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

 

 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  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.  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.  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."

 

- Matthew 5:17-20 

 

We are currently reading through Christ's Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.  You are a light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Now do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." 

 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."  My study Bible explains that Jesus fulfills the Law in Himself, in His words, and in His actions by, first of all, performing God's will in all its fullness (Matthew 3:15); second, transgressing none of the precepts of the Law (John 8:46, 14:30); third, declaring the perfect fulfillment of the Law, which He is about to deliver to them; and finally, granting righteousness -- which is the goal of the Law -- to us (Romans 3:31, 8:3-4, 10:4).  Christ fulfills the Prophets by both being and carrying out what they experienced in visions of Christ and His mission given from God.  

"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."  Assuredly (in the Greek, ἀμὴν/amen)means "truly," or "confirmed," or "so be it."  This word is used here (and elsewhere in the Gospels) as a solemn affirmation, a form of oath.  My study Bible explains that Christ's use of this word at the beginning of certain proclamations (rather than at the end) is unique and authoritative.  In effect, He declares His words affirmed before they are spoken.  A jot (ἰῶτα/iota) is the smallest letter in the Greek alphabet; a tittle is the smallest stroke in certain Hebrew letters.  Therefore, the whole of the Law is affirmed as the foundation of Christ's new teaching.  All is fulfilled refers to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ (John 19:30), the fullness of His ministry and mission.

"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."  My study Bible says that righteousness according to the Law is a unified whole.  The observance of all the least commandments is to observe the whole Law, while the violation of the least commandment is considered a violation of the whole Law.  

"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."  Righteousness that leads to salvation must exceed that of the Pharisees because theirs was an outward, works-based righteousness.  My study Bible notes that the righteousness of salvation is the communion of the heart, soul, mind, and body in Jesus Christ. 

Jesus teaches, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."  Let us consider what it means to "fulfill."  In Greek this verb is πληρόω/plero).  We encounter another form of this same Greek word in the liturgical holy hymn based on Isaiah's vision of the heavenly hymn of angels and archangels to God (Isaiah 6:3), "Heaven and earth are full of your glory" (my italics).  When we echo these words we might notice that Isaiah wrote of the whole earth being filled with God's glory; but we sing "heaven and earth" precisely because of what Jesus teaches here.  The fullness of His work and mission as Jesus Christ included His Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension; and we understand that fullness to include His words, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18).   Christ's next words after this declaration to His disciples also tie with today's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and complete Matthew's Gospel:  "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age"  (Matthew 28:19-20).   At the fulfillment of which Christ speaks; that is, His Passion and Resurrection and Ascension, there is this new "fullness" announced, and a new command and new covenant.  The fullness of God's glory in the earth will be fulfilled through the ongoing mission of the Church announced at the end of this Gospel by Christ:  that His followers go out to world with these teachings, given in all of the Gospels, but perhaps most fully expressed in this particular Sermon we're reading, the Sermon on the Mount.  The things Christ is teaching us therefore relate to fulfillment in a most special and specific way:  He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, all the things given to Israel by the God of Israel.  But He is also, in the fullness of His saving mission, giving a new covenant, a new declaration, and a new fullness for the world, and that is the realization of His teachings through the lives of His followers, through our own loyalty and participation in His life, which is also to spread His "light and salt"  into the world (see yesterday's reading, above).  We achieve this both through following His commandments and teachings ourselves, and sharing them with others.  In John's Gospel, Jesus is asked by the people, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  And He replies, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John 6:28-29).  The fullness of Christ's mission, and the new teaching that He gives to us, is a question of faith:  of hearing and doing His commands, an ongoing life in which we grow closer to Him, participating in His life through prayer and worship, but living our faith -- bringing His light into the world and more deeply into ourselves.  This is the new "fullness" and the ongoing work of "fullness" -- even as all authority in heaven and earth are His.  In this sense, His mission will be fulfilled, as He announces, in us -- in those who hear and do, who love Him and live the life that faith in Him asks of us.  For faith comes down to what and Whom we love and trust, which translates into the way we live.   This is the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven.