Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Many people read this passage and they take it to mean that we are still under the law… there a few things that trouble me concerning this interpretation… Jesus came to fulfill the Law – and by following Him – we too fulfill the Law through Him… yet time and time again we see Him in trouble with the Pharisees because He did what they deemed to be unlawful. How many ways would a Pharisee have said He broke the law I wonder? Clearly, fulfilling the law was not about being a Jew – but instead – was about being a man of God through obedience to God’s true desires.
Further more – I can’t help but think about what Jesus meant when He said till the heaven and the earth disappear… if you think about it – when He died and went to Sheol – Tartarus – the place of the dead – and ministered to the lost souls who perished before He came to the earth, during those three days – had not the heaven and the earth passed away for Him? From what I understand of the Jewish after life – heaven and earth had no part of it – but instead the dead were in a place called Sheol – while this is the ‘grave’ – many Jews believed was a place for the afterlife of the dead in general, with different chambers within it for the just and the unjust. Many Christians call this place Hell – but what ever it should be called – it certainly was apart from heaven and earth… Was that the amazing moment in time that the old covenant gave way to the new – or am I just reading too much into the words of Christ?
Maybe your asking – What about when Jesus said ‘until everything is accomplished?’ What is it He is referring to? Is He speaking about the prophecies of His life, death, and resurrection? Is He speaking about the end of the world and judgment day? Is there a piece to this puzzle still missing? No no no – I believe he is speaking about the prophecies concerning His life, death and resurrection…
Perhaps the most obvious problem, though it is generally ignored, is that Jesus says “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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.” First , I find it interesting that even those who break ‘these commandments’ and teach others to break them are found in heaven – even if they are called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven…’ does this not speak to the great forgiveness of Christ? But something even more curious are the terms ‘these commandments’ and ‘these commands’… Many will tell you that Jesus was referring to the Law of Moses when He says these commandments… but if this is so then we have a huge problem in understanding what follows this statement in Matthew 5:21-48… I am referring to the commandments found within the Sermon on the Mount…
Mt 5:21-26 Speaks of murder, and it focuses on how the Law says anyone who murders is subject to judgement… but Jesus changes this command and makes it so that anger against your brother is not only in danger of judgement – but also Hellfire! Jesus calls us to settle our differences lest we become judged by them… While many who want to cling to the Law of Moses will say this is just an amplification of the Law – the fact is – it is a different commandment completely. While one can see how they relate to each other… saying this is merely an amplified commandment is like saying a an old hand crank telephone is the same as latest iphone…
Mt 5:27-30 speaks of adultery – and Jesus says if you look in lust you’ve already committed adultery in your heart! Again – this is not merely an amplification – its a different commandment!
Mt 5:31-32 is one of the most striking differences between ‘these commands’ of the sermon on the mount and the commandments of the Law… in Jewish law – the Jewish husband could divorce his wife for most any reason he wished… here – Jesus tells us to divorce for any reason other than adultery is wrong! Elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 19:18) Jesus actually says Moses wrote this commandment because of the hard hearts of the Jews, but that this is not how it was in the beginning of mankind – nor is it how God wants it to be. Clearly – this is a dramatic change to the Law of Moses. It also makes me wonder if Jesus is saying Moses allowed it and wrote it – but this wasn’t what God desired – and thus – we see the influence of a man in the Torah where we are told by Jews and Christians a like that its all God. Of course – thats a whole other topic that I won’t even pretend to tackle in this article.
In Mt 5:33-37, we see Jesus talking about how the Jews were commanded to keep their oaths… but Jesus actually tells us not to make oaths at all – to simply let our yes be yes and our no be no – and He even goes so far to say that anything beyond yes or no is from the evil one… this too is a dramatic change from the Law of Moses… I have heard many excuses trying to dismiss this very direct commandment, but if you read it at face value – there is no excuse for continuing to make oaths… yes or no – anything else is from the evil one…
Mt 5:38-42 speaks of the famous law – eye for an eye – tooth for a tooth – but Jesus changes this completely by invalidating the old terms of so-called justice and replacing them with a call to forgive – even to the point of humiliating those who would do evil against you.
Mt 5:43-48 specifically challenges the idea that we should love our neighbors and hate our enemies… calling us to love even our enemies… this is more about the interpretation of the Law than a new law I suppose – but its important to see that it is completely different than what the Jews had been doing for the most part…
And so – in my humble opinion, the biggest problem with Matthew 5 is that if you believe that Jesus was demanding we keep the Old Testament Law – the Torah – then He is breaking His own commandment by teaching different things in the sermon on the mount, is He not?
In my opinion, Jesus is saying the Old Covenant had not yet passed – but when it does these commandments He that He gave on the mount in this sermon – these are these things we are to follow… it’s not about religion people… its about relationship…
In Matthew 27:51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…
Was this not the moment Jesus gave His Spirit up in death… Could this be the very moment the transfer from old to new started… confirmed by His rising from the dead three days later… doesn’t it seem far more likely that this is the moment the New Covenant began? For more one this check out the book of Hebrews… the old has passed away and the new risen in its place…
This entry was posted on December 28, 2009, 2:53 pm and is filed under Commentaries. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0.
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Blind Ignorance…
Matthew 5:17-20 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Many people read this passage and they take it to mean that we are still under the law… there a few things that trouble me concerning this interpretation… Jesus came to fulfill the Law – and by following Him – we too fulfill the Law through Him… yet time and time again we see Him in trouble with the Pharisees because He did what they deemed to be unlawful. How many ways would a Pharisee have said He broke the law I wonder? Clearly, fulfilling the law was not about being a Jew – but instead – was about being a man of God through obedience to God’s true desires.
Further more – I can’t help but think about what Jesus meant when He said till the heaven and the earth disappear… if you think about it – when He died and went to Sheol – Tartarus – the place of the dead – and ministered to the lost souls who perished before He came to the earth, during those three days – had not the heaven and the earth passed away for Him? From what I understand of the Jewish after life – heaven and earth had no part of it – but instead the dead were in a place called Sheol – while this is the ‘grave’ – many Jews believed was a place for the afterlife of the dead in general, with different chambers within it for the just and the unjust. Many Christians call this place Hell – but what ever it should be called – it certainly was apart from heaven and earth… Was that the amazing moment in time that the old covenant gave way to the new – or am I just reading too much into the words of Christ?
Maybe your asking – What about when Jesus said ‘until everything is accomplished?’ What is it He is referring to? Is He speaking about the prophecies of His life, death, and resurrection? Is He speaking about the end of the world and judgment day? Is there a piece to this puzzle still missing? No no no – I believe he is speaking about the prophecies concerning His life, death and resurrection…
Perhaps the most obvious problem, though it is generally ignored, is that Jesus says “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same 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.” First , I find it interesting that even those who break ‘these commandments’ and teach others to break them are found in heaven – even if they are called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven…’ does this not speak to the great forgiveness of Christ? But something even more curious are the terms ‘these commandments’ and ‘these commands’… Many will tell you that Jesus was referring to the Law of Moses when He says these commandments… but if this is so then we have a huge problem in understanding what follows this statement in Matthew 5:21-48… I am referring to the commandments found within the Sermon on the Mount…
Mt 5:21-26 Speaks of murder, and it focuses on how the Law says anyone who murders is subject to judgement… but Jesus changes this command and makes it so that anger against your brother is not only in danger of judgement – but also Hellfire! Jesus calls us to settle our differences lest we become judged by them… While many who want to cling to the Law of Moses will say this is just an amplification of the Law – the fact is – it is a different commandment completely. While one can see how they relate to each other… saying this is merely an amplified commandment is like saying a an old hand crank telephone is the same as latest iphone…
Mt 5:27-30 speaks of adultery – and Jesus says if you look in lust you’ve already committed adultery in your heart! Again – this is not merely an amplification – its a different commandment!
Mt 5:31-32 is one of the most striking differences between ‘these commands’ of the sermon on the mount and the commandments of the Law… in Jewish law – the Jewish husband could divorce his wife for most any reason he wished… here – Jesus tells us to divorce for any reason other than adultery is wrong! Elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 19:18) Jesus actually says Moses wrote this commandment because of the hard hearts of the Jews, but that this is not how it was in the beginning of mankind – nor is it how God wants it to be. Clearly – this is a dramatic change to the Law of Moses. It also makes me wonder if Jesus is saying Moses allowed it and wrote it – but this wasn’t what God desired – and thus – we see the influence of a man in the Torah where we are told by Jews and Christians a like that its all God. Of course – thats a whole other topic that I won’t even pretend to tackle in this article.
In Mt 5:33-37, we see Jesus talking about how the Jews were commanded to keep their oaths… but Jesus actually tells us not to make oaths at all – to simply let our yes be yes and our no be no – and He even goes so far to say that anything beyond yes or no is from the evil one… this too is a dramatic change from the Law of Moses… I have heard many excuses trying to dismiss this very direct commandment, but if you read it at face value – there is no excuse for continuing to make oaths… yes or no – anything else is from the evil one…
Mt 5:38-42 speaks of the famous law – eye for an eye – tooth for a tooth – but Jesus changes this completely by invalidating the old terms of so-called justice and replacing them with a call to forgive – even to the point of humiliating those who would do evil against you.
Mt 5:43-48 specifically challenges the idea that we should love our neighbors and hate our enemies… calling us to love even our enemies… this is more about the interpretation of the Law than a new law I suppose – but its important to see that it is completely different than what the Jews had been doing for the most part…
And so – in my humble opinion, the biggest problem with Matthew 5 is that if you believe that Jesus was demanding we keep the Old Testament Law – the Torah – then He is breaking His own commandment by teaching different things in the sermon on the mount, is He not?
In my opinion, Jesus is saying the Old Covenant had not yet passed – but when it does these commandments He that He gave on the mount in this sermon – these are these things we are to follow… it’s not about religion people… its about relationship…
In Matthew 27:51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…
Was this not the moment Jesus gave His Spirit up in death… Could this be the very moment the transfer from old to new started… confirmed by His rising from the dead three days later… doesn’t it seem far more likely that this is the moment the New Covenant began? For more one this check out the book of Hebrews… the old has passed away and the new risen in its place…
This entry was posted on December 28, 2009, 2:53 pm and is filed under Commentaries. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.