Sessions 10 & 11 Notes Download

To fully grasp Jesus’ teachings about the Mosaic law and much of his Sermon on the Mount, it’s crucial to recognize that he was addressing and correcting the prevalent religious teachings of his time, particularly those promoted by the Pharisees and scribes. If Jesus were present today as he was back then, the confrontation would arise with the numerous Christian pastors and teachers who preach a gospel starkly at odds with his.

The way Jesus phrases this negative statement suggests that some may have wrongly accused him:

Matthew 5:17   Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

The law encompassed three primary dimensions: moral principles, sacrificial elements, and governmental functions. Jesus did not abolish the moral principles of the law; instead, he offered deeper insights and enhancements, some of which demanded greater commitment. The sacrificial parts of the law all pointed toward him as the complete and final sacrifice for humanity’s sins, transgressions, and iniquities. When Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled what was necessary for people to receive forgiveness and reconciliation thereby completing what the law only foreshadowed. When Jesus returns as King of kings, he will implement all the righteous requirements for a theocratic government that were marginally outlined in the Mosaic law. He will rule by the spirit of God.

Matthew 5:18   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.

KJV   For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

A “jot” represents the minutest Hebrew letter, while a “tittle” signifies a small horn-like mark above a letter. Jesus employed these vivid terms to emphasize the meticulous fulfillment of every aspect of the Mosaic law. However, he didn’t specify when this fulfillment would occur, for some matters are related to when he returns.

Jesus fulfilled the ethical precepts by obeying them, for he was “born under the Law” and was determined to satisfy all righteousness. He did more than obey them himself; he explained what obedience would involve for his disciples. He rejected the superficial interpretation of the law given by the scribes; rather, he supplied the true interpretation. His purpose was not to change the law, still less to annul it, but to reveal the full depth of meaning that it was intended to hold. So, then he fulfilled it by declaring the radical demands of the righteous God. This is what he stressed in the rest of Matthew 5 by giving examples. Pharisees were content with an external and formal obedience, a rigid conformity to the letter of the law; Jesus taught us that God’s demands are far more radical than this. The righteousness which is pleasing to Yahweh is an inward righteousness of mind and motive, for Yahweh looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7; Luke 16:15).

Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:27   The two promises were fulfilled when He sent the holy spirit. God put His law within us and His spirit within us to coincide. The spirit, law, righteousness, and heart all belong together. The Pharisees thought an external conformity to the law would be righteous enough.

Romans 8:1-4   Those who walk by the spirit fulfill the law.

Romans 13:8-10   Love is the fulfilling of the law.

Hebrews 7:22; 8:6-13

Matthew 5:19   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 keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The commandments in the law are to be obeyed within the context of Jesus’ teachings. The moral principles, not sacrificial or governmental laws, are to be obeyed. Greatness in the Kingdom belongs to those who are faithful in doing and teaching the whole moral law.

Matthew 5:20   For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 23:1-35   We are much different than the religious and also the irreligious.

The rest of Matthew 5 contains examples of this greater or deeper righteousness. Jesus’ comments are not to refute the law, rather the wrong interpretation of it that the religious leaders taught. They made the law’s demands less demanding and the law’s permissions more permissive. What Jesus did was to reverse both tendencies. He insisted instead that the full implications of God’s commandment must be accepted without imposing any artificial limits; however, the limits which God had set to His permissions must also be accepted and not arbitrarily increased.

EACH OF THE ABOVE IS FOLLOWED WITH – “BUT I SAY TO YOU….”