Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5, 17-20.

Matthew 5, 17-20.

We're going through a series

!

Where you know a part of the Bible

so well that you think that there's

little more that it can teach you.

And then suddenly

your eyes are opened

and you are shocked.

That's what I found with these verses.

Let me read to you verses 17-20.

Jesus said,

Do not think that I have come to abolish

the law of the prophets.

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

Truly I say to you,

it is on heaven and earth,

they pass away, not an iota or dot,

they pass from the Lord

until all is accomplished.

Therefore whoever relaxes

one of the least of these commandments

and teaches others to do the same

will be called the 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.

Two subjects.

First subject,

Christ and the Old Testament.

The second subject,

Christ in you,

or Christ in me.

The Sermon on the Mount,

it is the longest sermon

that we have

of the Lord Jesus

that he gave during his earthly ministry.

And it's really important

that you understand

what's the purpose

of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Sermon on the Mount

is not telling you

how to become a Christian.

The Sermon on the Mount

does not tell you

how to be saved.

If you look at the starting

Sermon on the Mount,

it is he sat down

and his disciples

came to him.

The Sermon on the Mount

is to men and women

and boys and girls

who are already

Christ's disciples.

The Sermon on the Mount

is teaching

how do you live

as disciples

of the Lord Jesus.

As a Christian,

how you are

to behave.

It's much like

Exodus 20, isn't it?

I am the Lord your God

and brought you

out of the land of Egypt.

I have redeemed you

out of slavery.

Therefore,

you shall have no other gods

before me.

The thrust of the Sermon is

because you live,

you are this,

do this.

The Sermon is not

do this and live.

And what we found

at the start of Matthew 5

is that Jesus showed us

the great characteristics

of somebody

who's part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

It's somebody

who's been changed.

Somebody who's been changed

inwardly.

There's something

that has happened to them

inwardly

and now they live

differently

outwardly.

It's clear

in the Beatitudes

because he is

so different,

he lives

loving the law

of God

and the Son of God.

And he is persecuted

for righteousness' sake.

He is persecuted

for loving

the law of God

and he is persecuted

for my sake.

The second verse is 11,

Isaiah 11:10

verse 10 and 11.

Because he loves

the Son of God.

The Christian does not

fit in with the world

because she is

a disciple of Christ,

a follower of Christ.

And we saw last,

well we saw two weeks ago

that that's where

the love is, isn't it?

that we are

the soldier of the earth,

we are the light

of the world.

And the world

doesn't like that.

Verses 17 to 20,

now what is the connection

between what has gone

before?

The connection is this,

our Lord has already

shown there's a great

difference

between being a true

Christian

and adopting

the religion

of the scribes

and Pharisees.

There's a great

difference between that.

The people to whom

he knew,

the only religion

that they knew

was the religion

of the scribes

and Pharisees.

And our Lord

had already

explained that

true Christianity

was not like that.

No well.

True Christianity

was not like that.

But as our Lord

explains,

he's going to say

some things

which on the face

of it

may appear

as if he's

setting aside

the Old Testament.

He's not doing

anything of the sort.

But on the face

of it,

he appears

as if Jesus

is saying

true religion

is nothing like

what you find

in the Old Testament.

And our Lord

is saying,

he is saying

I'm not going

to set aside

the law

or the prophets.

And therefore

some explanation

is going to be

necessary

because questions

are going to arise

in people's minds.

Look at verse 17.

He says

do not think.

Why does he say

do not think?

He says

do not think

because

the probability

is that we're

going to think this.

Do not think.

As he's speaking

Jesus of Nazareth

is setting aside

the Old Testament

they think

and he attacks

the scribes

and the Pharisees

and he shows

that true religion

is very different.

And they would think

as they listen

he doesn't believe

the same scriptures

as we do.

That was the impression

they would get.

And so before

our Lord

launches in

on this attack

of the Pharisees

and the scribes

he makes a few

explanations.

And the first

is about himself

and the Old Testament.

So that's the first

point.

Verses 17 and 18

we see Christ

and the Old Testament.

There's three things

to see here.

First of all

in verse 17

Christ did not

come

to dissolve

the law.

In verse 17

do not think

that I come

to abolish

dissolve

the law

or the prophets.

I have not

come

to abolish

them.

The word

there means

to take

something

to pieces.

You've got

an old clock

that starts

working

and you think

I'll have a go

at fixing it.

So you take

the back off

you take

the word

with that

and you don't

know what

you're doing

and you don't

know how

to put it

back together

again.

That's not

what our Lord

came to do

with the Old

Testament.

The Lord

has not come

to destroy it

or to disintegrate

it.

The Lord

Jesus did not

come

to render

the Old

Testament

useless.

Our Lord

has not

come to do

that.

Look at

the first

17.

He says

do not

think that

I come

to abolish

the law

or the

prophets.

When he

speaks of

the law

and the

prophets

that's

the whole

of the

Old

Testament.

It's

an umbrella

phrase

for the

whole

of the

Bible.

I have

not come

into the

world

to set

aside

the

Old

Testament.

To

take it

to pieces.

To

dissolve it.

To

abrogate it.

That is not

by purpose

all.

No matter

how you

may hear

me preach.

It's not

the case.

So if our

Lord has

not come

to set

aside

the Old

Testament,

what has

he come

to do?

Has he

come to

explain it?

Has he

come to

expand it?

Has he

come to

interpret it?

Has he

come to

reinterpret it?

What's our

Lord's

attitude to

the Old

Testament?

We're

going to

get to

the

17.

I

want

us to

stick as

close to

the text

as we

can this

morning.

The

second

thing

he's

come

to

do

is

to

fulfill

it.

Don't

think I've

come to

abolish the

royal

prophets.

I've

not

come to

abolish

them,

but to

fulfill

them.

What does

fulfill

mean?

It

means to

complete.

It

means to

bring to

full

fruition,

to

consummate.

I've

not

come to

set the

Lord

aside.

I've

not

come to

do

away

with

them.

I've

come to

consummate

them,

to

fulfill

them.

And so

you see,

the whole

of the

Old

Testament

is a

whole

process

of

revelation

which is

building up.

And so

as you read

through the

Old

Testament,

you get a

more and

more complete

picture of

what God

is like,

and what

his ways

are,

and who

he is.

is

partial

isn't it?

It is

incomplete.

It's

perfect,

but it's

incomplete.

And you

need someone

to

fulfill it,

to complete

it,

to bring

it to

its

climax,

to its

conclusion.

And our

Lord Jesus

is that

fulfillment

of the

Old

Testament.

Think of

an arch,

and you're

building up

the arch

of both

sides.

But it's

not complete,

is it,

until you

put the

keystone

in the

middle of

the top.

That holds

the whole

of the

arch together,

and all

the other

bricks only

have meaning

such as they

lean up

towards that

keystone.

It's the

keystone

which makes

the whole

structure.

And our

Lord is

saying,

I've not

come to

break the

arch down,

I've come

to fulfill

it.

I've

come to

be the

keystone

in the

arch,

I've

come to

consummate it.

That is

his attitude

in the

Old

Testament.

And of

course,

as you

read through

the New

Testament,

more and

more that

becomes

clear.

So in

the Old

Testament,

there is

the

ceremonial

Lord,

there's

the

sacrifices

and the

offerings.

And our

Lord has

come to

discontinue

that.

But he's

not come to

set aside and

say you don't

need to

bother that at

all.

It's a

really

important

distinction

to say

the

old

sacrifices.

Well,

we don't

have to

sacrifice a

bull or

a ram or

a duck

today.

The

old

priesthood of

the Old

Testament is

no longer

necessary.

The

old

tabernacle,

the old

tabernacle and

temple, we

finished with

that.

Not

strictly

speaking,

Christ has

abrogated those

things or set

them aside.

he discontinued

those things

because they

are all

fulfilled and

summed up

in him.

All those

things are

patterns that

were fulfilled

in Christ.

All those

offerings, all

those sacrifices,

they were

meant to

actually lead

us to

Christ.

They predict

Christ, they

teach us about

Christ.

And so

now Christ

has come, we

don't want to

go back to

shallow

land.

Those things

are no longer

necessary, they

are discontinued.

It doesn't

mean that the

Old Testament

laws have been

set aside in

the strict

sense.

In fact, as

we read through

Leviticus,

after Christ,

we see that the

whole of Leviticus

has got a

deeper meaning

for us than

it didn't

have before.

That each

passage and

each sacrifice

and each

offering,

has a

significance

that we

didn't see

until Christ

came and

fulfilled it.

And so

therefore, our

Old Testament

as we read

it, is

pregnant with

meaning.

Until Christ

came, they

were faint

pictures of

what would

come.

And people

messed up

when they

were on

earth, they

were all

about.

It's very

important to

understand this.

Christ did

not come to

set aside the

Old Testament,

but to

fulfill it.

It's the same

with the

judicial law,

you know the

civil laws.

In your

Old Testament,

they were

laws, weren't

they, for

Israel as a

nation.

Israel was a

nation that

lived within

certain geographical

boundaries.

And so there

were laws about

what would

happen if your

bull walked

into the

road.

There were

laws about

landmarks to

remove them.

There were laws

about footpaths.

There were laws

about who could

pick corn in

your field and

who couldn't.

there were laws

about which

relative would

have their

name first on

the will.

There was a

whole host of

judicial laws.

And what

Jesus is

announcing here

in Matthew's

gospel is that

he has fulfilled

all that.

Because he's

taken away,

hasn't he,

all the

Jewish

privileges that

belong to

them as a

nation, and

he's given

them to the

people of

God, a

nation that

he's called

from every

tribe and

time and

nation.

So the

Jewish laws

have been

rendered

inoperative.

And yet, as

you read them,

the great

principles

continue in

the Christian

church.

We can see

that.

And it's

Christ who's

done that.

So as you

read through

the Old

Testament as

a Gentile

Christian, all

those judicial

laws of the

Old Testament,

because you

are united to

Christ, they

have immense

significance.

And they

have great

teaching value

for you,

because Christ

has not come

to set aside

the Old

Testament, but

to fulfill it.

And of

course, when

you come to

the moral

law of

God, the

Ten

Commandments,

our Lord

certainly

hasn't come

to set

our side,

just like

some of

the things

that are

said today.

What do

you see in

the Gospels?

You see the

Lord Jesus

fulfill that

law in

his own

perfect life.

He

fulfilled that

law to

the utmost.

he kept

the moral

law of

God

perfectly,

and he

lays down

that law

as the

pattern of

life for

believers.

Not to

save them,

but the

moral law

was never

intended to

save them.

But it is a

pattern of

life which

you are to

live.

And in a

wonderful sense

he has

lived, and

the moral

law takes

on a new

glory for

Christians.

because you

know, don't

you, that you

cannot keep

God's law.

But you

also know

one who

has kept

it.

And so the

moral law

of God,

they drive

us to

flee from

our sin,

and to

flee to

Christ, and

Christ has

fulfilled the

moral law.

And it's as

if we take

the Ten

Commandments

from the

hands of

Christ

Sunday by

Sunday.

And it

fills the

Christian with

wonder and

worship.

So Christ

is teaching

in verse 17

three really

simple points.

That he's

not coming

to set aside

the Old

Testament.

Number two,

he's come

to fulfil

the Old

Testament.

And the

Old Testament

has a

significance

which it

didn't have

before the

coming of

Christ.

B.B.

Warfield

talks about

the Old

Testament as

a room

where all

the furniture

is there,

but the

lights are

off.

And so

you're in

the room

but you

can't see

fully what's

in there.

And Christ

comes and

he switches

the lights

off and

suddenly you

see the

beauty and

the glory

of what

is taught

there.

And the

third thing

that this

verse teaches

us is this

applies to the

smallest details

of the Old

Testament.

And this is

really important.

Look at

verse 18.

For truly I

say to you,

until heaven

will pass

away,

not my

goat,

not a

dot,

will pass

from the

law until

all is

accomplished.

the Old

Testament was

written in

Hebrew from

right to

left.

And it

has a

small letter,

like a

kind of

inverted

comma.

not one

of those

will pass

away until

all is

fulfilled.

The Old

Testament was

translated into

Greek.

And Greek

has a little

letter,

I, that

is written

under the

line.

It's so small

you can't

only see it.

But not one

of those is

to be rendered

useless or

set aside.

Not one

of them is

to pass

away until

all be

fulfilled.

Every little

letter,

Jesus says,

every little

mark has

significance.

even the

finest

detail.

And I've

not come

to the

side of

the side.

I come

to the

side.

The

tiniest

detail is

significant.

And our

Lord is

teaching this

thing very

clearly in

verse 18.

Can you

see it?

Our

Lord is

teaching

concern for

detail.

As part of

the mind of

Christ.

God is

to

us.

And there

are many

people today

that think

concern for

detail in

the Bible is

legalism.

Some of

you might

think that

being so

concerned about

details in

the Bible is

called

orthodoxy.

But if

you're like

that, it's

because you've

not entered

into the

mind of

Christ.

Because Jesus

is teaching

that the

smallest detail

of the

Old Testament

has

significance.

And that

says to you

and I that

there is

nothing in

this book

which is

meaningless.

Nothing.

Every little

mark, every

little detail

is significant.

But he's

not come to

set it aside,

he's come to

pull for

that.

Can you see

what Jesus

is doing?

People are

going to

come to

him and

they're

saying, by

your teaching

Jesus you

are setting

aside the

Old Testament.

And Jesus

said before

he said

anything about

the Pharisees

and the

scribes and

their religion

that the

whole of

the Old

Testament

has got

his stamp

of approval

on it.

Every part

of the Old

Testament

is approved

by Christ.

Now we

need to stop

here and

just try and

make some

applications.

The first

thing I think

that it speaks

to us is

about the

inspiration of

the Bible.

The Bible is

a book we

believe that

is breathe

out by

God.

What you

often hear

today is

that there

are people

that teach

that Jesus

Christ, he

inspired the

ideas that

are in the

Bible and

the ideas

of the

Old

Testament.

But the

breath of

God, the

inspiration of

God doesn't

extend to

the words,

the literal

words.

That the

words maybe

are expressed

in ways that

we would

accept today,

but the

ideas behind

them we

accept.

And so

the ideas

were expressed

maybe in

ways that we

wouldn't today,

but actually

we're okay

with the

ideas behind

it.

But here

is what

Jesus is

teaching,

verse 18.

Jesus is

teaching that

the very

way that

the words

were written

down is

exactly the

way that

the ideas

of God

and the

will of

God wanted

them.

And the

inspiration

of the

Bible

extends to

the very

words.

And so

then we

should have

reverence

not just

for the

ideas of

Scripture,

but we

should have

reverence for

the way

that those

ideas are

expressed.

The very

words in

the way

that they

are put,

there is

no word

in the

Bible

that's

there by

accident.

there is

no word

that's

left out

that should

be in

there.

Inspiration

extends to

the words,

to the

letters,

and to

the,

can you

see it,

the dots

and the

iotas.

And so

that means

you and I

need to be

very careful

how we

handle the

Old

Testament.

Another

thing that

we need

to say

is that

the Old

Testament

which

makes up

two-thirds

of your

Bible

is not

an

inferior

Scripture.

People

describe

them,

sometimes

we

describe

ourselves,

but we

are

New

Testament

Christians.

It's a

bizarre

phrase.

Because

the Old

Testament

says

Jesus

is of

divine

authority.

That's

Jesus'

view of

the

Old

Testament.

So

anybody

who

benittles

the

Old

Testament

also

belittles

Jesus.

Because

Jesus

said

in the

Old

Testament

verse 18

truly

truly

I

say

to

you

until

heaven

and

earth

pass

away

now

I

will

pass

from

the

Lord

to

all

as

accomplished.

And so

you cannot

belittle

the Old

Testament

without

belittling

the Lord

Jesus.

And that's

so important

isn't it?

The moment

that you

belittle

Adam

or Eve

or

creation

or

Noah

or

Joseph's

coat

of

many

colours

or

Jonah

or

the

floating

axe

you

belittle

Christ.

And the

moment that you

belittle the

smallest details

the finest

points in the

Old Testament

you've

belittled the

Son of

God.

And you've

attacked

his

integrity.

And that

means that as

Christian people

we should be

taking as

much care as

we can

to get to

know the

Old

Testament.

Because the

New Testament

says that all

scripture is

given by the

inspiration of

God.

The Lord

Jesus says

man shall

not live by

bread alone

but by

every word

that comes

from the

mouth of

God.

And so the

Old Testament

and New

Testament

they are

equally

inspired.

And they

don't carry

equal revelation

but they

are equally

inspired.

And your

Christian life

will be

defective if

you cannot

and will not

study the

Old Testament

on which

Christ has

put his

seed and

approval.

Another thing

the Lord is

teaching us

is he's

teaching us

how to

understand the

Old Testament.

Can you see

that?

But he

foretold it.

So that when

you look at

the Old Testament

you look for

Christ.

And if you

don't look for

Christ you'll

never understand

it.

If you

open any

book of

the Old

Testament and

ask what

does this

book teach

me about

Christ?

In what

way does

this book

point me to

fulfilment in

the Lord

Jesus?

In what

way is

Christ the

completion and

fulfilment of

this?

The whole

of the Old

Testament

will leap

to life just

as it did

when Jesus

was on the

Emmaus road

beginning with

Moses and

all the

scriptures.

He went

through the

scriptures and

He expounded

to them the

scriptures concerning

Himself.

So that is

Christ in the

Old Testament.

Certainly even

more shocking than

the Old

Testament than

you.

Look at

grace of

19 and

20.

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

Pharisees you will

never enter the

kingdom of

heaven.

Well Lord it's

very simple

teaching but it's

quite difficult to

get or to

accept.

He's talking

about the

relationship of

the disciples to

the kingdom of

heaven and he

expresses it in

terms of their

relationship to

the law.

He's now

showing you and

I that your

relationship to

the law and

the Old

Testament is your

relationship to

the kingdom of

heaven.

He says to

you your

attitude to

God's word is

your attitude to

God.

God.

Because if the

scripture really

is the word of

God down to

its finest

detail like it

says in verse

18 and God

has breathed

it and here we

have a perfect

revelation of who

God is which is

fulfilled in

Christ it follows

doesn't it that

the attitude you

have towards God's

word is your

attitude to God.

You can know

that God is

great you can

know that God

is all powerful

but you can know

nothing else of

God except by

his word.

And verse 19

is even more

shocking than

that he says

and as far as

grading in the

kingdom of

heaven is

concerned and

it really is

shocking isn't

it verse 19

and you might

not like it

but in the

kingdom of

heaven can you

see this verse

there is

great and

there is

less

and I

think that's a

real surprise

there's such a

thing as great

Christians

and there's such a

thing as those

are the least

and so here's a

man who's

confronted with a

commandment in the

Bible it's only a

small commandment

it's just a little

point of detail and

he says to himself

but it's just a

little thing

it's no big deal

it's of no great

significance

I don't need to

take it seriously

at all

I keep hearing

we just thought

about keeping the

main thing the

main thing

and the main

things are the

plain things

and the plain

things are the

main things

I can never

work out with me

really to be honest

but that person

is here in those

they say well it's

only a small

issue it doesn't

really matter

I don't need to

take it very

seriously it's only

a small issue

there's no reason

really why I

can't ignore it

it's not a big

thing

it's not that

important I can

disobey it it's

no great significance

it's got no

bearing on my

spirituality I

need to bother

too much about it

I don't want to

be legalistic I

don't want to

get hang out on

this I need to

concentrate on the

main things

you can ignore it

if you want so

he himself he

doesn't keep that

commandment but he

breaks it

and he says to

others you don't

want to be legalistic

about this you

know don't worry

about it

verse 19

whoever relaxes

one of the least

of these commandments

and teaches others

to do the same

will be called the

least in the kingdom

of heaven he is

the very lowest

form of christian

there is that's

what jesus says

it's not because

he's broken the

commandment we all

break the commandments

but it's because of

his attitude to the

breaking of the

commandments it's not

worth bothering about

it's no big deal

and he tells people

the same thing

it's a shocking

thing

but here's a

woman here's a

woman she's

confronted with a

detail of the word

of god and you

say it's only a

detail

but this passage

teaches us doesn't

it that even the

details in the word

of god are of

eternal significance

and she says i know

i can't ignore this

because it's been

given by god and i

can't set it aside

and i must try and

comply with it

and she encourages

others to conform

their lives to the

word of god not

just with the big

principles but

actually the little

details of life

and jesus says she

is great in the

kingdom of heaven

she is the greatest

form of christian

and this cuts across

doesn't it lots of

what you hear

involving

evangelicalism

it's a total

contradiction of the

emphasis of many

churches today the

emphasis goes like

this concern for

detail that's

legalism that's

pharisaism don't

get hung up on the

small things in the

word of god these

things are secondary

they're no big deal

we can have christian

liberty on this but

that is foreign to the

teaching of our lord

jesus christ and it's

foreign to the teaching

of this verse jesus has

no respect whatsoever

of all for human

taboos he's got no

time for human

traditions human

do's and human

don'ts that have got

no authority in the

bible he couldn't

stand them and he

rounds on the scribe

of the pharisees

because they make the

word of god no effect

through their tradition

but when it comes to

the word of god jesus

says there is no

detail there's not a

pinprick there's not a

point of punctuation

that is without

significance and those

who treat it of no

significance because

they think it's of no

significance are the

least in the kingdom

of god and jesus

teaches you that the

greatest christian is

the one who has

meticulous concern for

the finer details of

the word of god

and he seeks to

encourage others he

wants others to have

meticulous concern for

the finer details of

the word of god

because he knows that

god's commandments

whether they're great

or whether they're

small they bind him

and they don't only

bind him they bind

all and so he

doesn't just bring

whatever his life in

conformity to the

word of god he

wants to encourage

others in line two

and the lowest form

of christian is

somebody who's not

bothered whether his

life is in conformity

to the word of god

or not

and the highest form

of christian is

one who's concerned

and so jesus

teaches doesn't he

there is gradation

in the kingdom of

heaven

there is rank in

the kingdom of

heaven as hard as

we find that to

believe

between the greatest

and the least

and they are

measured by their

obedience to the

word of god and

what they encourage

in others and i

want to say to you

that is the

consistent teaching