Sermon Cloud

 Matthew 5:17-20.

Note: Inclusio (5:17) and runs to (7:12). In this section He will explain and apply the Law of God and define true righteousness, as opposed to the false righteous of the day.

In this opening section answers the question that many of the people among the crowds were wrestling with, and sometimes for different reasons, what some wrestle with today: Exactly what is Jesus’s relationship to the OT Scriptures?

Did Jesus come to completely do away with the Law? Does the OT have any value for today? Would it be ok to just remove it from our Bibles? Is there an OT God and a NT God? How is a Christian to relate to the OT?

Jesus will answer these questions and in so doing establish both the authority of the OT - and by extension all of God’s Word - and establish the foundation for all men’s accountability to it.

Key for any religion, or any society is the issue of authority. If there is no authority there is no basis for truth or for Law. The Jews rightly understood the Scriptures as being revealed by God and the basis for their nation and individual lives. But now with the appearing of Jesus That seemed to be being threatened.

Trans: Jesus, therefore establishes at the outset, and in clear, unmistakable terms the authority of Scripture. And He will do this by: (A) Exposing the Hypocrisy of Religion; (B) by His very Person & Work; (C) Establishing it Permanence. We will take the first two of these this morning in verse 17.

(1) AUTHORITY OF THE WORD (17-18)

Trans: First, Jesus will establish the authority of the Word by exposing the hypocrisy of the religion of the day.

(A) The Hypocrisy of Religion.

“Do not think that I came to abolish the the Law, or the prophets”” (prohibitive) - He is telling them not to let this thought enter into their mind. And for those already thinking it: “Stop it!”

The term translated “to abolish” - has the idea of “to set aside,” “tear down,” or “to invalidate.” “The Law, or the prophets” Common way of referring to all of the OT. All of Scripture, from Genesis - Malachi.

Question: Why would Christ have needed to make this statement? Why would they have thought this?

This was a very religious culture, their very identity was tied to to the OT Scriptures and temple worship. Jesus did not do anything to contradict them; He did not sin. So, why would they have thought this?

Answer: Because the OT Scriptures had become so polluted by a false system of religion: the pure, holy, and God-revealed religion of Israel had become a man-centered; self-righteous; and strictly external religion. When Jesus came on the scene He obliterating all of their misperceptions regarding the Law. In many ways it was an “in your face” type ministry. Jesus gave no leeway to false sensitivities of the day.

The ministry and teaching of Jesus was so radically different than what they were taught by the Scribes and Pharisees.

Therefore, they were understandable uncomfortable and curious: what does all this mean about the Law of God? Was it being replaced, or rendered useless?

All they would ever have known as children growing up in the synagogue, seen modeled by their parents, taught by the most respected religious teachers of society. All of this was being confronted.

All of their understanding of the OT Law was being systematically dismantled by the Lord Jesus; all of their religious comfort zones were being violated by this imposing and authoritative figure. Jesus, broke tradition and man-made interpretations of the Law, He never broke the Law.

Sabbath: 8:14 [HEALING]; 12:1-7 [EATING]

Washings / Traditions: 15:1-2.

Honoring mother and father: 15:3-7.

Ironically, it is the religious establishment that was in fact destroying the Law and prophets through their distortion of it.

*Jesus held the Law, the OT Scriptures in higher regard than they did; He upheld and established its authority, they through hypocrisy tried to get out from under it (Matt. 15:8-9).

And so, Jesus established the authority of the Word by exposing hypocrisy. He did this by showing that the Law stands over and in judgement of all man-made religion. Whenever man’s religion is held to the light of God’s Word it is shown to be deficient, empty, and condemned (23:28).

Jesus did not come to destroy the Law as God gave it, the true Law of God; but He did come to destroy the false man-made righteousness and religious hypocrisy of 1st century Judaism!

This is illustrated in [turn with me] Matthew 23:38 - 24:2 - the Temple that they so revered would be destroyed, but not the Law. The Temple had been so perverted by their hypocrisy and sin God destroyed it. Yet, the temple and the sacrifices were not bad, God is the One who gave them!

God’s Law is holy, righteous, and good (Rom. 7); there is nothing wrong with the Law, only the sinners inability to obey.

If they would have believed the Law of Moses, they would have readily accepted Jesus as Messiah. It they would have understood this and truly pursuing righteousness, they would have been like Abraham and “rejoiced to see” His day (John 8:56). John 15:25

Trans: First, Jesus establishes the authority of the OT by showing that they sit in judgement on man’s self-made religion. Secondly, Jesus establishes the authority of the Scripture by fulfilling it in His very Person and work as Messiah.

(B) Person of Jesus Christ (Living Word) [17]

“I did not come to destroy BUT to fulfill” Strong adversative; He wants to make the contrast as clear as possible. Point: He did not come to bring in a new religion but to fulfill the old.

*John the Baptist marked a distinct transition in the role of the Law for Israel (11:13 “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John”). That is to say that all the Law and prophets up through John prophesied the Messiah. Now that the Messiah is here, the revelation of the Kingdom of God advances in the ministry of Christ.

This is an absolutely astounding statement; and particularly to the Jews. Nothing was more sacred to the Jews than the OT Scriptures. If they were passionate about anything it was that the Scriptures were the revealed word of the only true and living God.

There whole identity was built around the Scriptures. They were sacred. Isaiah 8:20 “To the Law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this Word they have no dawn!” For Jesus Christ to stand there and say that He fulfills the Law and the prophets; that all of these are about Him; would have floored them.

“I came” - Even here is a hint of His Deity & Messianic ministry.

Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, form you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His going forth are from long ago.”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” *The eternal Word had come in fulfillment of the written Word.

What does He mean, however, to say that He “Fulfills” OT Scripture?

Some try to limit the Lord’s statement of very specific aspects of the OT: (1) It’s moral teaching (2) or, the ceremonial aspects alone.

There really are no limits here! The OT Scriptures, in their entirety reveal Jesus Christ.

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think in them you have life, but it is these that reveal Me.”

*They knew all of the OT, Jesus says all that knowledge should have led them to Him!

Lk. 24:44 [set context] “Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scripture.”

In what way did He fulfill?

TransSo, He came to fulfill all the OT, but how? Essentially 3 ways: (1) Prophecy (2) Pictures, and (3) Precepts.

(1) Prophecy:

God the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouths of the prophets specific details about the Person and work of the Messiah, so that there would be no mistaking Him when He did arrive.

Matthew has already been going to great lengths to show that Jesus Christ is, in fact, the fulfillment of the all that the prophets looked forward to (Matthew 1:1 [Davidic King, 2 Sam. 7:14]; 22; 2:5-6, 15, 17, 23; 3:15; 4:14; 5:17; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:54, 56; 27:9).

Every detail of His life from birth to death was prophetically revealed by the Holy Spirit. No one, in the history of man, could have fulfilled these (especially not the virgin birth; atoning death).

ILLUST: I want to put this into perspective: Coin. A statistician by the name of Peter Stoner applied the well established laws of probability to the prophecies concerning Christ. And the results were this: the chance of only 8 of the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ being fulfilled in one person is 1 x 10^17 (i.e. 10 followed by 17 zeros) – if you were to convert this into silver dollars there would be enough to cover the entire state of Texas to a depth of 2 feet. If you were then to take one of these silver dollars and mark it with a red dot, randomly place it, then blindfold and individual and allow him to pick one coin of the whole 2ft covering the state of Texas the probability that he would pick the marked coin is the same as if only 8 prophecies concerning Christ came true. There are over 100 direct prophecies and over 300 prophetical inferences and pictures.

This doesn’t take into account the added element of so many prophets, from such diverse situations, covering over 1400 years, making the predictions.

So What?

Should produce faith and repentance.

- Laws demands have been met for all who turn to Christ in faith and repentance. For those who have not, you are still under judgement and condemnation by the Law. Salvation in no one else.

Should produce trust in God and His word.

God fulfilled His word and it proved unalterable and reliable in pointing to Christ, so it is in all it reveals about Christ and His future return. It is to be trusted and obeyed.

God has set His word and the testimony of Scripture as greater weight than even miracles:

Luke 16:31 “But He said to them, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even in if someone rises from the dead.’”

Do you get it? Are any of you struggling with the reality of Jesus Christ:?

You should have no doubts about the reality of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has come, He fulfilled the Scriptures, fulfilled the Law, accomplished salvation, He is worthy and trustworthy for all men to commit their both their present, and their eternal souls to Him.