introduction
NOT TO DESTROY BUT TO FULFIL
‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’ Matthew 5:17
After finishing up His comments on the beatitudes and the importance of His disciples using their influence for good, Jesus begins a lengthy section of discourse on the principles of righteousness. This general theme spans from Matthew 5:17-7:12.
This verse is a preface for the rest of the chapter. It was intended to prevent a misunderstanding of the things Jesus was about to say. Our Lord plainly affirmed that His purpose in coming to Earth was not to destroy ‘but to fulfil’, Romans 8:4.
Spurgeon, in his commentary, says the following.
‘To show that he never meant to abrogate the law, our Lord Jesus has embodied all its commands in his own life. In his own person there was a nature which was perfectly conformed to the law of God; and as was his nature such was his life.’
To destroy the law would have been to tear it down or demolish it, Jesus didn’t come to do that. He came to fulfil the Old Testament prophetically and typically, Romans 10:4 / Galatians 3:23-25 / Luke 24:44.
A major purpose of the law was to bring the Hebrew people to Jesus, that is, to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah, Galatians 3:24-25. That purpose would not be accomplished if Jesus destroyed the law.
‘For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.’ Matthew 5:18
Jesus basically says, it would be easier for the universe to disappear than for the love of God not to complete it’s mission. Jesus’ meaning is this, the law of Moses will be in force and nothing will be removed from it, 1. until all is fulfilled or 2. until the world ends.
Jesus refers to the ‘smallest letter’, which corresponds to the English letter ‘i,’ and the least stroke of a pen’, which is the smallest marking to distinguish letters, e.g., the difference between the letters ‘c’ and ‘e’.
For Jesus to say that not even the smallest detail of the law would be removed until all is fulfilled is to indicate His belief in word-for-word inspiration.
It is to say that every letter contained in the Old Testament was there because God wanted it there. Nothing was written that didn’t belong, and none of it would be taken away until all was fulfilled, Deuteronomy 4:2 / John 5:39-40.
‘Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’ Matthew 5:19
It would be a mistake to understand Jesus to be implying that we may deliberately disregard any of God’s commandments and still enter into the kingdom of heaven, as one of the ‘least’.
It is important to observe that Jesus was referring to the Old Testament when He mentioned ‘the least of these commandments’.
The Lord certainly had the Pharisees in mind when He made this comment, Matthew 23:3 / Acts 23:6 / Acts 26:5 / Philippians 3:5. They were guilty of dividing the commandments of God into ‘lesser’ and ‘greater’ ones, and they taught that the ‘lesser’ ones were trivial or insignificant and could thereby be disregarded without danger, Matthew 22:36 / Matthew 23:23.
Essentially, they would ‘lose’ or ‘break’ what they considered to be the lesser requirements of the law, that is, they would not teach such as being an obligation, Matthew 15:3-6. In so doing, the Pharisees were the ones ‘destroying’ the law, not Jesus.
This disposition to distinguish the importance of the various laws of God was a dangerous one. Those who practised it under the Law of Moses would be inclined to carry the same attitude into the kingdom of Christ when it was established.
Even when such a person obeyed the Gospel to enter the kingdom, their attitude toward God’s Word would render them ‘least’ in the kingdom, Matthew 5:3.
For us today, Jesus is saying that those who attempt to rank the commandments of God under the New Covenant by order of importance are treading on dangerous ground.
It’s not our place to attempt to categorise the Biblical topics that are ‘salvation matters’ and the ones that aren’t, on the basis of our own opinions, Romans 14:1-6.
This isn’t to say that we should ignore the distinctions that the Scriptures describe regarding certain matters of importance, Matthew 22:37-40 / Matthew 23:23 / Mark 16:16, but we shouldn’t go beyond the clear declarations of God’s Word, attempting to classify the relative importance of miscellaneous commands, 1 Corinthians 4:6.
We noted that the disposition that attempts to distinguish the importance of the various laws of God was a dangerous one. Those with this mentality under the Law of Moses would be inclined to carry the same attitude into the kingdom of Christ when it was established.
Even when such a person obeyed the Gospel to enter the kingdom, their improper attitude toward God’s Word would render them ‘least’ in the kingdom, Matthew 5:19.
On the other hand, those who highly regarded God’s law under the early dispensation would carry over the same respect for His Word into the Christian age.
Those who faithfully ‘do’ and ‘teach’ the commands of God, even the ‘least’ of them, will thus be regarded as ‘great’ in the kingdom, Acts 20:27. Greatness in the kingdom of heaven is measured by devotion to all matters of God’s law, both the great and seemingly lesser obligations.
