Matthew 5:17

Good morning.

Several years ago there was a young woman from Australia who was going to do some medical internship in Manila and she was put in contact with me.

! She was from a church down there and when I picked her up at the airport I will never forget what she told me.

The first thing she said was, Hi James, it is so good to know that I have family here.

And that is how I feel being here with you today.

I bring you greetings from your brothers and sisters in Manila at our church, Pilgrim Community Church.

They are seven hours ahead of us and so they are well into the Lord's day as we are beginning our time as well.

I would like to read to you again from Matthew chapter 5 and reading verses 17 to 20.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

So if you have your Bibles please turn with me in Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And let us listen now to God's word.

Here the Lord Jesus is speaking. He says,

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same,

will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But whoever does them and teaches them, will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Thus far the reading of God's word.

Let's speak to God.

Not so long ago, in one of our rooms at home, there are only two,

the room where my wife does homeschooling with our daughter,

the light got busted.

So it was one of those donut-like CFL lights, you know, the old style.

And so I had to replace it because they needed it the next day to do homeschooling.

I went to the hardware store, bringing with me that donut light.

And to my surprise, I was told,

Sir, this is already obsolete.

We no longer sell this model.

And so he proposed.

He said, but sir, I can sell you this one.

It's an LED one, which will last you very long.

But you're going to have to do some tinkering to install it.

It's very easy, he said.

Very straightforward.

And I trusted him.

And I bought the lamp.

And I went home.

And I tinkered.

And I connected it.

I screwed it on.

And when I switched the power on again,

behold, darkness.

And so I tried again.

And after a few tries, finally,

to my satisfaction, the light came on.

And so I was in this room.

My wife was in the other room with the kids.

And in my excitement, I called her and I said,

I fixed it.

And it's an LED light.

And so it's going to last forever.

And without skipping a beat,

my six-year-old daughter, who was with her,

hollers back at me and says,

No, Papa.

Only the Word of God lasts forever.

And so I got schooled by a six-year-old that night.

And this morning, I'd like us to hear what the Lord Jesus Christ has to say

about the enduring significance of the Word of God.

Now, this is important because up to this point in the Gospel of Matthew,

so far, he has not said anything about the law.

And in the first century Jewish ear,

this would have seemed very curious indeed.

You see, for the official religious leaders of the day,

the Pharisees and the scribes, the lawyers,

well, the law, or some derivative of it,

was all that they taught.

It was all they could talk about.

And so you have Jesus, this unofficial religious teacher,

teaching, but hadn't mentioned anything about the law.

So him mentioning it here, in this place,

is very significant.

And we need to hear it out.

How did the Lord Jesus view the law?

Could it be that he was a softy on it?

He was quite relaxed about it?

Well, no, not at all.

In fact, Jesus affirmed the lasting significance of the law.

Do not think, he says,

that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them,

but to fulfill them.

Here in this section,

Jesus teaches the exactness of the law.

It is enduring,

and it is unbending.

And he, he says,

has come to fulfill it.

All of it.

Today the word of God is teaching us

that because Christ has come

to accomplish the law and the prophets,

Christians now have in him

a renewed life and relationship

to God's enduring laws.

I have three points I'd like to consider with you this morning.

And I will tell them to you,

if you're taking notes.

Number one,

accomplished, not abolished.

Okay?

Accomplished, not abolished.

The law is accomplished, not abolished.

Number two,

an unbending code of life.

The law is an unbending code of life.

And number three,

an exceeding righteousness.

Okay?

Now, boys and girls,

you should have been given a sheet

that we use back home.

And I'm very thankful that

your church has agreed to print this.

This is something that we use at home.

So, I have three key words

I'd like you to write down.

Now, those of you who are too young to do that,

mommy and daddy can help you

to write these key words.

And the reason I'm giving you these key words

is so that when you go home,

when you have family worship,

or in the car,

on your way to lunch,

you can ask daddy,

you can ask mommy.

So, daddy,

what did James mean

by these words?

Okay?

So, these are the three words.

Are you ready?

I want you to write them down.

Number one,

the word is fruit.

Okay?

Fruit.

Number two,

this is a really long word,

so I'll just give you the short form.

Three letters.

D and A.

Okay?

D and A.

And then the last word

I want you to write down

is the word extra.

Okay?

So, those are your key words.

You're probably not going to understand

a lot of what I'm going to say today,

but those key words

are going to be your guide

when you go home.

And mommy and daddy,

it's your duty now

to listen carefully.

Because the children

are going to come home

and ask you about this.

Okay?

So, let's look at the point in turn.

Number one,

accomplished,

not abolished.

Now, boys and girls,

the word I gave you

was the word fruit.

A flower that is cut from the plant,

we know,

dries up and dies.

But a flower that blooms

and matures

on the plant

eventually grows

into what it's meant to be.

In most cases,

a fruit.

And Jesus here is saying

that he has not come

to abolish

or to cut down

the law,

but to fulfill it.

In Jesus,

the law finds

its ultimate meaning

and fulfillment.

Have a look with me

in verses 17 and 18.

He says,

the Lord Jesus says,

Do not think that I have come

to abolish the law

or the prophets.

I have not come

to abolish them,

but to fulfill them.

For truly,

I say to you,

until heaven and earth

pass away,

not an iota,

not a dot,

will pass from the law

until all is accomplished.

Friends,

the law and the prophets

here encompass

the whole Old Testament.

When Jesus says,

the law and the prophets,

he's talking about

the whole Old Testament.

The law pertains

to the first five books

written by Moses.

And prophets

is the shorthand

for the rest

of the Old Testament.

And Jesus here

is saying

that he has come

to abolish

none of it.

He has come

to fulfill

all of it.

Notice in verse 18,

he says,

not an iota,

now that's the smallest

letter in Greek,

not a dot,

not even a dot,

will pass away

from the law

until

all is accomplished.

Here,

Jesus was simply saying

that the prophet,

what the prophet

had long ago

affirmed

to be the youth

by date.

Is that correct?

The youth

by date

of the scriptures.

The grass withers,

the flowers fade,

but the word of God

will last forever.

Isaiah 48.

Now,

we are used

to the language

of Jesus

coming to fulfill

the prophets

or prophecy.

Isn't that how

we're taught?

Old Testament,

promise.

New Testament,

fulfillment.

Right?

And so,

we're accustomed

to thinking of

Jesus as fulfilling

prophecy.

2 Corinthians 1.20,

Paul writes,

for all the promises

of God,

find their yes

in Him.

But,

here's the question.

What does it

really mean

that Jesus

had come

not only to

fulfill the prophets,

not only to

fulfill prophecy,

but to fulfill

the law?

That's where I'd like

us to turn

our attention

this morning.

How does Jesus

fulfill the law?

Now,

we already said

that the law

is the first

five books

of the Bible.

But,

more specifically,

the law here

points to

the moral law

as summarily

comprehended

in the Ten Commandments,

Shorter Catechism 41.

We must see here

an important

parallel

between

two public

men,

two Adams,

who each

stand as

representatives

of other men.

Jesus

has come

as the last

Adam

to succeed

where the first

Adam

had failed.

Adam

had disobeyed God.

Adam

has broken

God's law.

And,

Jesus has come,

he says,

to perfectly

obey

and fulfill

the moral law.

Recall with me

Adam

in the garden.

God created

Adam

in his own image

and gave him

two commands.

A positive one

and a negative one.

The positive command

was

be fruitful

and multiply

and subdue

the earth.

Have dominion

over the creatures.

What was that?

Adam was made

in God's image

and God

was essentially

telling Adam,

Adam,

what I want you to do

is to go

out into the ends

of the earth

and fill it

with my image.

Adam

The negative command

was

do not eat

of the fruit

of the tree

of the knowledge

of good and evil.

There will be

a consequence.

For on that day

that you eat

of it

you shall

surely

die.

And we know

how the story

unfolds.

Adam ate

and he died.

And because

he was a public

man,

our catechism

teaches us

that the covenant

being made

with Adam

not only

for himself

but for his

posterity,

his descendants,

all mankind

descending from him

by ordinary

generation,

sinned in him

and fell with him

in his first

transgression.

Shorter Catechism

16.

And this is why

the Bible teaches

that Jesus

had to come

because the first

head,

the first public

man had failed.

Jesus had to

come as the

second Adam,

the head of

a new humanity.

For as by

the one man's

disobedience

the many were

made sinners,

so by the one

man's obedience

the many will

be made righteous.

Romans 5.19

In Jesus

the whole law

is fulfilled.

In Jesus

positively,

Jesus obeys

the law

to the very

last jot

and tittle.

It's interesting,

isn't it?

The way he puts it,

he says,

for I truly,

for truly I say

to you until

heaven and earth

pass away,

not an iota,

not a dot

will pass away

from the law

until all of it

is accomplished.

And that's what

he has come to do.

He has fulfilled

it to the

letter,

to the

dot.

As the

Redeemer,

Jesus had to

obey in three

ways.

I'll give that

to you.

The first way,

he had to

obey his

father's

sending of

him to the

world to

save sinners.

Second,

as a human

being,

he is

truly human.

he had to

obey the

moral law

impressed in

his heart

as the

image of

God.

And thirdly,

as a Jew,

he had to

obey all the

positive commands

and laws

in the

law of

Moses.

This

encompasses

the ceremonial

law as well

as the

civil laws.

And all

this,

he did

perfectly.

but that's

not all.

What does it

mean for

Jesus to

fulfill the

law?

It's not

just for

him to

actively

obey.

Negatively,

Jesus

fulfilled the

law by

suffering the

penalty and

consequences

of the sin

of Adam

and of all

those he

came to

redeem.

2 Corinthians

5.21,

for our

sake,

he made

him to

be sin

who knew

no sin

so that

in him

we might

become the

righteousness

of God.

Returning

to our

text,

we see

then that

Jesus takes

the proper

view of

the law

as God

had intended

it.

Now,

the Pharisees,

they were

very,

very,

how do you

put it,

enterprising

when it

comes to

their

interpretation

of the

law.

Pharisees

created a

whole system

of external

man-made

commands to

interpret the

limits and

the terms of

the law

according to

their

interpretation.

But this

only obscured

the true

meaning,

purpose,

and demands

of the

law.

The law

was,

is,

and will

always be

exact

and

unbending.

It's not

like after

the fall,

Jesus,

you know,

God

curved the

grade.

No,

the standard's

the same.

The law

remains

exacting

and unbending.

And that

brings us to

my second

point.

The law

is an

unbending

code of

life.

Now,

boys and

girls,

the word

I gave

you is

DNA.

That stands

for

deoxyribal

nucleic acid.

I don't want

you to write

that down.

DNA is

basically

the code

of life.

It is

the

smallest

part

that makes

us up.

Makes,

yeah,

makes us up.

And there's

a sense

in which

the law

is the

DNA,

or the

code of

life,

of humans

made in

God's

image.

Obeying

the law

is quite

simply

another way

of expressing

what the

chief end

of mankind

is.

Our

catechism

teaches us

to obey

the law

as we

should

is to

glorify

God

and to

enjoy

him

forever.

Now,

look with

me in

verse 19.

Therefore,

whoever

relaxes

one of

the least

of these

commandments

and teaches

others to

do the

same

will be

called

least

in the

kingdom

of heaven.

Whoever

does

them

and

teaches

them

will be

called

great

in the

kingdom

of

heaven.

The

law

is

an

expression

of the

very

character

and

nature

of

God.

When

God

made

man

in

his

own

image,

this

entailed

man

being,

in a

limited

sense,

like

God,

in

knowledge,

righteousness,

and

holiness.

Adam

was

originally

created

with

obligations

to

God,

simply

because

he was

a

creature,

simply

because

he was

made

in

God's

image

to

reflect

this

image.

The

moral

law

was not

an

add-on

to

his

existence,

but

was

rather

part

of

his

very

DNA.

And

so

with

or

without

positive

commands,

with

or

without

covenant,

Adam

owed

God

worship,

loyalty,

and

obedience.

And

so

do

we.

The

law

was

written

in

Adam's

heart

as an

unbending

code of

life,

as it

is

written

in our

hearts

as an

unbending

code of

life.

The

point of

this is

to say

that

the

law,

being a

reflection

of

God

himself,

could

never

therefore

be

relaxed

or

done

away

with.

We

will

have

to

deal

with

that

reality,

you

and

I,

because

we

are

made

in

God's

image.

God's

law

is

written

in

our

hearts

and

is

exacting

to

us.

It

is

unbending

to

us.

It

tells

us

how

we

ought

to

live.

And

this

is

Paul's

point,

isn't

it,

in

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2.

Recall

the

order

of

things

as

he

expresses

it

in

verses

8

to

10.

He

says,

for

by

grace

you

have

been

saved

through

faith,

and

this

is

not

your

own

doing,

it

is

the

gift

of

God,

not

a

result

of

work,

so

8

and

9,

but

we

leave

out

verse

10,

which

is

so

important.

For

we

are

his

workmanship,

created

in

Christ

Jesus,

what did

he say?

For

good

works,

which

God

prepared

beforehand

that we

should

walk

in

them.

Good

works

then,

is

a

matter

of

God's

design.

God

made

us

to

glorify

him

and

to

enjoy

him

forever.

God

made

us

to

do

good

works.

No

wonder

all

other

religions

they

would

not

deny

doing

good

because

that's

the

impulse

of

our

hearts.

We

were

created

to

do

good

works.

The

problem

is

sin

has

killed

us

so

that

we're

no

longer

able

to

meet

God's

righteous

requirements.

But

we still

want to

try.

We

still

want to

do

it.

Good

works

is a

matter

of

God's

design,

not

of

how to

obtain

rights

standing

with

God.

Paul

is very

clear

about

that.

He

says,

it is

by grace

you've

been

saved

through

faith,

not

by

works.

But

you shouldn't

stop there

because then

you would

fall into

the trap

of

thinking,

oh,

now I'm

saved,

I can

do

whatever

I

want.

No.

By

grace

you've

been

saved

through

faith,

not

by

works.

But

later

he

says,

for

we

are

God's

workmanship,

created

in

Christ

Jesus,

for

good

works.

We're

not

saved

by

good

works,

we're

saved

to

do

good

works.

Good

works

is a

matter

of

proper

function.

Therefore

it

matters

how

we

relate

to

the

law.

It

matters

how

we

teach

the

law.

It

matters

because

while

the

law

is

by

no

means

a

way

to

life

for

the

dead,

it

is

by

all

means

the

way

of

life

for

the

living.

In

Christ

the

believer

is

restored

to

his

or

her

creational

design

so

that

now

by

the

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit

they

can

begin

to

really

obey

the

law

and

to

please

God

to

walk

in

newness

of

life.

Friends,

the

law,

the

moral

law

is

in

our

DNA.

It

speaks

to us

of how

we

ought

to

be.

Sin,

however,

prevents

this

in

us.

And

so

there

lies

the

problem.

God

made us

for

himself.

Our

chief

and

highest

end

is

to

glorify

God

and

fully

to

enjoy

him

forever.

But

as long

as we

remain

outside

of

Christ

and

in

the

Adams

family,

we

will

remain

sin

ruined

monsters

who

have

only

the

penalties

of

the

unbending

and

exacting

law

of

God

to

look

forward

to.

As

little

children

in

Sunday

school

were

made

to

memorize

the

most

popular

verse

in

the

Bible,

John

3,

16.

There's

another

verse

in

John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3,

I

think

that

it

would

do

us

well

to

teach

our

children

to

memorize

and

that's

verse

36.

Whoever

believes

in

the

Son

has

eternal

life.

Whoever

does

not

believe,

obey

the

Son

shall

not

see

life,

but

the

wrath

of

God

remains

on

him.

We

come

now

to

our

third

point,

an

exceeding

righteousness.

The

key word

I gave

you,

boys and

girls,

is the

word

extra.

What

does

extra

mean?

It

means

something

that is

not part

of

the

package

that

is

additional

or

outside

of

it.

So,

if you

go to

a

chippy

shop

and

order

yourself

a

nice

battered

fish,

that

is

all

that

you're

going

to

get.

You

want

french

fries,

I

mean

chips,

you

would

have

to

order

extra.

It's

not

part

of

the

original

order.

And

Jesus

here

speaks

of

a

righteousness

that

exceeds

that

of the

scribes

and the

Pharisees.

But what

does this

mean?

And can

we

find this

righteousness

in

ourselves?

No.

It is

extra.

It is

outside

of us.

Read with

me

verse

20.

The Lord

Jesus

here says,

For I

tell you,

unless your

righteousness

exceeds

that of

the

scribes

and the

Pharisees,

you

will

never

enter

the

kingdom

of

heaven.

The

law

is

exacting

and

unbending

and all

of

humanity,

O God,

their

perfect

obedience.

I've

been

quoting

from the

Shorter

Catechism.

Let me

quote from

another

catechism,

a newer

one.

In

question

and answer

seven of

the

New

City

Catechism,

it asks,

What does

the law

of God

require?

Answer,

personal,

perfect,

and perpetual

obedience.

That we

love God

with all

our heart,

soul,

mind,

and strength,

and love

our neighbor

as ourselves.

What God

forbids

should never

be done,

and what

God commands

should always

be done.

It's a

pretty heavy

burden,

isn't it?

But remember,

it's DNA.

It's the

code of

life.

It's what

we were

actually

made to

be and

to do.

And so

that's the

standard.

The law

is exacting

and unbending

that nothing

short of

personal,

perfect,

and perpetual

obedience

is what

God

expects

from all

of us.

Unless

our

righteousness

exceeds that

of the

scribes

and Pharisees,

and that's

not saying

much,

really,

we will

never

enter

the

kingdom

of heaven.

Jesus is

not proposing

a new

merit scheme

here,

okay?

He's not

saying,

well,

there's

another way

to get

into the

kingdom of

heaven.

Work

harder

until you

exceed the

righteousness

of the

scribes

and Pharisees.

No.

He is

saying that

the righteousness

of the

scribes

and Pharisees

is actually

the same

righteousness

that you

and I

have.

It is

the

righteousness

of

sinners,

which is

no righteousness

at all

in the

final

analysis.

The

littlest

sin

contaminates

us.

This

week,

I had a

chance to

sample

different

restaurants.

It's

wonderful,

isn't it?

London is

such a

cosmopolitan

city,

and there's

just so

much

internationals

here and

there.

And I

noticed that

in your

establishments

there's this

sticker,

the food

hygiene

sticker

rating.

We don't

have that.

That's why

it's

interesting.

Now,

suppose you

were an

inspector in

that agency

and it

has come

to your

attention

that one

restaurant

in central

London

serves

tap water.

And your

tap water

is good.

It's potable,

right?

Serves tap

water with

one drop

of toilet

water in

each glass.

Just one

drop.

Would you

give them a

pass?

Of course

not.

How about

if they said,

no, no, no,

it's not really

just one drop.

It's in the

whole pitcher.

One liter

full.

toilet

water.

One drop

toilet water

just to

make it

ours.

Would you

give them

a pass?

No.

How about

if they

had huge

five-gallon

water containers?

And let's

change it up

a bit.

They say,

no, okay.

It's not

one drop

from the

toilet paper

anymore,

toilet bowl

anymore.

It's one

drop from

the one

liter with

one drop,

okay?

Further

diluted.

And then

we serve

people water

from that

five-gallon

container.

Will you

give them

a pass?

Absolutely

not.

See,

the whole

five-gallon

container

is now

contaminated.

Even if

I gave

you five

quid,

you wouldn't

drink that

if you knew

what was

in it.

And that's

what we

are before

God.

Each one

of us

contaminated.

It doesn't

matter if

there's a

cup of

toilet water

in you

or just

a drop.

We are

utterly

unacceptable.

acceptable.

The question

for us

then is

where is

your

righteousness?

Have you

any

acceptable

that is

perfect

righteousness

of your

own to

show for?

And if

not,

where can

you find

such

exceeding

righteousness?

righteousness,

the kind

that exceeds

the righteousness

of the

scribes

and the

Pharisees?

I don't

know,

maybe the

Pharisees

are 99%

clean water

and just

one drop

of toilet

water.

Where do you

find that

righteousness?

It's extra.

It's outside

of yourself.

It's not

something we

can muster

through sheer

willpower or

performance.

It is

something that

can only

be found

in the

perfect

righteousness

of Jesus

Christ.

Martin

Luther

called this

an alien

righteousness.

A

perfect

righteousness

that is

extra

alien,

foreign

to us,

that comes

to us

without

our

efforts.

So

what is

Jesus

saying

in

verse

20?

What does

it mean

when he

says,

for I

tell you,

unless

your

righteousness

exceeds

that of

the

scribes

and

Pharisees,

you

will

never

enter

the

kingdom