#4 How the King Interpreted the Law

Matthew 5:17-48 

A. Our Lord’s Interpretation of the Law in General (Matthew 5:17-20)

1. Matthew 5:17 says, “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. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

a. The Law, in its widest meaning is everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets, which includes the entire Old Testament.

1) It is what is written in every single jot and every single tittle in the Old Testament.

2) Jesus is referring to the first five books and to the entire Old Testament.

3) Some say there are 613 commandments in the law. See the 613 Commandments in the first part of this blog.

b. Prophets’ writings include the following:

1) Predictions Matthew 11:13 says, “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” Notice that not only did the prophets prophesy but the Law also prophesied.

2) Signs Matthew 12:39 says: “Jesus replied, A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” The signs in the Old Testament were prophetic of Christ.

3) Commands Matthew 7:12 says, “In everything then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.”

c. God gives the test of a prophet in Isaiah 8:19 which is: “And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead, on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.” The Holy Spirit is speaking of the wizards and the false prophets who commune with devils and not with God. So, a person who claims to be a prophet, medium, or necromancer must speak according to the Law of Moses. That is the test of a truly spiritual person.

d. The Lord Jesus proves that He is a prophet by interpreting the Law of Moses. And the way He teaches that Law is exactly what the Law of the Old Testament says.

e. Misinterpretations of Jesus’ purpose

1) “Think not” – Evaluate My teaching in the light of the facts.

2) His suspected purpose – “to destroy katalusai – to abrogate, set aside. Jesus did not come to set aside or to destroy the Law.

f. Rather than setting the law aside, the Lord Jesus interpreted and fulfilled it.

g. How the Lord Jesus fulfills the law:

1) Mark 1:15 says, “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” The law predicted events that would occur in time. God created time. It was time for the Kingdom of God and the Grace Gospel to be prominent.

2) Revelation 6:11 says, “Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.” God prophesied the number of New Testament martyrs by resolving the death of their full number.

3) 2 Thessalonians 1:11 says, “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,” NKJV God fulfills Scripture according to His good pleasure. The Greek word πληρώσῃ, translated “fulfill” is the aorist active form of the Greek verb pleroo., which means to fill or fulfill. It means in Greek what it means in English. All the underlined words in the following context use this same word.

4) Philippians 2:2 says, “then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.” God uses the Philippians’ unity to complete his joy. He wants them to complete or fulfill His joy.

5) 2 Corinthians 10:6 says, “And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as your obedience is complete.” God uses our obedience after we disobey and repent, to move the Church on to renewed service.

6) Revelation 3:2 says, “Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God.” God would use revival in the Church at Sardis to strengthen the Church. The people complete their deeds by spiritually awakening by changing their lives for the better.

7) Luke 22:16 says, “For I say to you that never again will I eat thereof, until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." So, Christ fulfills the Passover in the Kingdom of God.

8) Matthew 1:22 says, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:” So, God fulfilled His Scripture of the Old Testament in the life of Christ.

h. The implication of the above is that God prophesied the fulfillment of the Law. And the Lord Jesus came and fulfilled it.

i. The Law has a goal, an end, and an eternal purpose. It points to Christ Jesus.

TABULAR VIEW OF JESUS’ FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW OF MOSES

Portion of the Law	How Fulfilled
Prophecies	Pointed to Messiah, & He fulfilled all Prophecies.
Signs	Pointed to Messiah, & He fulfilled all Signs.
Moral Law	Messiah obeys all the Moral Law of Moses.
Civil Law	Christ fulfills the entire Civil Law of Israel.
Ceremonial Law	Implies that Christ Atoned for Sin as our Great High Priest.

j. Observations

1) Jesus interpreted the Law first. Then He obeyed it and fulfilled it.

2) For example, He interpreted the animal sacrifices in their spiritual intent. Then He died as the true sacrifice to which they all pointed. By this, He fulfilled the Law (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

3) Everything in the Law pointed to Christ. He was the goal of the entire Old Testament.

4) Hebrews 10:7 says, “Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, my God.'" The speaker in the text is the Lord Jesus Christ. So, everything in the Old Testament, in one way or another, is about the Lord Jesus Christ.

5) Psalm 40:6-8 says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened. Burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not require. 7Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll: I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

6) Notice that Hebrews 10:7 quotes Psalm 40:7. The speaker in the Psalm is the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in Hebrews 10:7 that the entire Scroll of the Old Testament is about Him. And He comes to do His Father’s will, as recorded in the entire scroll. He says to His Father what Psalm 40 says that He knew that His Father did not really want animal sacrifices and offerings. The plan all along was for the Son, the Lamb of God to suffer in the place of sinners. So, the animal sacrifices were prophetic of Jesus Christ.

7) Rules for determining how to obey the Law

a) All jots and tittles point to Christ Jesus. Notice that the Lord Jesus said that no jot or tittle will pass away but that all jots and tittles will be fulfilled.

b) Look at the Law through the eyes of Christ. So, observe it through the eyes of His Apostles. The New Testament is the authoritative interpreter of the Old Testament.

2. The extent of the fulfillment of the Law – Matthew 5:18 says, “For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen (tittle), will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

a. The illustration

1) Protasis – “Until Heaven and earth pass away”

2) Apodosis – “There will be no passing away of jots and tittles”

a) The jot is a yod, which is the smallest letter in the Hebrew Alphabet. It looks like this י That little thing back there is a yod. One yod will never pass from the law until it is all fulfilled.

b) “Until all be fulfilled” Even if Christ fulfills it (which means that He does what it says perfectly), we are responsible to do it as the Lord tells us to do it. So, if He interprets it as literal, and if He does it, then we must obey it literally. And if He interprets it as spiritual, and if He tells us to obey it spiritually, we must obey it spiritually. Christians are disciples of Christ, not disciples of the Law.

c) A tittle is a keraice, which is any little mark or part of a letter. A tittle is the difference between a resh רand a daleth ד. Notice the small part of the letter on upper right-hand side of the daleth. That is a tittle.

d) So, no jot or tittle can pass away. God will fulfill each of them in His Son.

b. But be careful not to think that you are not responsible for something in the Old Testament. In some way, you are responsible for absolutely everything in the Law. Jesus has to say He fulfilled it, or something absolutely like it, before you can disregard it.

c. Summary

1) The entire Old Testament is a divine revelation.

2) Every minute precept has significance.

3) Jesus fulfills every small detail.

4) This illustrates that the Lord Jesus is greater than Scribes and Pharisees, who ditched the important commands for the lesser ones.

5) Jots and tittles do not pass away. They come to pass.

6) Jesus teaches all jots and tittles, fulfills all jots and tittles, and interprets all jots and tittles.

7) The rule of thumb is that, if you are following Jesus and doing, thinking, and feeling what He says, you are obeying the jots and tittles of the Law.

3. Matthew 5:19 says, So, then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

a. Causes of failure to enter the Kingdom of which Christ is King:

1) The sovereignty of God (Ephesians 1:4-11)

a) Divine knowledge Matthew 7:23 says, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’” As God, the Lord Jesus cannot learn. He does not learn or get to know saved persons. They were in His heart and in His Father’s heart prior to creation. Scripture calls it “foreknowledge.” Remember that we were born sinners and we do not cease from sinning. So, we are not going to Heaven unless the Lord saves us. He demands that we turn from our sin, believe in Him, and place our life in His hands.

b) Divine choice Matthew 22:14 says, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

2) No repentance, which means failure to change from living a sinful life to a life of obedience to Christ the King. If we fail to change, it proves that we are not His people.

a) Matthew 3:2 says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

b) Matthew 4:17 says, ““Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

c) Lacking the fruits of repentance Matthew 3:8 says, “Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.” Turning from sin permanently, as a life- style, proves that the Lord knows you. Make your election sure.

d) Matthew 24:38 says, “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.” This proves that they were neglecting duty to God by just doing normal things.

e) Lack of perseverance proves that faith is not genuine (Matthew 24:43-51).

f) Matthew 25:1-13 teaches the need for watchfulness, which proves the genuine nature of faith. When we watch out for sin in our lives and watch out for false doctrine, it proves that the Lord Jesus knows us.

g) Matthew 25:14-30 teaches the necessity of faithfulness which proves that faith is real. And it proves that Jesus knows us.

h) Matthew 25:31-46 teaches the necessity of the right attitude toward the King, which proves that His follower has a new nature.

3) Greatness in the Kingdom is linked to:

a) Forsaking mundane things. Matthew 19:28-30 says, “Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or siblings or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” This does not mean that a person becomes a child of God by forsaking their families. But following Christ does lead to that sometimes. Our Lord rewards our sacrifice.

b) Doing and teaching all the Law’s commandments. Matthew 5:19 says, “So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” If we choose some truths and teach them but fail to teach all of them, we do not lose our salvation, but we do lose rewards in Heaven.

c) Humility and service. Matthew 23:12 says, “And whoever shall exalt himself will be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself will be exalted.” Jesus was very humble and expects His disciples to be humble also.

d) Receiving Christ’s representatives. Matthew 10:40-42 says, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. 41 Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.” One can lose his reward by rejecting a representative of Christ.

4) Observe that Jesus Christ teaches rewards for Christians, not only in Paul’s Epistles, but also in Christ’s own teachings.

TABULAR VIEW OF REWARDS IN GODS KINGDOM

Scripture	Greatness in the Kingdom is Linked to:
Mt. 19:28-30	Forsaking things for Christ. “Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or siblings or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Mt. 5:19	Doing and teaching all the Law’s Commandments. “So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven
Mt. 23:12	Humility and service “And whoever shall exalt himself will be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself will be exalted”
Mt 10:40-42	Receiving Christ’s Representatives “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. 41 Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”