I. Introduction
A. An Amish man answered a knock on his door one morning. An electric company worker handed him a piece of paper stating that the electric company would like to run a power line through his pasture. The Amish man said, "No." "Legally, that paper says we can." replied the worker. As he turned and left returning to his co-workers in the field, the Amish man went to his barn and turned his bull into the pasture. As the bull rumbled toward the workers in the field, the Amish man hollered, "Show HIM your paper!"
B. In this and a few other verses in this chapter we see that Jesus fulfills the Law
1. This is God's Son explaining the law of God.
a. Christ confirmed God's law, all the Scripture of the Old Testament
(1) Christ said He was not destroying the law or the prophets
(2) The term "the law and the prophets" was a reference to the whole Old Testament
(3) What Christ said was that He, as God's Son, came to fulfill the law; and His teaching was just as binding as the Old Testament law
b. Christ illustrated God's laws, explaining the broad principles which were and still are to be applied to everyday life
(1) He took a few practical laws and showed how a person was to take the broad principle and apply it to his own daily behavior
c. Christ condemned the oral or Scribal Law
(1) He condemned it rather strongly
(2) When Jesus Christ and the other New Testament writers condemned the law, it always referred to the oral or Scribal Law, not to God's Law
C. Introduction
1. Jesus was accused of destroying the law of God
a. He has always been accused of minimizing God's law
b. Every generation has its proponents who feel that Jesus emphasized love and de-emphasized the law
c. Many have felt that the thrust of Jesus is love and forgiveness, and the afterthought is law and justice
d. As a result, many have felt less obligated to follow God's law
e. They have felt freer to live a looser life and to do as they wished
f. The feeling has been that if they keep the law of God in the back of their mind, they have the Christian liberty to interpret behavior as they see fit, within some reason
g. After all, it is argued, the "priesthood and security of the believer" are two of the basic teachings of Scripture
h. Therefore, the law's clear restrictions and obligations and its demand for obedience are minimized, and what is called love and forgiveness are emphasized
(1) Our Lord pulls no punches and comes straight to the point
(a) In verse 17 He says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law
(b) In verse 19 He says, "whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments
(c) And in verse 20 He says, "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees
2. We will outline our passage this way
a. A person must know that Christ came to fulfill the law (v.17-18)
b. A person must do and teach the law in order to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven (v.19)
c. A person must have more righteousness than a religionist to enter the Kingdom of Heaven (v.20)
(1) So lets begin by turning to Matthew 5:17 - 18
II. Body
A. A person must know that Christ came to fulfill the law
Matthew 5:17-18 (NKJV)
"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.
1. Jesus said He was neither contradicting nor destroying the Old Testament Scriptures nor standing against them
2. He was fulfilling them, completing them, bringing out what was implied
3. He was showing what the real meaning of the Old Testament Scripture is, its full meaning-all that God intended the Scripture to say
a. As God's Son, He is the Revelation of the truth
b. He is to reveal the true and complete meaning of the Scriptures
c. There are several ways in which Jesus Christ fulfilled the law
(1) Lets turn to John 1:14 and Hebrews 1:3
(2) Before Christ, the law described how God wanted man to live
(3) The law was the ideal, the words that told man what he was to do
(4) But Christ fulfilled and completed the law; that is, God gave man more than just mere words to describe how He wants man to live
(5) He gave man the Life, the Person who perfectly pictures and demonstrates the law before the world's very eyes
(6) Christ is the Picture, the Living Example, the Pattern, the Demonstration of life as it is to be lived
(7) He is the Perfect Picture of God's will, the Ideal Man, the Representative Man, the Pattern for all men
John 1:14 (NKJV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Hebrews 1:3 (NKJV)
who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
4. Christ fulfilled and completed the law
a. Let us turn to Romans 8:1 - 4
b. He was Spirit and Life, so He was able to put spirit and life to the words and rules of the law
c. He was able to live the life described by the words and rules
d. As such, He was able to inject both the idea and the power to behave into a person's mind and life
e. It is now His life that sets the standard and the rule for the believer; it is His Spirit and life that gives the believer power to obey
Romans 8:1-4 (NKJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. {2} For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, {4} that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit
5. Before Christ, the law stated only the rule and the principle of behavior
a. Lets turn to Romans 3:20-22
b. It did not explain the rule nor the spirit behind the rule
c. Neither did the law give the full meaning of the rule
d. The law always had to have an interpreter
e. But Christ fulfilled and completed the law
f. He explained the rule and the spirit behind the rule
g. He interpreted the law
h. He gave the law its real and full meaning.
Romans 3:20-22 (NKJV)
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. {21} But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, {22} even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
6. Before Christ, the law demanded perfect righteousness; it demanded a perfect life
a. Turn to 2 Corinthians 5:21
b. But men failed
(1) Men just could not obey the law perfectly; we fell short of
(2) perfect righteousness
(3) But Christ fulfilled and completed the law
(4) He kept the law in every detail
(5) He secured the perfect righteousness demanded by the law
(6) He fulfilled all the requirements, all the types, and all the ceremonies of the law-perfectly
(7) As such, He became the Perfect Man, the Ideal Man, the Representative Man for all men
(8) As the Ideal Man, He simply embraced all men; He embodied the righteousness that man must now have.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
7. Before Christ, the law demanded punishment for disobedience
a. If a man broke the law, he was to be punished
b. But Christ fulfilled and completed the law
c. In fact, He went to the farthest point possible in fulfilling the law
d. He paid the maximum price and showed the ultimate love
e. He bore the punishment of the law for every man's disobedience; He took the punishment of the law upon Himself
f. As the Ideal Man, He not only embodies the righteousness that must cover all men, He also frees all men from the penalty of the law
g. And He makes them sons of God
8. Christ is speaking to two different people
a. The first is the Pharisee, the strict legalist
(1) Christ did not destroy or weaken the law
(2) The liberty Christ preached fulfills the law as it should be fulfilled
(3) He is not to be rejected because a person thinks His liberty weakens the law
(4) He is to be acknowledged as God's Son who is to be followed and obeyed
b. The second is the carnal or loose individual
(1) Christ does not weaken the law by allowing a person to live as he wishes, by conscience only
(a) He does not release men from the duty and responsibility of the law
(b) He fulfills and strengthens and even enlarges the law
(c) Liberty does not mean license; it means that a person is now free to serve God in the spirit and life of the law, not just in the letter of the law
c. according to Christ, the Old Testament is the Word of God
9. The Law refers to these four things
a. It referred to the Ten Commandments
b. It referred to the first five books of the Bible, that is the books of Moses
c. It referred to the law and the prophets, that is, all the Scripture of the Old Testament
d. It referred to the oral or the Scribal Law
(1) God's law, given in the Old Testament, did not seem to be enough for the Jews
(2) They reasoned that if the law was really God's Word, then it must include every rule and regulation for conduct
(3) Therefore, they took the great principles of the law and reduced them to thousands upon thousands of rules and regulations
(4) These rules and regulations became the oral or Scribal Law
(a) Lets turn to Matthew 5:19
B. A person must do and teach the law in order to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 5:19 (NKJV)
"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.
1. There were two groups who gave their lives to the teaching and keeping of the law
a. The Scribes: they were the writers and teachers of the law
b. The Pharisees: they were the strict followers of the law
2. Here Jesus teaches that a person must do and teach the law in order to be great in the Kingdom of Heaven
a. Breaking and doing the law carries with it the idea of continuous action
b. No person is perfectly obedient all of the time
c. Every person fails sometime
d. But any person who continues to break a commandment, even if it is the least commandment, shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven
(1) And the person who continues to obey the commandments shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven
(a) Turn to 1 John 1:9
(2) A person cannot break a commandment and ask forgiveness, then go out and break another commandment and ask forgiveness over and over
(3) One commentator says, Such an individual cannot expect God to think he is serious about the commandments of God
(4) No man would think he is serious, why should God?
(5) But God says in His word that He will forgive.
1 John 1:9 (NKJV)
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(a) There are two things to remember
i) If we sin, God has promised to forgive our sin but not necessarily to protect us from the natural consequences of our own stupidity
ii) Further, our confession must be coupled with repentance
3. Three kinds of people who teach the law to others
a. The first and second are the keeper and the breaker of the law
(1) I have said, many times, we teach more by accident than we do on purpose
(a) A person teaches by what he does
(b) Others see and observe and learn from what he does
(c) If a person breaks and breaks a law, no matter how small a law, he teaches that the law is not important, not worthy enough to be kept
b. The third is the instructor of the law
(1) This refers to the teachers of the law and of religion
(2) Each instructor either adheres to or rejects the law
(3) Each instructor teaches his students the truth or else deceives his students into following human reasoning
(4) The person who breaks and teaches the breaking of the law attempts to void the law, that is, to do away with it
(5) It would seem that an attempt to void the law is much more serious a crime than to disobey a commandment
(6) Note also that continuing to disobey a commandment is denying the commandment, treating it as though it is unimportant and unnecessary
4. Christ warned all who break and teach others to break the law, even if they break only the least commandment: they shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven
a. Lets turn to James 3:1
5. There are four persons who are severely warned
a. The worldly or carnal: the person who continues to break the commandments of God
b. The teacher or instructor: the person who teaches that the commandment of God is a farce
(1) The person who says there is no such thing as God's law, there are only the commandments of men
c. The person who teaches and encourages others to sin and to disobey the commandments of God, even if the commandment is one of the least
(1) Nothing is more contemptible and nothing will be judged more severely
(2) This is one of the most serious offenses among men
James 3:1 (NKJV)
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment
(3) Turn to Ephesians 5:6
d. The mocker or persecutor: the person who rebels, mocks, and curses God's law and its strictness
Ephesians 5:6 (NKJV)
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience
6. Four significant lessons are seen in this point
a. All the commandments of God are important, but some are less important than others
(1) The individual who breaks the least commandment and continues and continues to break it, and teaching men such, shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven
b. Breaking a commandment of God and continuing to break it is serious, even if it is one of the least commandments
(1) Such behavior teaches men that the commandment is not important, so that the result is a person called least in the Kingdom of Heaven
c. When a commandment is broken, a person is to confess and repent
d. The obedient person can expect great reward
(1) He shall be called great in heaven
(2) He is loved by both God and Christ
(3) He receives very special manifestations of Christ's presence
7. Who fails to do the law? Who breaks the law?
a. The person who neglects the law and just fails to do it
b. The person who disobeys the law, does what it says not to do and does not do what the law says to do
c. The person who does not know the law cannot do it because he just does not know it
(1) But Paul tells us in Romans 2:14-15 that all men have the law written in their hears
Romans 2:14-15 (NKJV)
for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, {15} who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them
d. The person who narrows the law, that is, limits and weakens the law by making it say less than what it really says
e. Many make the law apply only to what they want because it allows them to do their own thing and to live as they wish
8. A person may neglect the law for several reasons
a. He is deceived about the law's importance
(1) Someone has misled him about its importance
b. He is too preoccupied with worldly affairs to place much importance in the law
c. He is reacting against some strict teaching in his past; therefore, he now neglects the law
d. He has not been taught the seriousness of keeping God's law
e. He fears the restrictions the law will place upon his life and behavior
(1) He does not want to live as the law says, so he neglects it
9. The law of God is often broken for two tragic reasons
a. Some have never heard about God's law
(1) We have failed to take the message of the law to the world
(2) Some do not have the law impressed upon their minds enough to worry about keeping it
(a) We have not stressed the message with enough conviction and power to show its importance
i) Well, lets turn our attention to Matthew 5:20
C. A person must have more righteousness than a religionist to enter the Kingdom of Heaven
Matthew 5:20 (NKJV)
"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.
1. Note three facts
a. Righteousness is necessary to enter heaven
(1) Turn to Romans 3:20-22
b. The Pharisees and the Scribes, had some righteousness
(1) They just did not have enough
(2) They were, in fact, strict religionists
(3) They worked at obeying thousands and thousands of rules and regulations, governing everything ranging from dress and social behavior to ministry and work
(4) However, they lacked the one essential: loving God so much that they would deny themselves and seek their righteousness in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:20-22 (NKJV)
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. {21} But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, {22} even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
c. The point is this, a person must have more righteousness than a person of legalistic religion to enter heaven
d. Many are religious, but few are strict and legalistic in their religion
e. What did Christ mean?
(1) Who can enter heaven if a person of a legalistic manner in their religion
(2) Many legalistic individuals and churches make the same fatal mistake that the Pharisees and Scribes made
(3) They seek acceptance with God..
(a) By giving God a formal worship instead of giving God a confession of unworthiness and of their need for Him in a personal way
(b) By giving God good works instead of giving God their hearts
(c) By giving God a clean and moral body instead of giving God a confession of needing help spiritually
(d) By giving God only a part of their lives, instead of giving God the total abandonment of themselves
2. We need to examine our own kind of religion
3. We need to see if we are lacking
a. In closing turn to Matthew 23:23
b. Note in this last passage, Jesus does not condemn their religious practices
(1) Jesus says that they simply have not done enough
Matthew 23:23 (NKJV)
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone
(2) To do as Jesus has said, we must have a heart that sees the spirit of God’s law and obeys out of a humble and contrite heart.
