The Law & Prophets

It is interesting that the Lord decided to begin the greatest dissertation with the Beatitudes then go on to compare us to salt and light. It is as if He is preparing the heart of the believer. Before any strong structure is built, a foundation must be laid.

After the Beatitudes and the comparison, the Lord qualifies His purposes. He did not come to abolish but to fulfill. This makes me think that He had already had some run ins with the Pharisees and the Scribes, for He specifically calls them out in tis next portion of Scripture.

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all in accomplished." Matthew 5:17, 18 NIV

The reason why I prefaced this portion of Scripture with the idea that Jesus had already had some run ins with the Scribes and Pharisees is that He begins with speaking about fulfillment and abolishment. "I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Jesus came to this earth to show us a better way. Jesus came to this heart to show us the heart of God. Jesus is the actual, physical manifestation of that fulfillment.

Heaven and earth will not pass away, nor will the smallest letter or stroke pass away. We may remember this passage using the term "jot or tittle." Jesus was speaking of the actual written law. The "jot" is the smallest Hebrew letter, it is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is interesting the the number ten just so happens to be the number of testimony. The "tittle" is a small accent mark. What the Lord is trying to convey here is that the Law and the Prophets were made for a specific purpose: fulfillment. It is not over till everything is fulfilled.

"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, 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. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19, 20 NIV

There is a problem in our society of finding loop holes in the law. A burglar can sue after breaking his ankle on the "unsafe" property he was burglarizing. A woman can sue a large chain for burning herself on coffee because she was not warned. In today's day and age, the criminal seems to have more rights than the victim. It is because there is perversion of the law. The same was the case is Jesus' time. The Scribes and Pharisees would pervert the Law. Their perversion, however, was so subtle and deceptive, because it came down to a matter of the heart. "Not birth, or knowledge, or success will make a man great; but humble and precious obedience, both in word and deed." (Spurgeon)

What the Lord is going to reveal during the Sermon on the Mount, is that it is a matter of the heart. He will give the disciples a Law, then reveal the heart of God behind the Law. The heart of God does not abolish or change the Law, rather it gives us the understanding that it is more than just outward obedience, but inward control as well. The Law of God deals with the outward. The Pharisees saw this and capitalized on that. But the Law of God was written to deal with the inward man, the man that only God can see. That is the righteousness that the Lord is speaking of. The righteousness of the heart of the disciple. If that righteousness was to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, then entrance was going to be granted.

For the rest of the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus will be dealing with the heart. "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Scribes and Pharisees." I love how the Lord tells us what we need to do, then He shows us how to do it. He does not throw us into the deep end of a pool and expect us to swim. He rather takes our hand in the shallow end, lies us on His fore arms and teaches us how to kick and stroke.