Exceeding Expectations Series

I have entitled our message, “Exceeding Expectations,” and I want to begin by sharing a true story. A contractor in Mexico was hired to build a Catholic Church, but he used cheap materials in order to make more money. He reasoned that the quality of the materials did not matter, so long as the basic structure was in place. But, at the dedication of the building, the roof collapsed, killing many of the worshipers, including the contractor’s brother who just happened to be the priest.(1) This contractor did just the basics in order to get by; to finish the project and get paid. Had he purchased quality materials and took his time, this tragedy likely would not have happened. The moral of the story is that we should always do our best and exceed expectations, if we wish to avoid tragedy. And in our passage of Scripture for today, we are going to see that Jesus wants us to exceed the spiritual expectations prescribed by the Law; as we are to strive for excellence in our walk with God.

Above and Beyond Expectations (vv. 17-20)

17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 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. 19 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. 20 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.

Let us get started with verse 17, where Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.” I have met people who will say we are no longer under the Law, but rather grace, and that the Old Testament no longer applies; and because of this belief, there are churches that will only preach from the New Testament. Jesus did not come to “do away” with the Law; He came to “fulfill” (v. 17). In addition to fulfilling the messianic prophecies, He came to fulfill the Law by teaching it. You see, the word fulfill (gamar in Hebrew) among the rabbis, signifies “to teach,” and therefore, we may infer that the Law and the prophets were still to be taught by Jesus and His disciples.(2)

In verse 18, Jesus said, “Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled.” The saying “one jot or one tittle” was a proverbial mode of expression among the Jews and it refers to the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. A “jot” is the letter yod, which is the smallest in the Hebrew alphabet. A “tittle” is a small point, which serves as a vowel. It can also be “the little ornaments which certain letters assume on their tops, which cause them to appear like small branches.”(3) Not even the smallest stroke of the pen or the tiniest dot in the writings of the Hebrew Law will cease to apply to our life and society, until the kingdom with its rule and reign is established.

According to verse 19, if we intentionally teach and educate people to transgress the Law, we will be called “least in the kingdom of heaven.” This does not mean we will lose our salvation and be kicked out of the kingdom; but it does suggest a low standing in the kingdom. In verse 19, Jesus also said, “But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great.” The order of the wording here is significant. The order is to first “do” and then “teach,” not the other way around. A.T. Robertson says, “Jesus puts practice before preaching. The teacher must apply the doctrine to himself before he is qualified to teach others. The scribes and Pharisees were men who ‘say and do not’ (Matthew 23:3), who preach but do not perform. This is Christ’s test of greatness.”(4)

Verse 20 is where the real lesson begins. Jesus said, “Your righteousness [must] exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.” “The motive under which the Scribes and Pharisees lived was the motive of the Law; their one aim and their one desire was to satisfy the demands of the Law.”(5) This was not just the Ten Commandments. There were 613 laws altogether. But look at the law today in American society. There are so many it would probably make your head spin! When you study to obtain your driver’s permit, you read a small booklet containing only the basic highway regulations; but there are some bizarre driving laws on the books, and it varies from state-to-state.