrines and commandments of men all which only leads to spiritual bondage (Matt. 16:5-12), and will not bring to you the abundant life of Christ within you, which transforms the soul and fills the heart with Godly passions and desires for good, and doing the same (John 10:7-10). Now the scribes and the Pharisees are perfect examples of that grave error, who make the observance of all of their own self imposed religious statutes, decrees and ideals the basis of their own, or anyone else’s having a right standing with God. Yet in observing all that stuff it did not transform them or anyone else, but only leads one to becoming angry, embittered, and often living hypocritically. And so the scribes and Pharisees though looking very religious on the outside own hearts and lives were often filled with all manner of covetousness, wickedness, and even violence (Matt. 12:9-14; Luke 16:14-18). Which is why Jesus said of them, and all like them who think they are worshiping and serving God when they observe the commands and decrees of men, but are only doing and justifying those things which are a clear violation of God’s commandments: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. ⁹ And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” ^{Matt. 15:8-9} Therefore Jesus strictly warns us all not to be like them, or follow them, because following their ways only leads one to despising others and trusting in oneself, and not God who justifies the ungodly, who see their own sinfulness before Him and repent and believe in God’s Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Luke 18:9-14; Rom. 4:4-5; Titus 2:11-14). Therefore we who believe (and thus have been redeemed from all our sins and transgressions) are to pursue righteous, Godliness and faith, not “religion”, with all who call upon God out of a pure heart. Now this we do by Keeping Christ’s commandments and abiding in His Word which alone brings liberty and life to all who believe in and obey the truth, God’s truth, Christ’s Word.

 

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.