The Fulfillment Of Law
05/01/10 AM
Reading: Matthew 5:17-20
Introduction
This morning we continue a sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount. This series of messages, titled “Jesus began to preach,” encompasses the teachings given by Jesus as recorded in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, the longest uninterrupted teaching by Jesus in all the Gospels.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus reveals what needs to be the character of those who follow Him, how that character will influence the world, and how it need play out in their lives.
We began this series with the lessons given to the blessed found in Matthew 5:3-10. These words given by Jesus address the heart of those who would be His disciples, illustrating the characteristics of those who are approved and favored of God, the blessed of God. The blessed of God they are spiritually destitute and sorrowfully seek His grace and His mercy. The blessed of God hunger and thirst after righteousness. They are the meek and the merciful, they are the pure in heart and the peacemakers. And they will be persecuted but in this the blessed of God may also rejoice.
This is the heart of the disciple of Jesus, this is our heart and with these attitudes we have a mandate to influence the world. The Beatitudes are not to be lived in isolation or only among fellow believers, but everywhere we go. We His children are God’s only witnesses and we are to bring salt and light to the world. The figures of salt and light emphasize different characteristics of influence, but their basic purpose is the same, to show His savor and His light and bring glory to God.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
And it is with these words that we pick up our lesson today for Jesus is now quick to address the thoughts these words were sure to evoke in the minds of those hearing them spoken. For in the minds of those listening works done for the glory of God would be linked to the words of the Law of God.
I. The Law Of God
A. In the time of Christ, the law had become layered by the requirements and traditions of men
1. Jesus addresses this with the Pharisees and scribes:
a. Matthew 15:1-10 They transgressed (sinned) against the Law and invalidated the word of God for the sake of tradition.
b. Paradoxically, they would adhere to the letter of the Law while ignoring it's intended spirit. Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
c. Jesus addressed the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders and it's effect on the people of God earlier in the gospel of Matthew: Matthew 23:1-4
d. Those listening to Jesus that day had to be primed for a change from the stringent burden that the Law of God had become and knowing this, Jesus spoke directly to their thoughts.
B. Jesus came to fulfill the Law
1. Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
a. Christ states that His goal in coming is not to destroy God’s Law. He’s not replacing it or minimizing it or creating loopholes for folks who can’t seem to live up to it.
b. He came to fulfill the Law. He came to meet the requirements and standards of the Law.
c. The requirements of the law could not be met by the works of men. Hebrews 10:1, 11-13 but were met by Jesus.
d. The standards of the law could not be met by the works of men.
1) Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
2) But were met by Jesus: Hebrews 4:15c ...tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
e. He met every prophecy made concerning the Messiah and will meet the prophecies spoken of things still to come.
II. The Law Will Not Pass Away
A. Until all is done according to the plan of God, the Law will remain.
1. Matthew 5:18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
a. Jot and tittle (KJV) In Greek: iota and keraia. Iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, Keraia is a small hook or mark made to other Greek letters or numbers. It emphasizes that the entirety of God's Law will remain until all things come to pass.
B. The Law remains constant in it's requirements and standards.
1. Matthew 5:19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, 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.
a. The actions of the men to misinterpret and misapply the Law of God to meet their own expectations does not in any way diminish the standards and requirements of the Law.
b. We saw in Matthew 15 the attempts of the Pharisee's to do this very thing, to bend the Law to their own definition of righteousness but in Matthew 5:19 Jesus states that this does not result in righteousness in the eyes of God.
c. We can’t pick or choose what we like in God’s Word. And man doesn’t get into God’s kingdom by lowering the bar or trying to find loopholes in His Law. That is an exercise in futility.
C. Our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisee's.
1. Here we have the reality that God’s standards aren’t changing. And that is coupled with the reality that even the Pharisees aren’t measuring up.
a. We are offered a place in heaven, but only if our righteousness surpasses the great spiritual leaders of Jesus’ day. The Pharisees exercised a lot of externals, but missed the ‘heart’ of the Law.
2. Paul, a former Pharisee himself, wrote that none could be justified (righteous) under the Law.
a. Romans 3:20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
1) Romans 7:7a What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law;
2) Galatians 3:19a Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions,
b. We seem to have a problem here, our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisee's but we can not obtain righteousness even by strict adherence to the Law. But this is not a paradox, it is exactly the point Jesus is trying to make.
III. The Righteousness Of Jesus
A. We need something more than the Law.
1. Romans 3:21-22a But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe;
2. Philippians 3:8-9 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith
3. So the righteousness God wants us to have will never be obtained by observing the Law, but rather through faith in Jesus Christ. He met God’s standards for righteousness, therefore we must trust in Him and receive His righteousness rather than trying to meet God’s standards in our own power.
a. Galatians 3:24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
Conclusion:
The beginning of our text states that Christ didn’t come to abolish the Law. And that is true. But He did come to bring men out from under its judgment. Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us”
When one relies on Christ for righteousness, He no longer fears the penalty of the Law. We have all fallen short of God’s glorious standard, but Christ justifies us. Our relationship to God’s Law completely changes. It becomes a moral guide rather than a merciless judge.
Invitation:
Our God and Savior is alive this morning and He reaches out to all who would respond to His invitation. So we offer that invitation with great love realizing that maybe there is someone in this midst who has never accepted Jesus as Savior. We appeal to you not let this moment pass by.
If you are without Jesus then come now, name His name, be faithful to Him in Christian baptism, arise to walk in the newness of life. God’s invitation is offered to you. Will you come as we stand and we sing?
