Matthew 5:17-20 Law

[hotcoffee]

The Fulfillment of the Law

17 “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. 18 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. 19 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. 20 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.

From the Sermon on the Mount....

[hotcoffee]

I've been considering what to write about these verses ever since I posted them this morning.

I have to be honest with you... I'm sure my understanding of these verses is way off base.... I asked the Spirit to guide me.... this is what I've got.

IMHO... after prayer and thought... Jesus is telling people He's not here to offer a magic bullet. Israel expected a king who would come in and change the whole earthly world for them. They were expecting someone to come in and change the laws to make the life of the everyday guy better, less oppresive. Jesus says, that's not why He came.

IMHO... after prayer and thought...He says as long as there a heaven and an earth... things are going to be the way they are. If we ever get to Revelations in these threads we'll see the heavens disappear.... and that is when I believe we will see the change Jesus is talking about.

IMHO... after prayer and thought... He says that living according the rules to the best of your ability is not the best you can do. There's a righteousness that you have to seek.

[Radiant1]

[17-20] This statement of Jesus' position concerning the Mosaic law is composed of traditional material from Matthew's sermon documentation (see the note on Matthew 5:1-7:29), other Q material (cf Matthew 18; Luke 16:17), and the evangelist's own editorial touches. To fulfill the law appears at first to mean a literal enforcement of the law in the least detail: until heaven and earth pass away nothing of the law will pass (Matthew 5:18). Yet the "passing away" of heaven and earth is not necessarily the end of the world understood, as in much apocalyptic literature, as the dissolution of the existing universe. The "turning of the ages" comes with the apocalyptic event of Jesus' death and resurrection, and those to whom this gospel is addressed are living in the new and final age, prophesied by Isaiah as the time of "new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22). Meanwhile, during Jesus' ministry when the kingdom is already breaking in, his mission remains within the framework of the law, though with significant anticipation of the age to come, as the following antitheses (Matthew 5:21-48) show.

[19] Probably these commandments means those of the Mosaic law. But this is an interim ethic "until heaven and earth pass away."

New American Bible Copyright © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

[Radiant1]

Originally Posted by hotcoffee

I've been considering what to write about these verses ever since I posted them this morning.

I have to be honest with you... I'm sure my understanding of these verses is way off base.... I asked the Spirit to guide me.... this is what I've got.

IMHO... after prayer and thought... Jesus is telling people He's not here to offer a magic bullet. Israel expected a king who would come in and change the whole earthly world for them. They were expecting someone to come in and change the laws to make the life of the everyday guy better, less oppresive. Jesus says, that's not why He came.

IMHO... after prayer and thought...He says as long as there a heaven and an earth... things are going to be the way they are. If we ever get to Revelations in these threads we'll see the heavens disappear.... and that is when I believe we will see the change Jesus is talking about.

IMHO... after prayer and thought... He says that living according the rules to the best of your ability is not the best you can do. There's a righteousness that you have to seek.

I agree about what the people were expecting and the necessity for righteousness beyond following the letter of the law. However, it was after Jesus' ascension that the Holy Spirit guided the apostles to allow the gentile converts to remain uncircumcised. Circumcision was a pretty big part of mosaic law. I think this implies that the law had already been fulfilled and everything had been accomplished with Jesus death and resurrection as opposed to His return (Revelations). After all, if Jesus is God and man, then He is also proverbially Heaven (God) and Earth (man), right? So it could be said that heaven and earth passed away with Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension. At least that's what I'm thinking.