Theological Studies 72, no. 3 (30 June 2016): 4, /7059 (14 February 2018). 1

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1 Jesus Fulfills the Law An Exposition of Matthew 5:17-19 By Pastor Imelda Mesa 18 March 2018 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one titlle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5: A brief overview of the Gospel of Matthew is appropriate to begin an exposition of Matthew 5: The traditionalists, based on the testimony of the Church Fathers, hold a view that Matthew, the tax collector, a disciple, and an eyewitness to the life of Jesus (Matt 9:9; 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-20), is the rightful author of the Gospel bearing his name. 2 Bishop Papias of Hierapolis in Asia Minor was quoted by Eusebius, a church historian, that Matthew made an ordered arrangement of the oracles in Hebrew (or: Aramaic) language, and each one translated (or: interpreted) it as he was able. 3 Moreover, Bible scholars have differing views on the date of its writing. Some believed that the book was written approximately A.D 50 or earlier, at the time when the audience of the apostles preaching was mainly Jews. 4 This period coincided with some other beliefs that the Gospel of Matthew was the first gospel ever written and, therefore, the time of its writing could have been around this era. The Gospel of Matthew, similar to Mark, Luke, and John, is a Christological biography 5 and a mixture of various topics including the subjects of the end-times, community rules, and emphasis on moral and social issues. In general, the central theme of the Gospel of Matthew is the arrival of God's Kingdom which, ultimately, was realized in the coming of Christ. 6 The immediate context in Matthew's time provided a platform to understand the narrative in 5:17-19 better. The book was written in an era when the Jewish Christians and the increasing 1 Unless otherwise indicated all Bible references in this paper are to the New King James Version (NKJV) (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1982). 2 Robert G. Gromacki, New Testament Survey (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1974), 68, Logos Bible Software Version Dale C. Allison Jr., Matthew, The Oxford Bible Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), Henrietta C. Mears, What the Bible is All About Handbook (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 1999), Allison, Bradley Trout, Matthew 5:17 and Matthew's Community, HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 72, no. 3 (30 June 2016): 4, /7059 (14 February 2018). 1

2 number of Gentile converts, who have no background in Judaism, need a record of Jesus' words and deeds for apologetic reasons. 7 They needed instructions to emphasize the preeminence of Christ over observance of religious laws and oral traditions, and against any form of beliefs inferior to Christ's teachings. 8 In the surrounding narratives of 5:17-19, Jesus outlined the laws of His Kingdom that should govern the morals and conduct of His disciples, that were the total opposite of Pharisaic practices, which were mainly false and outward displays of piety and religion. The Sermon on the Mount in 5:1-12 set the ethical demands 9 and moral laws 10 in Christ's kingdom, while 5:13-16 contained teachings about the efficacious kingdom lifestyle of the believers. These immediate contexts prepared Matthew's audience for Jesus' affirmation of the laws in 5: Furthermore, several texts in both the Old and the New Testaments present a universal context to these passages. In the Old Testament, the Law is the governing authority for the Jews (Deut 31:26), and, obedience to the Law takes the highest priority in their daily affairs with God and with people (Lev 25:18; Josh 1:8). Scriptures in Psalms indicate the enduring nature of the Law and the benefits that people can get from keeping the Law in their hearts and in their walk with God (Ps 1:2; 19:7; 119:18). It suggests a picture of an intimate love relationship between the God of the Jews and the Jewish nation (2 Chr 6:16; Jer 31:33; Ps 40:8). In the New Testament however, the Law became an obligation (Gal 5:3), and a burden to people. The emphasis shifted from a love relationship to a religion and traditions. Matthew 23 is a stern warning by Jesus regarding the hypocrisy and wickedness of the Jewish religious leaders. Matthew states that "they don't practice what they preach," calling them blind guides (Matt 23:16-24), which is descriptive of the political, social, and cultural climate at that time. In 5:17, Jesus explicitly stated that His arrival was not intended to destroy the Law or the Prophets. The use of the conjunction "or" in the text was not to isolate one from another and vice versa. In Matthew s time, it is customary to refer to the full Hebrew Scriptures, which is the Old Testament portion of the Bible, as either the Law and the Prophets (v.17) or simply the Law (v 18). His Jewish audience would have understood, that he was referring to the whole Hebrew Scriptures, 11 whether he used both or just the one, which he did in this section of the narrative. The Greek word καταλύω katalyō translates in English as "destroy, throw down, demolish." It was mentioned thirteen times in various texts of the New Testament. 12 The NKJV 2 7 Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Keener, Ronald A. Beers, ed., The NIV Life Application Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2007), Francois P. Viljoen, Jesus Halaktic Argumentation on the True Intention of the Law in Matthew 5:21-48, Verbum et Ecclesia 34, no. 1, art. #682 (30 April 2013): 3, http//www. scielo. org.za/pdf/vee/v34n1/09.pdf (15 February 2018). 11 Craig Blomberg, Matthew, The New American Commentary, vol. 22 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 103 Logos Bible Software Version Rick Brannan, καταλύω, The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament, 2 nd ed., n.p., Logos Bible Software Version

3 adopted the word destroy, while the ESV and the NIV used the English word "abolish" instead. Nevertheless, the mention of the phrase "Do not even think," followed by the "I did not come," was an allusion to Matthew's intent to eliminate the Pharisaical mindset that made them think that Jesus came to destroy, to throw down, to demolish, or to abolish their sacred Old Testament practices. Jesus' non-adherence to the laws and the Jewish traditions was misconstrued as an abolition of the law in the sense that His behavior was a refusal of authority. 13 To the Jews, their laws and traditions were authority, and observance of them was paths to righteousness. Likewise, to a Jew, to abolish or set aside the Law was a sign of heresy. 14 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida translate καταλύω katalyō to mean "to completely invalidate something which has been in force to do away with, to invalidate, to make invalid.' 15 Matthew was stressing to his Jewish audience the real purpose of Christ's coming. Jesus did not come to invalidate the laws and the prophets completely, but He came to fulfill them. In 5:18, Matthew emphasized the primacy of the law s and the prophets' utterances which Jesus came to fulfill. He highlighted the indelible nature of the Hebrew Scripture up to the smallest stroke of a pen, yet, he also alluded to its temporal nature by comparing it to heaven and earth which certainly has an end (Matt 24:35; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 21:1). The Law and the Prophets were to remain unchanged, but only till all is fulfilled. The use of the salt metaphor in 5:14 solidified Matthew's message to his readers that the law, similar to the enduring taste and preserving nature of salt, was permanent and would last until all were fulfilled in and by Christ. Therefore, nothing in the law can be ignored. The phrase "did not completely invalidate" implies that some laws had been invalidated, but not all. James Swanson translates the Greek word πληρόω plēroō in a variety of English meanings such as, come to an end, be completely, fill, make complete, finish, provide fully, proclaim completely, give true meaning, cause to happen. 16 With the coming of Christ, many aspects of the Hebrew Scriptures had come to an end, were finished, and were made complete. Morever, Louw and Nida render πληρόω plēroō in English as to give the true or complete meaning to something to give the true meaning to, to provide the real significance of. 17 Their translations suggest that the coming of Jesus Christ had redefined the true meaning and the real significance of the Law and the Prophets, different from the Pharisaic teachings and emphases. James Arlandson attests that Jesus has fulfilled, is fulfilling, and shall completely 3 13 Keener, Daryl J. Charles, Garnishing with the Greater Righteousness : The Disciple s Relationship to the Law (Matthew 5:17-20), Bulletin for Biblical Research 12, no. 1 (2002): 7, ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (15 February 2018). 15 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, καταλύω, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, vol 1, Introduction and Domains, 2nd ed. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 681. Logos Bible Software Version James Swanson 4444 πληρόω Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), 2 nd ed. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), n.p., Logos Bible Software Version Louw and Nida, 404.

4 fulfill the entire Old Testament. 18 The questions to ask are: What Old Testament laws were fulfilled by Jesus and, therefore, have been discontinued? What Old Testament laws have been redefined by Jesus and, therefore, are continuously enforceable through all generations? James B. Barton categorized the Old Testament laws into civil, moral, and ceremonial. 19 Moral laws are attached to the nature and character of God. Therefore, moral laws were permanent, which all Christ s followers were expected to observe. Jesus fulfilled the moral laws when He obeyed the Father to die for sinners, all in the name of love (John 3:16), because love is the nature and character of God (1 John 4:7-8). When believers act in love, they too are fulfilling the law, because "Love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:10). Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, for example, the blood sacrifice, which was designed to bring people in worship of the living God. Christ had fulfilled all temple rituals for worship done in the Old Testament (Heb 9:11-14). Consequently, He had abolished the old sacrificial system of animal sacrifice. However, the principle of true worship had not been removed and is a continuing exercise for Christ's followers until His second coming. Jesus also fulfilled and, therefore, had invalidated the Old Testament rituals of Aaronic and Levitical priesthoods when He offered Himself as a sacrifice for the people. The priesthood of the believers replaced the Old Testament priesthood through Christ s salvific work on the cross. Christ s fulfilment of the law enabled and empowered His followers to come to Him, as priests and kings do in the Old Testament. Jesus fulfilled the civil aspects of Torah. He lived pure and perfect righteousness in His day-to-day dealings with people. The Pharisees pointed people to the law to make them live right. However, the law, as John Piper noted, was not the path to righteousness; Christ is. 20 In 5:19, Matthew re-emphasized the unbreakable nature of the Law. The law can only be fulfilled and cannot be broken because the Law was meant to bring people to God (Deut 8:6-20). Jesus contrasted the least and the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and gave a different outcome for those who teach and practice the Law as opposed to those who ignore it. To Matthew, the Pharisaic teachers of the Law, the pious, and the religious, had completely missed the point of how to become great in the kingdom of heaven, because their piety and religion were not prompted by a genuine love for God, but love for themselves (Matt 23). They loved to be seen (Matt 23:6) and to be served, rather than to love and to serve, which Jesus exemplified in His entire ministry on earth (Phil 2:5-11). Christ's followers can enjoy freedom from Jewish laws and traditions without feeling condemned, demoralized, or belittled if, at times, they fail to do so. This is because Christ is the 18 James Arlandson, How Jesus Christ Fulfills the Old Testament: An Exegesis of Matthew 5:17-19, n.d., n.p., (15 February 2018). 19 James B. Barton, Megathemes (Exodus), in The NIV Life Application Study Bible, Ronald A. Beers, ed. (Carol Streams, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2007), John Piper, How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime, Desiringgod.org, 23 February 2015, n.p., (15 February 2018). 4

5 end of the law, the fulfillment of the law, and freedom from the law. He ended the Old Testament practices of temple sacrifices and ceremonial offerings, therefore, Christ s followers are no longer to bring bulls, goats, doves, flour, and other similar forms of sacrifices. However, they are to bring a sacrifice of praise and worship to God. They are to serve God and to offer their bodies to Him in holiness and purity (Rom 12:1). In the New Testament, the salvific work of Christ has fulfilled all the requirements of the law. Consequently, people can enter into a covenant relationship with God that is not founded on rituals but on the grace of God. Jesus Christ is now the path to righteousness, not the law, and anyone can come, whether Jews or Gentiles, circumcised or not. Believers who walk in the Spirit, and not in religion, are no longer condemned (Rom 8:1). They have been freed from the law by the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Rom 7:1-6). Believers, however, should live righteous and holy lives that exceed the righteousness of the world, and never live in bondage of sin again. They should model the life of Christ as a testament to the world. Furthermore, believers should live out their mandate to bring Christ s teachings to the world and to enjoin people to follow the same. They are to perform their ambassadorial duties fueled by the pure love of Christ and a genuine passion to see the Kingdom of God advance on earth as Jesus vigorously did. It is the believers privilege to do so. 5