Matthew 5 Sermon on the Mount v 17-20 Jesus – the Law and the Prophets

Matt-05

We’re going to step through this one, one thought at a time. Set aside your preconceived ideas and just let Jesus tell you what he wants to tell you.

Verse 17

Do not suppose – do not – whatever comes next we are not to do.

Do not suppose I [Jesus] came to throw down – thrown down – the original wording carries the idea of dissolve, disunite, destroy, overthrow, loosen, undo.

Do not suppose I [Jesus] came to dissolve, destroy, loosen, undo the Torah/law or the Neviim/prophets. What is the Torah/law or the Neviim/prophets? To the disciples he is teaching they would know instantly what this meant. For us today, we would generally say, “the Old Testament.” They would have been a little more specific but for now, lets just go with “the Old Testament.”

Do not suppose I [Jesus] came to dissolve, destroy, loosen, undo what was written in the Old Testament. I [Jesus] did not come to dissolve, destroy, loosen, undo – did you see that there? Just in case they missed it, it’s repeated – let’s get this perfectly clear now, I [Jesus] did not come to dissolve, destroy, loosen, undo what was written in the Old Testament. Got that thought?

Then he tells us why he came. I [Jesus] came to fulfill the Old Testament. Here’s where things can get a bit controversial. Remember, we are in a ceasefire moment, which means you are listening to understand, not necessarily to agree. Lets really look at the word typically translated as fulfill. The Hebrew concept is to confirm. The Greek concept is to complete.

Set aside your preconceived ideas on this word – let’s pretend we have no idea what it means because it’s another language. We have English all around this foreign word, let’s see what we can know about it – without knowing the word.

It is not dissolving, destroying, loosening, or undoing the Old Testament – because Jesus just said twice, that is not what he is doing.
Whatever it is, Jesus came to do it.
Whatever Jesus came to do is included in both the Torah/law AND the Neviim/prophets- not just one of them.
Whatever it is the answer can be found in the Old Testament. As tempting as it would be to use the New Testament to define it, we have to keep in mind, the listeners at that time did not have a New Testament, they only had what Jesus was teaching, and what was written in the scrolls which contained the Torah/law and the Neviim/prophets. Jesus specifically just told us he was fulfilling the Torah/Law and Neviim/prophets – which is the “Old Testament.”

Let’s keep going to see if anything else Jesus says will help us out.

Verse 18

Let’s first look at that word translated as ‘ until ‘. In Greek the word is eōs and in the King James version of the bible, it has been translated as: till (28x), unto (27x), until (25x), to (16x), till (with G3739) (11x), miscellaneous (41x). Whoa! Miscellaneous 41x? Interesting. This same word is used in:

Matthew 5:25 translated as while – Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going.
Matthew 10:23 translated as before, before the Son of Man comes.
Matthew 18:22 translated as up to, up to seventy-seven times.
Matthew 24:31 translated to, from one end of the sky to the other.
Revelation 6:10 translated as how, how long.

Not sure this gives us a very definitive answer, but we have an idea.

We could make note that in Matthew 24, Jesus alludes to it being a specific day – “about that day or hour no one knows.”

Jesus says, until the Shamayin/heaven and the haretz/earth pass away. Pass away – perish, disappear. Heaven is generally seen as where YHWH/God is – the word Shamayim can also refer to the sky. Earth is where man is. In the beginning, Elohim created the shamayin/heaven and the haretz/earth. We could then understand it to say either:

while/before/up to/how/until/on that day when where God Is and where man is disappears
while/before/up to/how/until/on that day when the sky and where man is disappears

At this point, there are only two options:

Heaven (where God is or the sky) and earth (where man is) have already passed away
OR
The Torah/Law still remains

According to Jesus, both can not be true at the same time. This may be a bit of a struggle for you at the moment. You are either thinking, “How could heaven and earth have passed away?” Or you are thinking, “We are not under the Mosaic law, that’s what I’ve always been taught.” Or maybe you are having both thoughts at the same time! Take a breath, relax, and lets read on to see what else we might learn.

There are a few thoughts out there on heaven and earth passing away:

The physical heaven – where God is and the physical earth – where we are living. The realms God created in Genesis. If this is the meaning – then we can pretty confidently say, heaven and earth have NOT passed away.
The spiritual heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are now both inside of believers because they are the new Temples. God now resides in man. Therefore heaven and earth have passed away as separate realms and are now one within the believer..
The Temple which was destroyed in 70 AD represented heaven and earth. God dwelled in the Temple on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant. The Tabernacle was built from a pattern. Exodus 25 – “have them make a sanctuary for me and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” The Temple was designed based on the Tabernacle. The Historian Josephus says it signifies the earth, the sea, and heaven. Some say the veil was the divide between what represented heaven and earth in the Temple. The veil was torn at Jesus’ crucifixion, ~40 years later the Temple was destroyed. One of these two events are heaven and earth passing away. If this is the meaning – then we could say heaven and earth symbolically passed away either at Jesus’s crucifixion or when the Temple was destroyed.
It is simply hyperbole or exaggerated terms. This was a major thing back in that day, all the teachers used it. Today we might say something like “When pigs fly …” or “When Hell freezes over …” It is possible Jesus is just reiterating nothing from the Torah/Law and the Neviim/Prophet’s is going away, it isn’t going to be dissolving, destroying, loosening, or undoing – not until everything else goes away and is dissolved, destroyed, loosened, or undone.
There are a few others, you can look those up on your own if you’d like. The main ones have been included here.

At this point, maybe you aren’t sure which one you subscribe to, that’s okay, just keep reading and then come back to that thought later on.

One literal Hebrew interpretation reads this way, “I say unto you in truth, that not one word will be diminished from the Torah – that it would not be performed until the end of the world.” This could help take away many questions as to whether heaven and earth have passed away.

If you subscribe to the first or fourth thought process, then heaven and earth have not passed away.

Jesus says, If heaven and earth have not passed away, then:

the smallest letter (yod – it’s a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, looks kind of like an apostrophe ‘)
the least stroke of the pen (like the little swirls we add to letters sometimes)

neither will pass away, disappear, perish from the Torah/Law until everything is accomplished.

In Ezekiel 36, God said he would give a new heart and put in a new spirit and put his Spirit in which would move his people to follow his chukkot/decrees and be careful to shomer/keep his laws.

Jeremiah 31 records God saying he would put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts. He would be their God, and his people.

Luke 16 records, “It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Torah/Law.”

God’s spirit is an Old Testament concept, not a New Testament one. And His spirit brings people to the Torah/Law. So the Spirit’s coming doesn’t seem to indicate the Torah/Law going.

We come to another questionable phrase “ everything is accomplished.” What is everything? Literal Hebrew translated this as “until the end of the world,” or “until all may come to pass.” Literal Greek translates as “all it might become.” The Greek word is γινομαι (ginomai) and it means to be, begin to be, or begin to be in a certain state or condition. It’s where we get our words gene and generation. It does not indicate the completion or accomplishment of something, but rather the beginning of something happening.

When the disciples heard this, they may have thought back:

¹⁴ “Now today I am about to go the way of all the earth. You will know with all your heart and with all your soul that not one word of the good things which Adonai your God spoke concerning you has failed to happen. All of them have come to pass for you; not one word has failed. ¹⁵ Now it will be that just as all the good things which Adonai your God has spoken to you have come upon you, so all the evil things will Adonai bring upon you, until He has wiped you off this good land which Adonai your God has given you. ¹⁶ When you transgress the covenant of Adonai your God, which He commanded you, and go and worship other gods and bow down to them, then will the anger of Adonai burn against you, and you will perish quickly off this good land which He has given you.”

Joshua 23

What do we know so far?

Jesus did not come to dissolve, destroy, loosen, undo what was written in the Old Testament
Whatever he came to do can be found in the Torah/Law and the Neviim/prophets.
Either heaven and earth have passed away or the Torah/Law still stands.
- Jesus says, If heaven and earth have not passed away, then neither:
  - the smallest letter (yod – it’s a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, looks kind of like an apostrophe ‘)
  - the least stroke of the pen (tag – ornamental flourish)
The smallest letter and ornamental stroke in the Torah/Law (First 5 books of our Old Testament) will not pass until all things come to pass or the beginning of that time.

Moving on …

Verse 19

Jesus goes on to say, because I have not come to dissolve, destroy, loosen, undo what was written in the Old Testament and because none of the Torah/Law will pass away until where God is (or the sky) and where man is passes away, whoever breaks one of the least of these mitzvot/commandments OR teaches …

The Greek word translated as breaks means to loose, unbind, or disintegrate of what was previously tied, bound, or integrated. The same word is used when John the Baptist talked about untying a sandal, when Jesus told the disciples they would find a colt and untie it. And when Jesus said “destroy (disintegrate) this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

Interesting, it is also used in this passage:

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.[j] On that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything done on it shall be exposed. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Live your lives in holiness and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God. In that day the heavens will be dissolved by fire, and the elements will melt in the intense heat. [k] 13 But in keeping with His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.[l]

2 Peter 3 TLV

What is the least of the mitzvot /commandments? The mitzvot to the disciples being taught would have referred to the 613 WRITTEN commandments we would find in the first five books of our Old Testament. There could have been some among them which would have considered the Oral traditions as well. As far as which is the least? It really doesn’t matter does it, if they break it, they are least Where God Reigns/Kingdom of Heaven right?

And then Jesus says the opposite is true as well. If a disciple keeps and teachs the mitzvot/commandments, they shall be called great Where God Reigns/Kingdom of Heaven. If we pause here, we would say – well, they both end up in the same place, it’s just one is least and one is greatest right?

Verse 20

As if Jesus has read some of their thoughts he goes on to say, u nless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees and Torah scholars, …

Righteousness – we have a few blogs on here talking about that. Basically righteousness is being in right relationship with YHWH/God and others. To be in right relationship with God, you have to follow his laws. By keeping his laws, you will remain in right relationships with others as well. Hey, is this sounding like something else Jesus said when asked what was the greatest commandment … yeah, not a coincidence for sure. If you break a law, and get out of right relationship, you have to bring a sacrifice, aka Jesus to put you back in right relationship.

Pharisees and Torah scholars – people would have thought WHOA! at this point. These people thought themselves to be the most high and mighty when it came to spiritual things. However, many times Jesus has rebuked them, said they don’t even do what they teach. Which is the point here. Don’t be someone who knows what is right but doesn’t do it. Don’t be hearers of the Word – be doers of the Word.

And what happens if they are not in right relationship with God and others? Jesus says, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Kingdom of heaven is Where God Reigns. So if you aren’t following God’s ways, then you aren’t really under his reign now are you?

I saw this somewhere, don’t remember where, “Are we to believe that God punished Israel for not obeying the laws of God so he sent his Son to die so that they did not have to follow the law?” That one will get you thinking a bit, no?

What We Learned

Jesus did not come to dissolve, destroy, loosen, undo what was written in the Torah/Law and the Neviim/Prophets (Old Testament)
Fulfill = Whatever he came to do can be found in the Torah/Law and the Neviim/prophets (Old Testament). That would be another study to do later on
Either heaven and earth have passed away or the Torah/Law still stands.**
The smallest letter and ornamental stroke in the Torah/Law (First 5 books of our Old Testament) will not pass until all things come to pass, which most likely means when heaven and earth pass away
Whoever breaks or teaches to break one of the least of these mitzvot/commandments found in the first five books of our Old Testament will be least in Where God Reigns/Kingdom of Heaven
Whoever keeps or teaches these mitzvot/commandments found in the first five books of our Old Testament will be great in Where God Reigns/Kingdom of Heaven
Don’t be like the Pharisees and Torah scholars and know the Word but not do it.
Whoever is not in right relationship with God and others (doers of the Word) will never enter Where God Reigns/Kingdom of Heaven.

There is a lot here to take in, especially since it brings a bit of tension to some well established beliefs. This is exactly how his disciples probably felt. Regardless of whether you want to agree with what Jesus said or not, it is what he said. Jesus is our foundation or cornerstone. If this was his teaching, then anything taught after this should line up with it. If it doesn’t? Either there is a mis-interpretation or a false teaching.

Flashbacks

As Christians we tend to flip through the pages of the New Testament to verify what we are reading. But for the disciples Jesus is teaching, there is no such thing as a New Testament. They would listen intently to the teacher, listening for hints to other scriptures, and when they heard it, they would have a flashback and recall the part of the scroll it was in. Read through Jeremiah 4, you should see imagery and wording hinting at what Jesus said about the Light and Heaven and Earth. If you were a disciple back then, and you knew this passage, you would surely see the similarities.

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Either heaven and earth have passed away or the Torah/Law still stands.****** There are teachings on this platform about the . Understanding the Tabernacle and how it was used can help us understand how the Torah/Law can still stand AND the followers of Christ be under grace. It can help us get a clear picture of what Jesus came to do – he said he came to fulfill the law.

There were two things which stood between YHWH/God and his people. Only the High Priest could enter where God dwelled (Holy of Holies) and only on one day a year. He had to be ritually clean through the blood of an animal sacrifice. The only way to enter through the veil into the Holy of Holies where God dwelled, was as a High Priest and as a sacrifice.

Jesus fulfilled the laws of the High Priest and the Sacrificial mitzvot/commandments. In doing so, not one yod or tittle has passed away from the Torah/Law. However, the veil has been torn down. Because we now have a High Priest who has also made us ritually clean through his blood, we can enter where God dwells.

This is why the Temple is no longer needed. He is the High Priest which made the once and for all Sacrifice to atone for sin. Anyone willing to take the offered grace of Jesus’s sacrifice, is covered.

If you are reading the Old Testament and it says ‘the High Priest’, you can replace that with Jesus. If it says to bring an animal sacrifice or the blood of an animal, you can replace that with bring Jesus or the blood of Jesus. Sin is still defined as not following God’s laws. Those laws can still be found in the Old Testament. When those laws are broken, the penalty is death. Instead of bringing an animal sacrifice (old covenant), we bring the anointed one/Jesus the Christ and his blood covers the penalty (new covenant).

Ultimately, each of us has the same choice Adam and Eve had. We can chose to either live:

Where God Reigns/in the Kingdom of Heaven, where the Tree of Life is, and where God decides what is tov/good and rah/bad,
Or where man reigns, where the Tree of the Knowledge of tov/good and rah/bad is, and man decides what is tov/good and rah/bad.

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Heaven and Earth Passed Away

Would love some comments attempting to answer any of the questions below.

If you subscribe to the second thought that heaven and earth have passed away because God now resides in the new Temples (believers):

What now defines sin?
This would imply a second heaven and earth residing in a believer – why is this second set not referenced anywhere in the Scriptures/Bible? Revelation 21 says the new heaven and new earth came because the first heaven and first earth had passed away. It doesn’t mention a second heaven and earth.
Why did Jesus say those in the Kingdom of God – which would now be believers – would keep the Torah/Law and the Neviim/Prophets? In fact, the keeping of it determines who is least and greatest in the Kingdom of God. Or was this just talking about those that kept it until his death and the coming of the Holy Spirit?
Throughout scripture, when God gives his Spirit, it brings the law and causes it to be brought to the believers mind. Why if the Torah/Law and the Neviim/Prophets have passed away?
Why did Jesus tell his disciples to teach the Torah/Law as recorded in Matthew 28?
Why was Peter still looking forward to the new heaven and new earth? 2 Peter 3
Why was John still looking for a new heaven and a new earth when writing Revelation?
At what point in the timeline recorded in Revelation are we?

If you subscribe to the third thought that heaven and earth have passed away because the temple was destroyed:

If the Temple represented heaven and earth, did heaven and earth pass away when the veil was torn? Or when the Temple was torn down in 70 AD?
Why did Jesus say those in the Kingdom of God – which would now be believers – would keep the Torah/Law and the Neviim/Prophets? Or was this just talking about those that kept it until 70AD?
Why did Jesus go on to talk about the least and greatest in the kingdom in relation to keeping and teaching commands? And why would he say if you love me you will keep my commands if he knew those would only stand while he was on earth or about another 40 years after he left? Did he expect everyone to realize all the law was dissolved, destroyed, loosened, or undone when the veil was torn? Or when the Temple was destroyed?
Why did Jesus tell his disciples to teach the Torah/Law as recorded in Matthew 28?
If the New Covenant didn’t take affect until heaven and earth passed away in 70 AD what “law” were the people who became his followers under between his resurrection and 70 AD?
What defines sin now?
Why didn’t he or the disciples and apostles prepare people for after heaven and earth passed away? Or did they – is that what Revelation was about? Are we living in Revelation times then?
Have the things in Revelation 20 been fulfilled? These are events before the new heaven and earth are replacing the first heaven and earth.
Revelation 21 says John saw a new heaven and a new earth as the FIRST had passed away and the sea was no more. Which under this thought would have been the Temple. Are we in the new heaven and earth now? Or is there another heaven and earth coming? But revelation seems to refer to the heaven and earth created by God in Genesis. Is the Temple the second heaven and earth? If so, why does it record the passing of the first and not the second?
Has all of Revelation 21 been fulfilled?
Has Revelation 22 been fulfilled?

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