Matthew 5:17-20 “Fulfillment”

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I do love when it starts to look like Christmas, just doing that around here.

I love the excitement of the decorations and the songs and all of that this time of year.

And inevitably, as all of this starts, somebody is going to say to you, if they haven't already,

you need to remember the reason for the season.

In other words, they want to say, you need to remember why Christmas,

because it's not all about lights and presents and stockings, is it, kids?

My kids are always telling me it's not about the presents.

That's not what they're usually saying, but they remember that that is true,

that it's about something more than all of those things, isn't it?

We celebrate it at Christmas, Jesus.

The word Christmas actually means the coming of the Christ,

the promised Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem about 2,000 years ago,

and it's that event, that time, that first Christmas,

that I'd like us to ask why about during this Christmas season.

Why did the first Christmas happen?

Why did Jesus come to earth?

Whatever you believe about Jesus, why did he say that he came?

I want us to listen to the Christ himself tell us why Christ came, why Christmas.

That's what we're going to do this Advent season.

You might be surprised how much Jesus talks about this,

how many times in the gospel accounts he says,

I came to, or I've come that, or the Son of Man came so that.

I think you're going to find as we look at some of these reasons that he came,

that your celebration of his birth will be fuller and more joyful.

And that is my prayer for these few weeks together in God's word.

The first answer to why Christmas that we'll look at is found in Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Matthew 5, where Jesus is beginning his famous sermon on the mount.

And he clarifies here one reason he did not come,

as well as one really important reason why he did.

Let's listen to Jesus answer our question in Matthew 5, beginning at verse 17.

Sitting on a mountain, likely overlooking the Sea of Galilee,

Jesus said to his disciples,

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 Pharisees,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This is God's word.

Let's ask for his help as we study it together.

Father, your help is what we have asked for all morning.

We continue to stand in need of it.

We especially want to hear from you.

Not from a man.

Just as we, that first Christmas, needed God to break in.

We need you to speak by your spirit and your word.

So would you do that clearly and would you give us ears to hear

and hearts that are willing and eager to rejoice,

even to repent, to change.

Do that work in us by your spirit, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Early in our marriage, I decided to bake Christy a cake for her birthday.

So now it's important for you to know that Christy is an excellent baker.

She is fantastic and there is no way in the world that I would try this now.

I know better than to try this, but I told you this was early in our marriage

and I hadn't learned much yet, okay?

So be patient with me.

And plus, I had a lot of hope because I knew this was a great cake.

She had made it before.

It looked beautiful.

It tasted just right.

And I had her recipe.

What could possibly go wrong?

I knew how to read.

I knew how to follow directions.

I really don't think that I confused the baking soda and the baking powder,

although they really look a lot alike and they both look like flour.

I mean, there's a lot of stuff that can go wrong there.

I think I used the right pans that seemed to fit in there.

I even called her for help a couple of times.

You know, there were things like, how soft is softened butter?

I mean, exactly how soft does it need to get?

And is it salted or unsalted?

And how do you know?

And I don't know.

I thought I got it right.

But in spite of the perfect recipe,

in the hands of an imperfect chef,

the cake did not turn out the way that it was designed

or that I had hoped.

I wish I had taken a picture of it to show you

so you could appreciate just how bad it was.

But I saw this one this week on the internet,

and it just looked really familiar.

Honestly, this one's holding together a lot better than mine,

but the angle at which it is leaning is like exactly the one.

When I carried it out to her on the plate,

I had to tilt it so that it stayed on the plate when I walked out.

Have you ever made a cake like that?

It was rough.

Now, I want you to know something important.

I still ate the cake.

There were plenty of good things in there, right?

But it wasn't the same.

Even with her recipe and her advice,

it didn't come out the same as when she was there

personally baking the cake.

Somewhere in my imperfect use of the perfect recipe,

the beauty and the sweetness of the cake got lost.

Christy would have to come home,

follow the recipe the way it was meant to be followed,

bake the cake for herself

for us to experience its fullness and perfection.

Y'all, that's why Christmas, okay?

Jesus came not to follow a recipe for a cake,

but to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures,

stories, predictions, prescriptions,

promises whose meaning needed not to be done away with,

but filled out, embodied personally,

in the one who really knew what they meant,

the one that they all pointed to.

See, there were many imperfect chefs who were given God's Word,

some just preferring to ignore the recipe altogether

and do things their own way.

Some who, like me,

religiously followed the recipe to a T

while missing the heart,

but all following short of what God meant for them,

what God required of them,

none of them measuring up to that perfection.

And so what happened was Jesus couldn't stay at a distance.

He couldn't just stand far off and give advice

for following the recipe,

for knowing how to live.

He had to come to embody in himself its fullest meaning,

to fulfill, as he says,

the law and the prophets.

That's shorthand for the whole Old Testament,

the Hebrew Scriptures,

39 books written over centuries,

he comes to fulfill.

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones calls this

the most stupendous claim Jesus ever made.

That it's all about him.

That you look through page after page

and story after story,

and Jesus says,

it's about me.

I'm gonna fulfill all of it.

Every promise,

every requirement of God's word,

I will fulfill.

Does Jesus love the Old Testament?

There's a lot more about his life

in the New Testament, isn't there?

Does Jesus love the Old Testament?

You better believe he does.

Every iota,

every dot,

every one,

he says,

he will fulfill,

he will himself embody

its deepest and fullest meaning.

We're gonna look this morning

at both the promises

and the requirements.

Okay?

Mostly the prophets

connected to the promises.

Mostly the law books

connected to the requirements,

but honestly,

there's some overlap both ways.

But we're gonna see

both of those,

and along the way,

why Jesus coming for this fulfillment

is so wonderful for us.

So necessary

and so absolutely life-bringing

and joy-bringing for us.

Let's look at this together.

First,

how Jesus fulfills

all the promises.

This one honestly

is a little easier

to understand,

I think.

Most estimates see

over 300 Old Testament

prophecies

fulfilled in Jesus.

Already six times

in the first few chapters

of Matthew,

he said,

all this took place

to fulfill

what was said

through the prophet.

So many of those

300 are historically,

independently verifiable

across hundreds of years.

Some of those

very direct,

specific promises,

like the promised Messiah

will be born in Bethlehem.

But many of those promises

where fulfilling the promise

means Jesus is revealing

what it could even look like

for something to happen.

What it could look like,

for example,

for God to be with us,

Emmanuel,

that a virgin

could be with child.

Jesus embodies

the longing

for a righteous king

on David's throne

who pursues justice

for the poor,

who pursues peace

for the nation.

As Jesus goes to the cross,

we grasp the fullness

of something

we could only have seen

very dimly.

The prophet Isaiah

writing that

the Lord's servant

would be a man of sorrows.

The promised king,

a man of sorrows?

How's that going to work?

It wouldn't have even made sense

to many,

but we're told

he'll bear our griefs,

he'll carry our sorrows,

he's even going to be smitten

by God himself.

How's that possible?

And Jesus goes to the cross

and we start to see.

Jesus himself lays out for us

the full meaning

of the blood of the lamb

in the Lord's supper.

The Passover feast

had this lamb with blood

and it reminded God's people

of his deliverance

from bondage

into relationship

with himself

by the blood of the lamb.

It was a grace

for God's people

in Egypt, right?

And it was a foreshadowing

of the grace of God

for his people in sin

that Jesus himself

would bring

when he showed up

in person

to lay down

his very own life

through his death

on the cross

and we said,

behold,

the lamb of God.

All of God's promises,

yes and amen

in Jesus.

All of them.

Jesus came

so that all of those promises

given to all of those generations

of God's people

repeated from father and mother

to child and grandchild

generation after generation

would not be empty promises.

They wouldn't be left empty

but they would in fact

come to their full fruition

and the one that God

had been pointing

his people to

for generations.

The one who,

as Sally Lloyd-Jones says,

is like the missing piece

in a puzzle

that helps you see

a beautiful picture

because every page

of every story

in the Old Testament

whispers his name.

The baby

who according to God's story

is the hero

that we all need.

Every single one of us

then and today

needs the same hero.

I pray that every one of you

have found Jesus

to be the hero

of your story.

Have found yourself

in his story,

if you will.

That he would be

the one that enters in

to your story

and makes all of the painful

and confusing

and difficult

and seemingly hopeless

parts of your life.

He gathers all of them up

and makes them fit together

for a glorious purpose

even when you can't see it.

He came for that reason

for you

because you have painful

and difficult

and seemingly hopeless

parts of your story

but you have a king

who came to give you hope.

The second aspect

of Jesus coming

to fulfill the law

and the prophets

is fulfilling

all their requirements.

This one's a little bit harder

for us to understand.

Jesus explains it more here

in this passage.

See, it seems that

some in Jesus' day

were concerned

that this new teacher

was lowering the bar.

All this talk

of a kingdom of grace

where people

who were poor in spirit

got in.

Where the meek

were there mourning

their sins.

It sounded to some

like he's lowering the bar.

It made them wonder

if Jesus was shortening

the list of

Old Testament commands

from 613

that were there

to something far less

than that.

To a number far lower.

Jesus says,

by no means.

Not at all.

He sits on the mountain

and teaches

like the promised prophet

like Moses.

Remember Moses,

the law giver

who came down

from the mountain

with the law of God.

But Jesus

sits

and speaks

on his own

authority

and he raises

the bar.

Doesn't he?

If you haven't read

this passage,

you'll be certain

of this after you do.

He shows the

full meaning

of God's law.

Not getting rid of it,

but filling it out.

Don't murder?

What about the anger

in your heart?

Jesus says.

Don't commit adultery?

Yeah.

What about the lust

in your heart?

Jesus says.

The rest of Matthew 5

is example

after example

ending with

love not only

your neighbor,

but also

your enemy

from your heart

because that's how

God your father

loves.

And by the way,

while we're raising

the bar,

verse 48,

let's just make sure

we're clear how high it is.

You must be perfect

as your heavenly father

is perfect.

You still think

Jesus has gone

soft on crime?

No.

Has his grace

run off the law?

We don't need it anymore.

No.

See,

Jesus is taking us

all the way

to the heart of God,

isn't he?

That's what he's done here

as you go through

this chapter.

The law of God

reveals God's

perfect character,

doesn't it?

Which is not merely

that God is perfect

in the things

that he does,

the actions

that he takes,

that's part of it,

but truly

God is perfect

in who he is

at his very heart.

At his core,

God is goodness.

He is good

completely.

Perfect goodness

from the heart

and that

is what is required

of us.

It always has been

for man and woman

created in God's image

to reflect

God's image

perfectly.

we are required

to have lives

where without failure,

without mixed motivation,

without self-interest,

from the heart

for God's glory,

all the time,

we are perfectly

honest

and loving

and faithful

and forgiving

and patient

and loyal.

Even with those

who aren't like that

toward us,

it doesn't matter.

That's what it means

to be children of God,

Jesus says,

all the time.

Jesus fills out

the meaning

of the law,

doesn't he?

He raises

the bar

so high.

He raises it

by going to the heart.

It's not a list

of things you can check off.

It's who you are

from the heart

and by the way,

if you can't outdo

the best law keepers

of the day,

the most careful

followers

of God's law,

you can't even

get into heaven.

That's Jesus,

not me.

That's Jesus.

I love the way

J. Gresham Machen

explains this dynamic.

He says,

the list-making,

externally-focused

rule followers

actually have

a low view

of the law

because they think

they can keep it.

A low view

of the law

always brings

legalism

in religion.

A high view

of the law,

like Jesus's,

makes a man

a seeker

after grace.

Is that just a glimpse?

I only spent

a couple minutes.

I went really fast.

Is just a glimpse

of God's law

this morning

doing that

in your heart?

Is it making you

say,

help?

I couldn't possibly.

There's no way

I'll measure up.

If it's not,

you're not seeing

how high

Jesus raises

the bar.

We should be

crying out

for grace.

Oh, Jesus,

where can I find

grace?

I'm seeking

after grace.

I can't do this.

I'm not enough.

Now listen,

you know,

and when you cry

out for grace

like that,

Jesus gives grace,

doesn't he?

Jesus gives that grace

in two ways here

after he raises

the bar.

Please don't miss this.

This is so important.

If you've understood

at all where the bar is,

it's so important

that you understand

where Jesus's grace

comes into this.

Jesus first then

clears the bar

that he has raised.

It's the first way

he brings this grace.

he meets

the perfect standard

from the heart

every time

toward his enemies

just like his father.

He is born

under the law himself,

Galatians chapter 4,

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

to redeem those

who are under the law.

In Matthew chapter 3,

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

he asks John the Baptist

to baptize him

and they get into

this conversation.

John's a little uncomfortable,

understandably,

with baptizing Jesus

and Jesus says

this is what should happen

to fulfill

all righteousness,

to fulfill,

same word as here

in chapter 5,

fulfill all righteousness.

What's Jesus doing?

He's being the model Israelite,

the obedient human,

the child who came

to do the will

of his father,

the ultimate,

perfect law keeper.

Listen,

you know Jesus came to die

and we will get to that

in another week,

okay?

And oh,

how important that is.

How we need that

for our sin.

But he also came

to live.

And oh,

how we need that

for our righteousness.

We desperately need that.

He saw how hopelessly

stuck you were

below the bar.

He saw you would

never measure up.

He couldn't just

send advice

from heaven.

He knew it wouldn't

be enough

to fix you

or me.

He had to come

to embody himself

the fullness

of God's law.

His perfect,

active righteousness

fulfills the requirements,

the demands

of God's holy law

for us

so that as we are

united to him

by faith,

we actually become

the righteousness

of God

in Christ.

Amen?

It's why John Newton

wrote,

to see the law

by Christ fulfilled.

To hear his

pardoning voice

changes a slave

into a child

and duty

into choice.

He fulfills the law

and frees us

from its burden,

from the bar

that we could

never reach.

What grace,

that is amazing grace,

grace,

the Lord

is our

righteousness.

The perfect

law keeping

of Jesus

enables us

to stand

in the presence

of the holy God

with nothing

in our hands

we bring,

simply clinging

to Jesus.

Period.

And,

there's more grace.

Can you believe that?

There's more grace

than that.

It's even better news

than that.

Please listen carefully now.

I don't want you

to be confused.

I don't want you

to hear what I'm not saying.

I don't want you

to forget what I just said.

We stand clothed

in the righteousness

of Jesus

before God.

Period.

And,

Jesus actually

lifts us

to the bar

that he raised

and cleared himself.

Come back to the cake

with me for a minute.

After I make a mess

out of things,

even with the perfect

recipe,

right?

Christy can come back in,

kick me out of the kitchen,

get me out of the way,

and make the perfect cake.

It'll look beautiful.

And,

that's great

because at the end

of the day,

we can enjoy

a wonderful cake

for her birthday

and that is so precious

and so valuable.

But,

remember,

she's already made

the perfect cake

before.

It's already there.

We have it.

What we've learned

over the years

is that

we also

take a lot of

joy in

baking together.

It doesn't go

the same way

every time,

but it gives me

great delight

to be with her

while we make

a perfect cake.

I mean,

while she makes

a perfect cake

and I retrieve

ingredients

and I lick

the bowls,

I mean,

clean up,

clean up the bowls

after she uses them

and we together

make this perfect cake

and I get to taste

the sweetness

of it

along the way.

The sweetness

of the cake itself

and the sweetness

of being with her.

Sometimes we think

that Jesus has

this perfect cake,

this perfect righteousness,

perfect relationship

with the Father

and he's going

to give that

to us one day

which is going

to get us around

all the requirements

of the law,

all that stuff

and we'll show up

in heaven

with Jesus'

perfect record

and it is true.

We show up

in heaven

with Jesus'

perfect record.

Praise the Lord.

But he lifts us

into righteous

relationship

with the Father

as well.

Kelly and I

talked about

this week,

what does that

no condemnation

look like?

Now that I'm

not condemned,

now that I know

that I don't have

to bake a cake

good enough

to get in with God,

now that we're

already in relationship,

I'm now able

to live with God

in a different way

without fear

of failure

that I might just

make a mess of things

and he'll never

want to be with me again.

I don't have to

live like that anymore.

I can live without

shame of all the

opportunities

that I've missed.

I can live with a

new joyful pursuit

of God's heart

that I've been

set free

to love

more than I even

love myself

and the things

that I want.

I'm a slave

changed into a child

who wants

to be with Dad

and be like Dad.

Don't you want that?

He gives you

a new heart

so that you want

to be with him

and like him.

You're his child.

Listen,

in this passage,

a big part

of Jesus

fulfilling

the law

is the life

with God

from the heart

that he lays out.

He spends the whole

rest of the chapter

doing it.

And he wants

our righteousness,

righteousness,

not just his,

but our righteousness

to exceed

the scribes

and the Pharisees.

He wants us

to long

for

wholehearted

love

and obedience

so that we see

the bar

raised high.

He wants us

to see that

so that we become

poor

in spirit.

Can you feel that?

So that what happens

when we're down here,

when we're poor

in spirit,

so that we become

seekers

after grace.

That we say,

Jesus,

where are you?

Jesus,

I need you.

Jesus,

I can't be

apart from you.

I need your grace.

He wants us

to feel that way

so that we will

come to him

and be safe

in his perfect

and holy

righteousness

and say,

Jesus,

I want to live

honest

and loving

and faithful

and forgiving

and patient

and loyal

like you.

Change me

from the inside out.

Jesus,

change my heart.

So practically,

when you sin,

you now pray differently.

You pray

when you see

the anger,

when you feel

the lust in your heart,

when you see

the unforgiveness

rising up,

you're able to pray,

God,

thank you

for Jesus'

perfect life

that you've given

to me

so I'm not defined

by this struggle

right now.

I love it so much.

His righteousness

is so beautiful

and so also,

God,

make me more

like Jesus.

help me live

like Jesus

from the heart

all the time

in every relationship.

I told you

there's grace

for that.

Listen,

this is God's promise.

When we come,

when we do that,

when we see ourselves low,

when we seek

after grace,

when we come

to Jesus,

there's a new

covenant relationship

we enter into

with God.

Not only do we get

Jesus' perfect

righteousness credited

to us,

but we also exceed

the righteousness

of the scribes

and Pharisees

because he puts

his law

within us

and writes it

on our hearts.

And I will be

their God

and they shall be

my people,

Jeremiah 31,

33.

It's the same

new covenant promise

in Ezekiel 36.

Notice the parallel,

I will put

my spirit

within you

and cause you

to walk in my statutes

and be careful

to obey my rules.

You will be

my people

and I will be

your God.

You hear what he's after?

God will be

with us

by his spirit

so that

his people

who know

that he is

our God

will follow

his law

from our hearts.

Christmas.

That's why

Christmas.

That's why

Jesus came.

Jesus bakes

the perfect cake

and he

gives it to us

righteousness

fulfilled

and

he also

delights,

it brings him

joy

to taste

the sweetness

of the cake

in relationship

with him

all along

the way.

It's what he's like.

Picture him

holding your hand

as you stir

so that you're

more patient

and wait for it

to be just right.

He's right there

with you

to comfort you

when your anger

burns

and it hurts.

He's there

with us

savoring

the beauty

and the sweetness

of God's

perfect character

as he forms

us more

and more

into his

likeness.

In the hands

of the perfect

chef

the perfect

recipe

yields a

perfect cake

of his own

making

praise the

Lord

and another

cake in

process

that he

makes

with us

and in

us

to our

great

joy

and our

eternal

glory.

Aren't you

thankful

that Jesus

came to

fulfill

all of the

promises

and all of

the requirements

of the Old

Testament?

Aren't you

thankful?

Now one of the

requirements of the

Old Testament

that I haven't

mentioned

specifically yet

this morning

was death

for disobedience.

That's part of

the law.

That the

Father

would turn

his face

away

from sin

that it would

separate us

from God

and from

life.

Jesus fulfilled

that requirement

of the law

too

didn't he?

Jesus was

separated from

God

to fulfill

what was

required

of your

sin

and my

sin.

It was on

the night

that he was

betrayed

that Jesus

took bread

he broke

it

and he gave

it to his

disciples

as I'm

ministering

in his

name

give this

bread to

you

and he

said take

and eat

this is

my body

instead of

yours

given for

you

do this

in remembrance

of me

and the

same way

after supper

he took

the cup

and he

said this

cup is

the new

covenant

in my

blood

shed

instead of

yours being

shed

my blood

shed

for the

forgiveness

of sins

drink

from it

all of you

for as

often as

you eat

this bread

and drink

this cup

you proclaim

the Lord's

death

instead of

yours

until he

comes

brother

sister

in Christ

Jesus

Jesus

was

separated

from God

the Father

in your

place

not so

that you

could live

a life

distant

from God

chasing

after your

own

priorities

pursuing

your own

pleasures

it's

not why

he came

he came

and was

separated

from God

that you

might never

be

distant

from your

Father

that you

might live

in his

presence

every day

that his

ear

would be

attentive

to every

one

of your

cries

that your

heart

would more

and more

beat like

his

like the one

you're close

to

let's come

together

to his

table

let's meet

our brothers

and sisters

close to

the heart

of God

and live

there

this

week

friend if

you're here

this morning

and you

don't see

in this

table

the body

and blood

of Jesus

his perfect

life

and perfect

death

as your

hope

then I would

encourage you

not to come

to this

table

not to come

take these

elements

themselves

that's what

they represent

and you don't

want to say

outwardly

something that

you don't

believe to be

true that's

not who

you are

we would

still invite

you to

come to

these

tables

come

we'd love

to pray

for you

come watch

observe

ask us

questions

later

or stay

where you

are and

reflect

but

mostly

we would

invite you

in the name

of Jesus

to come

to him

to the one

who's not

demanding you

jump over

the bar

on your

own

to the one

who frees

you from

the burden

of the

perfect life

and the

debt

that you

owe

to your

heavenly

father

but who

pays it

for you

and comes

to give

you life

and life

abundantly

we'd love

to tell you

more about

him

grab any

of us

we'd love

to talk

with you

let's pray

and we'll

come to

the table

together

father may

we all

here see

the savior

that this

table

points to

and as

we come

may we

get to

taste the

sweetness

of his

perfect

love

perfect

obedience

endless

grace

would you

be so

kind

father

as to

use

these

common

elements

for such

a holy

purpose

in our

lives

work in

our hearts

even as

we eat

and drink

in Jesus

name

amen

for more

information

visit us

online

at

southwood.org

anti

very

on the

way

and

how

can mana

and

hem

so